Book Review- Me & Him: A Guide To Recovery

Happy Friday to all of my readers, writers and authors! I’m bringing you the last in a month long series focused upon the Memoir. It has been a wild ride and I’ve loved and learned from all of you great story-tellers:) I hope you all picked up gems that will assist you on your journey to telling your truths. We’re seen so much community from lovers of the written word in every genre and I hope to keep the momentum going in the thrilling reads ahead!.Today, I’m introducing the work of a woman whose story will resonate with anyone personally connected or diagnosed with a mental illness.

Me & Her: A Memoir Of Madness is Karen Tyrrell’s personal journey of Bipolar Disorder. She shares with us how she spiraled out of control after suffering constant harassment and abuse from the parents of a student she was teaching. The abuse, according to the author would span over a year. Me & Her, have gotten rave reviews from professionals in the Mental healthcare industry, colleagues and readers worldwide. Karen, however, isn’t finished with her story.

Karen recently published Me & Him A Guide To Recovery and the second book that serves as a teaching guide for people who are suffering from Bipolar Disorder and other mental illnesses. This book introduces readers to tips on how to become pro active in recognizing triggers that offset their illness and how to incorporate coping skills into their daily routines in order to help them better cope with their illness.

The author stresses how recovery process is different for every individual, requiring different medications, treatments and management skills. She encourages continued counseling and to embrace positive psychology as a positive trans-formative experience. Karen says that by being proactive in her own diagnosis and treatment, she hasn’t had an episode since 2006. There’s a mound of positives for recovery in this book, including sessions on how to live in the now, practicing mindfulness, managing your triggers,balancing your emotions, meditation techniques, nutrition, exercise and so much more. Karen’s goal in writing her books is to ‘humanize’ mental illness and she has accomplished her mission.

As I read Me & Him, I couldn’t help but consider, although the focus is clearly a well-being guide for people who suffer from mental illness, I also felt it was one of those books that could just as well empower everyone in their daily lives who wanted to live a balanced life. I reached out to the author for her thoughts.

I envisaged my “Guide” to be an empowering resource for those who want to recover from mental illness and remain stable.
And for everyone who wants to be mentally happy.
My recovery and resilience skills evolved from personal successes, the same tips proven by wellness experts.

Karen Tyrrell is a multi-genre Brisbane author, passionate mental health advocate, teacher, and accredited speaker. She was the co-ordinator of Logan Writers collective 2010-13.
Karen presents the Life Writing program and Resilience Training workshop to hospitals, wellness centres and the workplace. She presents creative writing workshops to schools and memoir writing workshops to libraries.

Learn more about Karen at http://www.karentyrrell.com

Have you or anyone you know been diagnosed with mental illness? Please share your experiences with us.