Showing results by publisher "Quercus" in Mental Health

Don and Mimi Galvin seemed to be living the American dream. After World War II, Don's work with the air force brought them to Colorado, where their 12 children perfectly spanned the baby boom: the oldest born in 1945, the youngest in 1965. In those years, there was an established script for a family like the Galvins - aspiration, hard work, upward mobility, domestic harmony - and they worked hard to play their parts. But behind the scenes was a different story: psychological breakdown, sudden shocking violence, hidden abuse. 

For many of us who suffer from depression or anxiety, the simple act of endurance, of having to appear 'normal', is a daunting, painful and heroic task. Getting out of bed, packing the kids off to school, showing up for work, preparing dinner...these can be astonishing achievements when it sometimes takes a superhuman effort simply to stand upright. How do you keep going?

Belinda Black was just seventeen years old when she began working as a nursing assistant at the large and foreboding 'madhouse', as it was then known to the villagers of her hometown in the north of England. Following in the footsteps of her mother, she went on to spend a decade caring for patients with widely varying mental health problems, all locked up together and out of view of society.

In Hidden Strengths, Dr. Lynn Kern Koegel and Claire LaZebnik explore how the strengths of children and young adults diagnosed with ASD are commonly overlooked or misjudged, even by trained professionals. The authors examine how outdated attitudes, a lack of sufficient training and an overreliance on standardised testing works against efforts to see the capabilities of autistic children. Focusing on the importance of motivation strategies, Hidden Strengths dives into ways to use a child's interests and strengths when teaching them.

A few years ago Alexis Fleming was bedridden with a chronic illness. Things became so bad that she wanted to end her life many times during this period - but her beloved dog, Maggie, kept her going, especially when doctors gave her just six weeks to live. Incredibly, Alexis fought her way back to health with Maggie by her side, only for Maggie to die of lung cancer two years later on a vet's operating table.

Whether you're becoming a mum for the first time or you have children who are growing up faster than you could have ever imagined, motherhood can feel like the most joyful and yet the most daunting of times. But you're not alone. From the moment I knew my first baby was a girl I started to plan, hope and dream. I couldn't wait to experience that special bond, but I wondered how I'd feel about being a working mum, how I'd hold on to the person I am.