About this item
Your favorite YA authors including Ellen Hopkins, Maureen Johnson, and more recount their own experiences with mental illness in this raw, real, and powerful collection of essays that explores everything from ADD to PTSD.Have you ever felt like you just couldn't get out of bed? Not the occasional morning, but every day? Do you find yourself listening to a voice in your head that says "you're not good enough," "not good looking enough," "not thin enough," or "not smart enough"? Have you ever found yourself unable to do homework or pay attention in class unless everything is "just so" on your desk? Everyone has had days like that, but what if you have them every day? You're not alone. Millions of people are going through similar things. However issues around mental health still tend to be treated as something shrouded in shame or discussed in whispers. It's easier to have a broken bone - something tangible that can be "fixed" - than to have a mental illness, and easier to have a discussion about sex than it is to have one about mental health. Life Inside My Head is an anthology of true-life events from writers of this generation, for this generation. These essays tackle everything from neurodiversity to addiction to OCD to PTSD and much more. The goals of this book range from providing home to those who are feeling alone, awareness to those who are witnessing a friend or family member struggle, and to open the floodgates to conversation. Participating writers include E.K. Anderson, J.L. Armentrout, Cyn Balog, Amber Benson, Francesca Lia Block, Jessica Burkhart, Crissa Chappell, Sarah Fine, Kelly Fiore, Candace Ganger, Meghan Kelley Hall, Cynthia Hand, Ellen Hopkins, Maureen Johnson, Tara Kelly, Karen Mahoney, Melissa Marr, Kim McCreight, Hannah Moskowitz, Scott Neumyer, Lauren Oliver, Aprilynne Pike, Tom Pollack, Amy Reed, Cindy Rodriquez, Francisco Stork, Wendy Tolliver, Rob Wells, Dan Wells, Rachel Wilson, and Sara Zarr.
About the Author
Hi! I'm Jessica Burkhart (Jess) and I just moved to Kentucky from Brooklyn, NY. I was born in 1987 in Nashville, TN and graduated from Florida State University in 2009. I have two adorable kitty roommates: one-eyed Bella and almost-three-legged Bliss. I wrote my first middle-grade novel, TAKE THE REINS, in college and sold it just before graduation at nineteen as part of a four-book deal to Simon & Schuster. I heart: anything sparkly, unicorns, pink, my friends, pens, horses, photography and lip gloss. I used to be an equestrian before I became a writer. I had to stop due to scoliosis. I had a spinal fusion at Shriners Hospital for Children in St. Louis in 2000. In addition to CANTERWOOD, I'm self-publishing a new horse-themed e-book series called WEST COAST PREP. Check it out at http://www.westcoastprepnews.com.I also wrote a 4-installment chapter book series called UNICORN MAGIC (www.UnicornMagicSeries.com) . The first book is BELLA'S BIRTHDAY UNICORN and the third publishes in December 2014. My debut young adult novel, WILD HEARTS, published in May 2015 from Bloomsbury. I also pen (no projects pubbed yet) YA under my real name, Jess Ashley. Currently, I'm working on KEPT, a YA verse novel. http://www.authorjessashley.com.I blog a lot, so you'll find the most up to date info there: http://www.jessicaburkhartblog.com. I also Tweet @jessicaburkhart and my Instagram is @ jessashley87.For all things Canterwood related, check out http://www.canterwoodcrest.com. Oh, yeah! I can autograph Kindle versions of Canterwood books via the Internet here: http://www.authorgraph.com/authors/JessicaBurkhart. It's free and really easy! :)
