Recovery Paths: an anthology of personal journeys of hope

Common Ground Publishing (Vic) 88 pages
ISBN: 0-646-42512-9 Price: $15.00
Available from VICSERV www.vicserv.org.au

Synergy newsletter, 2004 No 1, Multicultural Mental Health Australia, page 16

Review by Evan Bichara; Australian Mental Health Consumer Network delegate and CALD Sub-committee Chairperson, Consumer Advocate for Victorian Transcultural Psychiatry Unit (VTPU), Community Educator for MIF

This new book is an outstanding, thought-provoking, insightful discussion of why Consumers - people who have a mental illness, need to share their paths of hope for overcoming symptoms, disabilities and stigma in order to live fulfilled and satisfying lives. This anthology contains a range of remarkable and varied accounts that will challenge and inspire the reader.

It is written for those requiring: coping mechanisms, hope and human endeavour into alleviating suffering in a realistic and simplified way. But it is also a must read for Clinicians, Academia and anyone who is interested in how Consumers are able to support, recover and endure life to their best. This is a book for all sorts of people - from consumers to scholars to health care providers and certainly for men and women, young and old.

Recovery Paths envisages to illustrate 28 vivid consumer stories, each unique, each thought provoking and each carry a different message of how a consumer acts, feels and thinks throughout their daily lives. It explores many consumer life experiences in the area of coping with common struggles, revitalizing through recovery, and social processes such as public housing. It describes different coping mechanisms utilized to move on with the painstaking and sometimes colourful lives of each. It attempts to portray the challenges each face and how each attempt to convert bad circumstances into a more constructive positive environment. The book conveys Consumer life journeys and deals with a voiced source of most mental illnesses, depression, anxiety, bipolar-disorder, eating disorders and schizophrenia is just to name a few.

What captures the readers attention is the books ability to portray that consumers of a mental health service similate any lay person in society. The book's approach to examining the problem of survival for a person who has been diagnosed with a slight or even chronic malfunction, is no different to any other person in our existing society.

The book also includes creative examples of script as in poetry and illustrations as in drawings which can be used for imaginal exposure and purpose.

Recover paths is a good representation of how Consumers of a Mental Health System, think and are living their lives. It is an opportunity for health Clinicians, particularly student who would like to be exposed to Consumers, concerns, daily thoughts and overall problems they face. It is a good learning tool to mental health students before getting exposed to consumers in the real world.

While some of these recovery journeys can be so familiar, the packaging of them into this delightful novel creates a healing process for both the writers and the readers, one of the primary goals of the book.

The writing workshop, which compiled this book, was conducted by the Inner East Mental Health Service Association, commonly known as Tessa Firma (in Victoria) and headed by Sandy Jeffs, a consumer and a well known author by her own rights of many other books.

Contributions to this book were many besides the talented authors and illustrators, mostly comprised of consumers of the above mentioned mental health service.

Each of the writers in this collection bring their life experience to bear, celebrating that, rather than seeking to hide behind some objective notion of facts. In so doing not only is this more accessible book for the readers, but some important cutting edge research is undertaken as well. As they write.... Each author critically engages with furnishing their unique perspective to the vast community. In doing this they are familiarising the community with Mental Health in a positive context which ultimately will breakdown the negative attitude people have on Mental Health, taking away stigma.

Part of this writing workshop (which compiled the book) formulated a housing project group which the book illustrates. Compositions of shared and personal consumer stories about housing experiences faced are included in this book. The group worked together, learnt new skills and developed a media kit which has been used to raise community awareness on this subject.

The book illustrates how safe, stable and affordable housing can change positively the lives of consumers during their recovery journey from a mental illness. It comprises of six vivid and different life paths of how public housing has played an important role in their recovery.

In conclusion, the last part of the text consists of 10 most frequently and important asked questions of "What to do if....." with answers provided with contact details for assistance.

If you have a troubling mind, you will probably find a story close to yours in this book. If you enjoy the writings of someone who combines a passion for his/her work with creative insight about a complex situation, you will find this book a treat.

The readers of this book will be rewarded with many rich insights into the wonderful contributions made for our understanding to the many variables influencing the development of Consumer life which include the critical effects of housing, stigma and the role of peers and parents.

Most of the story authors are clear, interesting and have an evocative writing style with the ability to convey both their agony and insights in a most moving way.

I truly recommend this wonderful work to be fully examined. I am sure that you will find this a delightful, easy to read and very moving book.

Book Review done by Evan Bichara,
- Delegate on AMHCN
- Consumer Advocate for VTPU
- Community Educator for MIF

[Read review from MMHA website]