Tag: mental health

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Murder at the Lunatic’s Ball – R S Leonard

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A Victorian asylum. A woman imprisoned. A deadly secret.

England, 1875. London journalist, Harris Mortimer, visits a Hampshire lunatic asylum to investigate society’s treatment of the insane, only to find himself in a fateful encounter with a beautiful woman claiming to be wrongly incarcerated.

Horrified by a series of murders, he soon becomes drawn into the strange world of the asylum and begins to wonder who is truly mad and who is sane.

Back in London, Harris meets Nancy Carter, a young woman striving to become a music hall star.  Nancy’s shocking act, based on madness and murder, has uncanny parallels with Harris’s recent experiences in Hampshire.

Is it all just a coincidence? To what lengths will one person go to exact their revenge?

As the fates of Harris and Nancy intertwine, they are about to discover the terrible consequences of uncovering the truth.

Music, madness and murder collide in this thrilling historical mystery for fans of Stacey Halls, Jessie Burton and Elizabeth Macneal. A perfect book club fiction selection, Murder at the Lunatics’ Ball discusses themes of social control, the female lunatic stereotype, and the struggle by women to earn their bread and find their voice in Victorian England.

R S Leonard was born in Cheshire, England, and after a long stint in London, then Hampshire, now lives back in her home county.

She’s always had a deep love of storytelling and history, inspired, no doubt, by her mum encouraging her to get the utmost out of the public library as a kid. She has a PhD in Nineteenth-Century Literature and Culture and MAs in Creative Writing and Victorian Studies. These inspired her recently-published second historical mystery novel, Murder at the Lunatics’ Ball, as well as her first, The Body, the Diamond and the Child. 

By day, she works in the non-profit sector.

rsleonardbooks.com | R S Leonard, Novelist

Dr Rachel S Leonard (@drrsleonard) • Instagram photos and videos

My thoughts: This was an interesting read, with several very surprising twists along the way.

Journalist Harris Mortimer is sent to write about the modern asylum for The Times newspaper, a family friend happens to be the senior doctor at one in Hampshire, and is here he meets both inmates and staff, although at times he struggles to see who is truly mad.

He also meets Titania Rossetti, a beautiful patient who seems to be terrified of something or someone at the asylum. He’s told she suffers from a specific type of melancholy  – an Ophelia – heartbroken from lost love. This was an actual diagnosis. There is a weird focus on women needing to fit into specific categories at the asylum, and Harris finds the whole thing peculiar.

The titular murder does indeed take place at a ball (of sorts) organised for the inmates. It won’t be the only one. Shocking and depraved, the murderer is among the residents, both patients and staff, and Harris is on the frontline. The reporting makes his name and on returning to London he is riding high. 

Meanwhile Nancy Carter, actress, returns home too. She’s been away, supposedly in Birmingham, but on return must get back into her sister’s good books and rebuild her performing career.

As Harris spins into madness, Nan works to build a new, successful life, and leave any evidence of the recent past, and her activities, behind her.

There were times when I didn’t think Harris was particularly bright, especially when Miss Rossetti and her friend Miss Millais meet him for tea. There are clues about his beloved’s reality but he just can’t seem to see them.

Nan is a brilliant character, both monstrous in her rage and revenge, her strange stage act that plays with murder and madness, but also sweet and beguiling, trying to find a way to take care of what’s left of her family.

This was an incredibly interesting and clearly well researched book, I am interested in the treatment of mental illness historically as it varies wildly and so much of it seems utterly barbaric. What Titania experiences demonstrates this, while some doctors are keen to treat their patients gently and with kindness, others prefer the more inhumane ideas that preceded them. But the true madness lies elsewhere in this story.  

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.

books, reviews

Book Review: Damaged Beauty; Joey Superstar – Margaret Gardiner

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Set in 1980s America, Damaged Beauty: Joey Superstar is the story of supermodel Joey Superstar.  But underneath her glossy veneer, Joey hides a traumatic past. Joey sets out to confront the roots of her wildness – but must admit to a youthful act that haunts her. As she moves from addiction to redemption, can she change the course of her life, deal with her dark past and become the superstar she was always destined to be?

Damaged Beauty: Joey Superstar is not just a work of fiction, but a narrative that sheds light on issues that often remain hidden in the shadows. With her unique perspective and rich storytelling, Gardiner addresses these themes in a way that is both engaging and deeply impactful.

The author now and in her modelling days

Margaret Gardiner, in her 60s, became an international cover-girl at 16 and at 18 she was the first woman from Africa to be crowned Miss Universe. She ultimately became the fashion editor at GoldenGlobes.com and works with A-list stars from Angelina Jolie to Zendaya. Her debut novel explores the seedy underbelly of the high-octane world of 1980s fashion modelling. While her book is not autobiographical, it is inspired by the people of the time and events she witnessed. Margaret saw extremes in various forms: the dreaded scales being used to weigh models in the 70s, the coping strategies of other models and friends including drug and alcohol abuse. As a model for almost 50 years, and a fashion editor, Margaret has an insider’s knowledge of the industry. She knows what it is like to be on the red carpet, in the spotlight – and what goes on behind the scenes. With a degree in psychology, and a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, her debut novel is for every woman who has ever been made to feel less. 

website  (where readers can buy the book) Instagram  

My thoughts: The author’s first-hand knowledge of the modelling industry and the pitfalls some young women sadly fall into shape the story of Joey, who battles with addiction and self-destructive behaviour while working in the notoriously cutthroat world of the supermodels.

Joey leaves a failed marriage and enters the House of Rest, a mental health unit to detox and recover her equilibrium. Checking out, she heads to New York, planning to revive her modelling career and reconnect with some old friends.

Her friend Fran let’s her back into her life, but Joey’s self-destructive behaviour pushes them apart again, and she ruins their friendship. The book chronicles the up and downs of Joey’s life, the traumatic events in her teenage years that led to her running away from home and becoming a model in the first place. The spiralling mental health issues she chooses to self-medicate and how her painting helps soothe her troubled soul.

Joey is a damaged person, she’s not been given much love in her life and struggles with her relationships. Her recovery ebbs and flows as she wrestles with her demons, but she’s resilient and determined to overcome her struggles.

The book is out now from all the usual places and the author has more planned.

I was sent a copy of this book to read and review but all my opinions remain my own.

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: In Judgement of Others – Eleanor Anstruther

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The Midhurst Amateur Dramatic Society are putting on a production of Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit, and Tessa has agreed to play a part. But when she suffers a psychotic episode, Ros, a C-list celebrity and new to the community, takes her place.

In this darkly comic tale of psychosis in the Home Counties, the stage is set for a blistering examination of mental illness, how we treat it and why we don’t. While Tessa is sectioned in a secure psychiatric hospital, the relationships in the community unravel, and by the time she’s released, all that we thought we knew, and all of our judgements, are thrown into question.

Dim the lights, turn off your phones, settle in as the curtain rises…

My thoughts: This was really interesting, mental illness is still so misunderstood, and Ros failed to understand that you can love someone even though their illness makes it very hard to live with them at times, and get frustrated by this but not give up on them. Tessa is ill, she’s not doing this on purpose. Many mental health conditions cause people to stop taking their meds, because the illness lies to you. Tessa felt better, so she stopped taking her pills, then she got worse. So she needs the time as an inpatient to get back to herself.

Ros seemed to think that Tessa was gone for good, stepping into her role in Blithe Spirit, and attempting to step into Tessa’s life too. But as Tessa recovered, and even in her worries, her family and community were still with her.

An interesting study of how mental illness can affect people and how a little knowledge might be useful. Sometimes you hear the phrase “everyone has mental health” which is true but not everyone is genuinely mentally ill, although sometimes it feels as if you’re the only sane one, and everyone else could do with a stay in the psych ward. 

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Anastasia’s Midnight Song – M. Laszlo

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French Huguenot Anastasia believes working in one of Sinai’s mirror factories will allow her to trap the imaginary Arctic fox which lives in her womb.

Whilst Jack escapes from London to Sinai to avoid being conscripted to fight in the trenches with strange imaginings that do little to alleviate his feelings of cowardice. Jack is captivated by Anastasia, seized with a fierce desire to possess her from the first second, and nothing can diminish his obsessive urge to be noticed by her, not even her obvious disgust in the face of his crude advances.

Their journeys twist together like a fugue, filled with phantasmagorical delays, as they both fail to accomplish what they set out to do. Unable to escape the consequences of their false beliefs, relentlessly they approach the brink, and eventual schizophrenia, on a quest for moral truths.

This book is a revelatory, hallucinatory account of the growing insanity of two young people who happen to be in the same place at the same time.

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M Laszlo lives as a recluse in Bath, Ohio. Rumour holds that he derived his pseudonym from the Victor Laszlo character in the classic film Casablanca. M Laszlo’s works are written in strict form but contain a great deal of symbolism and/or objective correlative. This is because each work is intended to illustrate the eternal or Socratic truths that make up the human experience.

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My thoughts: There is a trippy, dream-like quality to this book, which reflects the way Jack and Anastasia’s minds weave their reality around their imaginings. Anastasia is mourning her mother, her loneliness and grief bringing a childhood phantom – the Arctic fox spirit she believes lives inside her – back. Jack has been sent away by his father to escape conscription. It is 1917, and the First World War rages across Europe.

In Sinai, Egypt, both troubled young people meet amidst a clash of cultures and religions, reeling from the strangeness of the time and place. Jack composes music in his head, strange discordant pieces that reflect his loose grip on reality. Anastasia seeks relief from the cruel fox within her, desperate to force it out and away from her.

As they travel and attempt to work out their troubling mental health crises, they cross paths with others and each other but can not help one another as they can not truly help themselves. A strange journey into the desert and to England, seeking always answers to soothe their troubled minds.

Not always the easiest book to read and hard to place yourself in the shoes of the protagonists in a time before mental illness and grief were better understood (though it’s still not perfect), this odyssey that Jack and Anastasia undertake is moving and tragic, the help they both seek is not within reach.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.

books, reviews

Book Review: Will I Ever Have Sex Again? – Sofie Hagen

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Comedian Sofie Hagen has not had sex in 3,000 days (and counting). And it turns out, she’s not the only one . . .

In an attempt to find out why we’re not having the sex we want, Sofie asks the questions: can we blame a lacking sex education? Is it all just sexual trauma? Where’s the radical sexual liberation we were promised? What are we going to do about this? Should she have slept with that guy in that bush that one time? How do you overcome being a 35-year-old virgin (when it comes to queer sex, that is)? How do the socially awkward and the neurodiverse have sex?

In Will I Ever Have Sex Again?, Sofie Hagen explores the quirks and difficulties of being an ‘involuntary celibate’ (but one of the feminist, progressive ones). With a blend of memoir and conversations with experts, therapists, sex workers, porn stars, comedians and public figures, this is a humorous and bold undertaking to gain a better understanding of how we can think, talk and feel about sex.

My thoughts: this was a really interesting read, bits of it were very funny, because Sofie Hagen is a funny person, and bits of I were very insightful too.

I found Sofie’s exploration of sex, sexuality, gender identity, and the body intelligent and thought provoking. At no point was any of the discussion gratuitous or rude, and the range of people quoted, from academics to porn performers and drag kings, added to the discussion in new and interesting ways.

While exploring their own gender and sexuality, Sofie also shared a sample of different stories, some anonymously from the 1,800 responses to their survey and others from friends and experts. I liked the differing experiences and perspectives on the questions being raised. It felt like a collaborative exploration of the themes and showed that we all experience sex, love, sexuality and gender differently. I actually filled out the questionnaire, which was very insightful and made me think a lot about my own experiences and feelings. 

Despite Sofie’s stated plan to end with an orgy, there isn’t really an overarching narrative, it’s more a collection of thoughts and experiences as Sofie gets to know themselves better and understand how others see the same things with their own perspective. We are all a collection of our thoughts, feelings and experiences after all.

The book felt like a great jumping off point to asking yourself about how you truly feel about sex, relationships, sexuality, gender identity and your own past, present and future, whether you’re currently having sex with another person or not. It has certainly raised questions in my mind that I need to work through.

I’ve seen Sofie perform before and am planning to go and see them again later this year, while this book didn’t make me more or less interested in them, I did think they gave a large insight into themselves, and opening yourself up to scrutiny like this is incredibly powerful. I know there will be negative responses, but I personally feel more positively towards Sofie, like I know them better and understand them more.

Because of the feelings the book might raise, I wouldn’t say it’s the easiest of reading and it may well ring bells within you, especially in the chapter about sexual assault and rape. So save this for when you feel safe and able to evaluate yourself. I wouldn’t say it’s one for reading on the bus to work for example, definitely more for at home on your own. But it is definitely worth reading.

*I was kindly gifted an advanced copy of this book, which will be published in May, but all opinions remain my own.

books, reviews

Book Review: You’ll Never Walk Alone – Rachel Kelly

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Just before Christmas I was kindly sent a signed copy of this lovely book. A collection of wonderful poems to help us through some of life’s challenges. As some of you may know I love poetry and find it soothing and powerful. I dip into my poetry books when I need a mood boost or to sit with my feelings, but feel comforted, knowing that I’m not the only one to feel that way. Which is what this book is meant to do. There’s a wonderful selection of poems, old friends and some new faces too. Whatever you’re going through, poetry can help remind us to keep going. You’ll be ok.

A wise and soulful poetry prescription for every season and every mood. Words can be a way to unlock our feelings. Poetry allows us to be in touch with our emotions and explore our vulnerability. You’ll Never Walk Alone is a collection of the kind of inspirational texts – mainly poems – that can accompany us, whatever we are feeling, from sorrow to delight. These are poems that allow us to enjoy a full range of emotions. The poems are organised according to the season in which they ‘belong’: we all have seasons of our minds, be they wintery and dark, or more spring-like and hopeful. With this book by your side, you will feel comforted when times are tough and cheered when they are joyful. The texts are introduced by Rachel Kelly, writer and mental health advocate, whose gentle voice will show you how each poem might become your friend and become part of your emotional reality. Poetry can be a new tool for wellbeing. And one that means you’ll never walk alone.

Rachel Kelly is a keynote speaker, bestselling writer and mental health campaigner. She shares her experience of depression and evidence-based strategies that have helped her recover, and has long been an advocate for the therapeutic power of poetry. She runs Healing Words poetry workshops for mental health charities, at festivals and in prisons, and has been a judge for the Koestler Poetry Prize and the Rethink Mental Illness Poetry Awards. Her passion for poetry led to her becoming the co-founder of the iF poetry app and co-editor of iF: A Treasury of Poetry for Almost Every Possibility (Canongate, 2012). Her memoir Black Rainbow: How words healed me -my journey through depression describes how poetry was an integral part of her recovery. Her critically acclaimed books include The Happy Kitchen, Walking on Sunshine and Singing in the Rain and have been published in over 10 countries. Rachel has spoken all over the world from Delhi to Sydney, America and across the UK. She is also a well-known media commentator and former Times journalist as well as an official ambassador for mental health charities Rethink Mental Illness, SANE, The Counselling Foundation and Head Talks. Rachel lives in London with her husband, Sebastian, and their children.

Thank you to Rachel, the publisher and Midas PR for my copy. I’ll treasure it.

books

Recently Launched – Reading Well by the Reading Agency

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I’m a big fan of the amazing charity The Reading Agency, who do so much to promote and encourage Reading. They now run World Book Night, an event I’ve been shouting about since it first started and now they’ve developed a new amazing concept – Reading Well.

So what is Reading Well?

Reading Well has been developed by national charity The Reading Agency in partnership with Libraries Connected and the Society of Chief Librarians (SCL) Cymru, and is delivered with public libraries.

There are 5 Reading Well booklists which support people to understand and manage their health and wellbeing using helpful reading. Over 3 million Reading Well books have been borrowed from libraries since 2013. Find out about other Reading Well booklists at your local library or visit reading-well.org.uk

Reading Well for teens supports the mental health and wellbeing of teenagers, providing helpful information, advice and support to help them better understand their feelings, handle difficult experiences and boost confidence. The list has been developed as an update to the 2016 Reading Well for Young People (“Shelf Help”) list and is focused on supporting teens’ mental health and wellbeing in a post-pandemic context.

The booklist is targeted at teenagers (13-18) and includes a range of reading levels and formats to support less confident readers and encourage engagement. Some of the recommended books suggest useful self-help techniques; there are also personal stories, graphic formats, and fiction. Alongside the books are a selection of quality assured age-appropriate digital resources. The books have been chosen by young people, leading health professionals and library staff. Our book selection panel included colleagues from Royal College of GPs, Royal College of Psychiatrists, Royal College of Nursing, British Psychological Society, British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, NHS England, Mind, Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families and the School Library Association.

I was kindly sent two fantastic books from the Reading Well for Teens reading lists: The Year I Didn’t Eat by Samuel Pollen and A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. I had read A Monster Calls before, ages ago and definitely needed a re-read and I hadn’t read The Year I Didn’t Eat so that was new to me. The reading lists themselves are very accessible and have a huge range of books on lots of different topics that might affect their readers. All of them can be found online, in book shops and most importantly, in your local library and hopefully in a school or college library too.

Fourteen-year-old Max Howarth is living with anorexia. With the help of his therapist and his supportive, but flawed, family, he’s trying his best to maintain his health. But things spiral out of control, and his eating disorder threatens to isolate him from everyone he loves. Beautifully crafted and honestly written, this debut YA novel tells the story of one boy’s year-long journey toward recovery.

In most ways, Max is like any other teenager. He’s dealing with family drama, crushes, and high school-all while trying to have fun, play video games, and explore his hobbies. But Max is also living with anorexia and finds it impossible to be honest with his loved ones-they just don’t understand what he’s going through.

Starting at Christmas, a series of triggering events disrupt Max’s progress toward recovery, sending him down a year-long spiral of self-doubt and dangerous setbacks. With no one to turn to, Max journals his innermost thoughts and feelings, writing to “Ana,” the name he’s given his anorexia. While that helps for a while, Ana’s negative voice grows, amplifying his fears.

When Max gets an unusual present from his older brother, a geocache, it becomes a welcome distraction from his problems. He hides it in the forest near their house and soon gets a message from the mysterious “E.” Although Max is unsure of the secret writer’s identity, they build a bond, and it’s comforting to finally have someone to confide in.As Max’s eating disorder pulls him further away from his family and friends, this connection keeps him going, leading him back to the people who love and support him.

Writing from his own experiences with anorexia, Samuel Pollen’s The Year I Didn’t Eat is a powerful and uplifting story about recovery and the connections that heal us.

My thoughts: while I didn’t have anorexia, I did struggle with a different eating disorder in my late teens and early twenties so Max’s story resonated with me. Based on the author’s own illness, this was powerful and moving and I can totally see why this made the Reading Well booklist.

Eating disorders are increasingly common in young men and teenage boys, as well as still being something many young women struggle with. They’re both a physical and mental illness, and require a holistic approach to treat. They can be really scary and as long as society continues to generate certain body types, they’ll persist.

But The Year I Didn’t Eat offers that most important thing – hope. You can recover, recovery is real and you will be able to be ok again. When you’re in the midst of an eating disorder, or any illness that also impacts you psychologically, it can seem impossible to believe you’ll be well again.

The monster showed up just after midnight. As they do. But it isn’t the monster Conor’s been expecting. He’s been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming… The monster in his back garden, though, this monster is something different. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor. It wants the truth. Costa Award winner Patrick Ness spins a tale from the final idea of much-loved Carnegie Medal winner Siobhan Dowd, whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself. Darkly mischievous and painfully funny, A Monster Calls is an extraordinarily moving novel of coming to terms with loss from two of our finest writers for young adults.

My thoughts: I have been extremely lucky in that I never had to deal with the pain of losing a parent at a young age (both of mine are still here) but I cannot imagine how awful that would be. Having seen some close friends lose theirs even in my twenties, it feels horrific. This incredibly, tremendously moving, powerful and iconic book deserves its place on the Reading Well list for its ability to understand that terrible pain and fear and interpret it for the teen audience. I imagine it to be a wonderfully comforting read if you are dealing with the potential loss of a parent, knowing you’re not alone, that someone does understand, must provide at least a little comfort.

I have to admit I read both books with tissues at my side because they brought back, for me, some of the turmoil of being a teenager and young adult. They made me feel less alone, definitely, despite being published after my teens, and long after I left the expected audience. I really hope lots of people access the Reading Well Reading lists and find something that speaks to them there.

A massive thank you to The Reading Agency and their partner Four Communications for sending me the books and providing the images and some of the text above.

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Get a Grip, Love – Kate Lucey*

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A candid book that uses a mix of colloquial chat, peer and personal experience, and expert advice to talk about tackling mental illness as part of the generation so often poked fun at for having feelings – and who often call themselves out for it, too.

A record-breaking number of anti-depressants are being prescribed each year. While positive steps are being taken and we are speaking more about our problems, in this new age of having conversations about mental health, everyone and their neighbour has a ‘miracle cure’ to throw at those of us who are struggling. There’s an enormous gap in the knowledge and understanding of what depression is and isn’t – not least in that it doesn’t look the same on every person.

Exploring the science behind mental illness and its treatment, and including stories from a number of sufferers of depression and anxiety disorders, Get a Grip, Love provides a witty, razor-sharp exploration of mental health, and a no-nonsense guide that explains where the advice to ‘go for a run’, ’stay off social media’ or ‘make some new friends’ comes from. It separates the facts from the fiction about what could work, speaks openly about how it feels to live with a mental health disorder, and demonstrates that it’s ok to feel the way that we do when we’re struggling, and that we certainly don’t need to get a grip.

Funny, irreverent, and understandable, Get a Grip, Love recognises that depression sucks, but that together, we can get through it.

My thoughts:

I have depression and have been living with it for some time now so it was interesting to see how someone else deals with their own illness and finds a way through it.

I dipped in and out of this book, not all of it was easy reading when it feels a little close to the bone but it was an interesting and informative read.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Depression – Ray Griffiths*

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The part of the brain most heavily associated with mental health, memory, emotion and mood is called the hippocampus; the biological name for the seahorse. It is the unusual seahorse-like shape of the hippocampus that has led to its evocative name. Just as the seahorse charms the depths of oceans, our own hippocampus, when supported and nurtured, can help to enchant our own lives. Worryingly, there are an increasing number of scientific papers linking problems with the hippocampus to depression, in particular, the shrinking or failure to regrow this part of the brain after prolonged stress. Depression, anxiety and mood disorders are often seen as entirely psychological in cause. However, more and more research is highlighting that chronic health issues, poor diet and lifestyle choices can, and will, negatively impact our vulnerable hippocampus, and consequently, our mental health.

Personalised nutritionist Ray Griffiths examines how we can modify our dietary and lifestyle choices to nourish our brain and hippocampus. These choices can help to cushion us from the harm we may encounter as we navigate the challenges of modern everyday life. This nourishment is absolutely vital, as every day our hippocampus can potentially regrow 700 brand new neurons, but it needs a huge amount of assistance to do so. Nourishment for the hippocampus can come from not just diet but also from balanced gut bacteria, social connection, exercise, an outdoors environment, music and dance. Learning how to support your brain health begins with what you eat.

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Ray Griffiths MSc is a Registered Nutritionist and Lecturer and hails from the South of England, living on the borders of Essex and Suffolk. He has been researching and practicing nutrition for 20 years and lecturing for over 10 years. His lectures and webinars have covered diverse subjects such as: cancer and nutrition, chronic fatigue, depression, cardiovascular health, neurodegeneration, MS and ageing. Ray has a background in Engineering and likes to apply a similar style systems philosophy to nutrition and biochemistry – using this approach to challenge and greatly expand existing ideas and concepts. He is a keen water skier, was once a professional Speedway rider. He enjoys Pre-Rapaelite art and his favourite author is the American poet Robert Bly.

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My thoughts: I’ve had depression since my teens and am interested in different theories around treating and managing it in the long term. I currently take medication to manage it but if there was another way I’d be open to potentially trying it.

I liked that Griffiths was looking at depression as a condition that is affected by and effects the body as a whole, I know for me if my chronic pain condition is worse then so will my mental health be.

As a nutritionist Griffiths focuses on how what we eat impacts our physical and mental wellbeing. The importance of healthy gut bacteria is something the general public is increasingly aware of, and he writes about how each thing links together very well.

This was certainly a very interesting read, something I will definitely be discussing with my doctors in terms of how I can tweak my diet to support a happier, healthier brain.

*I was kindly gifted this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour.

fun stuff, gardening, happy mail, lifestyle boxes, reviews

Buddy Box – Plant Life

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This month’s Buddy Box from The Blurt Foundation has arrived and it’s a green fingered box. 

I love growing things, I’m just not very good at it. 

There’s a clever little grow your own kit, adding that to my windowsill garden right now, a cute pot plant pin, cactus shaped rubber, vanilla scented soap, herbal tea and postcards. 

Although summer is drawing to a close my plants are still blooming so this feels a timely little treat as the evenings begin to get longer.