Member Review

I remember Joanna Cannon talking about the idea for this book on Twitter. I thought it was a phenomenal idea then and now, with a three-chapter taster on NetGalley, I have huge admiration for the book, Joanna Cannon and the writers who worked alongside the people who tell their stories.
We get an insight into how people come to access mental health services through these snapshots of lives that are both extraordinary and extraordinarily commonplace. The voices are clear and the 'professional' writers who bring their stories onto the page seem to act like empathetic conduits. It's a bold idea, sensitively executed.
Despite knowing people who have been sectioned and spent time in mental health facilities, I'm as guilty as the next person for looking away/letting my mind snap to assumptions when I see someone who is acting in a way that is 'different'. It's not an easy read, but all the better for not shying away from the circumstances and sometimes abhorrent treatment (especially in the case of Jeremy in 1970s, who is given aversion 'therapy' for being gay) that people have endured. This book reminded me a little of the TV series Seven Up - because you got an insight into the story behind the person. An important book that I hope can play a part in shifting assumptions and, hopefully, encouraging empathy.