Academic and author Kim Hodges will be talking about her latest book Girl Over the Edge which captures her lived experience of mental illness. 

Have you ever wondered what happens in a mental health clinic or hospital? Ms Hodges talks about her experiences in a raw, honest and confronting way, giving insight and challenging beliefs and attitudes to reduce the stigma around mental illness.

In this follow up memoir to her incredibly successful debut memoir Girl on the Edge (2016), she takes the reader into severe episodes of depression, on the road to recovery and everything in between. 

“This memoir captures: the denial, stigma and shame I have in my own mind about mental illness; the debilitating physical and mental agony of the illness; engagements with health professionals, and facing my own mortality,” Ms Hodges said.

“With statistics as high as 1 in 5 people in Australia experiencing mental illness this is a real health issue. Farmers may experience an even higher rate than the average of stress and depression.

“Particularly men living in rural communities are susceptible to higher levels of mental illness due to isolation and difficulty in accessing services. These are some of the challenges faced by communities in the  Hunter Valley. 

“If you break your leg you get it fixed, if you have diabetes you watch your diet and take medication. If you suffer from mental illness you need to access treatment from health professionals.     

“After many hospitalisations and as I wrote my memoir Girl Over the Edge, I came to realise that people who experience mental illness are everyday people. I am a mother, had worked at a University and am now an author but I was debilitated by mental illness to the point of being unable to function.

“Those people who experience mental illness are parents, teenagers, women and men and yes farmers.  People just like you and me.

“Lets challenge the stigma and shame around mental illness by talking about it.”

Ms Hodges will be speaking at 10am Scone and 2pm Merriwa Libraries on Thursday 12 April 2018 and at 10am at Murrurundi Library on Friday 13 April. 

The book will be on sale for $30 at the presentations.

For more information visit www.kimhodges.id.au