MENTAL HEALTH

About the Author

Sandra Igwe is the Founder of The Motherhood Group, a platform and safe space to support the Black motherhood experience, through events, workshops, peer-to-peer support, collaborative projects, training, advocacy and campaigning. Sandra is co-chair of the National Inquiry into Racial Injustice in Maternity Care and a trustee of Birthrights charity.

My Black Motherhood

Mental Health, Stigma, Racism and the System Sandra Igwe

A passionate first-hand account of what it is like being a Black mother coping with postnatal anxiety and depression – and how Black women are let down when they are most vulnerable.

Joyful. Graceful. Blessed. Strong. Anxious. Depressed. Stigmatised. Stereotyped.

What happens when motherhood isn’t what you expected – and when you reach out for support, you are met with judgment and prejudice?

Sandra Igwe shares her journey as a young Black mother, coping with sleepless nights, anxiety and loneliness after the birth of her first daughter. Burdened by cultural expectations of the ‘good mother’ and the ‘strong Black woman’ trope, her mental health struggles became an uphill battle. Black women are at higher risk of developing postnatal depression but are the least likely to be identified as depressed. Sharing the voices of other mothers, Sandra examines how culture, racism, stigma and a lack of trust in services prevent women getting the help they need. Breaking open the conversation on motherhood, race, and mental health, she demands that Black women are listened to, believed, and understood.

‘Reading this book is like listening to a passionate, relatable, sister friend who can help you fight your corner. Thank you, Sandra, for sharing these deeply affecting stories and for stirring up ‘good trouble’ on behalf of Black mothers everywhere.’

Uju Asika, author of Bringing Up Race: How To Raise a Kind Child in a Prejudiced World

‘Sandra’s book gives a wonderfully candid insight into the experiences and obstacles faced by Black mums all over the country. It’s one that all health professionals need have on their bookshelves.’

Marley Hall, Midwife, Speaker and Content Creator www.midwifemarley.com

JuN 2022 | £12.99 | 224pp | pB | ISBN-9781839970085 AuDIoBook AlSo AvAIlABle

Letters from the Grief Club

How we live with loss Edited by Beth French and Kate Moreton

Foreword by Hussain Manawer

The book on grief you wish you could have had on that awful first day.

Welcome to the club you never wanted to join. When someone you love dies, it may seem impossible to know what will happen next and how you will cope. Losing someone in early adulthood, you may feel even more alone, when no-one around you seems to have had the same experience.

Our letters don’t have all the answers, but they do have some – because we’ve been through it ourselves. Some of us have written to ourselves back on that first day of grief, with the reassurance that we will get through those awful first months. Others share snippets from our grief journeys – from the experience of therapy, to the power of getting creative. Encompassing all types of loss, these stories show that there is no one way to grieve. They talk honestly about grief – the sad, the bad, and the surprisingly beautiful.

Welcome to the Grief Club, we’re so glad you’ve found us.

‘Profound, moving and utterly compelling. A beautiful reminder that despite how it may feel, in grief you are not alone.’,

Gary Andrews, author and illustrator of Finding Joy

‘This book truly and authentically opens the conversation about why we need to talk about grief and impactfully highlights the power of shared experience and connection when we experience loss.’

Dr Radha Modgil, media personality, NHS GP, medical expert for BBC Radio1 Lifehacks, and campaigner for wellbeing

JuN 2022 | £9.99 | 176pp | pB | ISBN-9781787759213

About the authors

Beth French is the Founder and Director of Let’s Talk About Loss, a charity supporting young adults who have been bereaved. Beth set up the charity following the death of her mother, when she decided to combat the lack of support for bereaved people in this age group.

Kate Moreton’s dad died when she was 17. She tries to support people both in their grief by talking about the loss and the person lost. She is privileged to have been the chair of trustees for Let’s Talk About Loss since 2019.

Supporting Parents and Families with Perinatal Mental Health

A Guide for Professionals Dr. Jane Hanley and Mark Williams

Practical manual with research- and evidence-based tips and techniques to help families with their perinatal mental health.

Providing help for practitioners to support parents and grandparents during the perinatal period, this book offers advice on how to maintain good mental health. The authors lay the groundwork for understanding the factors that affect perinatal mental health and offer practical interventions which enhance the practitioners’ ability to help both parents. The book looks at the importance of good mental health, the different types of poor mental health, as well as the impact of these on the infant. It also raises awareness of the importance of fathers’ mental health and the understanding of how parents can have different timelines for their own traumas.

MAy 2023 | £22.99 | 192pp | pB | ISBN-9781839970375

The DBT Workbook for Alcohol and Drug Addiction

Skills and Strategies for Emotional Regulation, Recovery, and Relapse Prevention Laura J. Petracek

Foreword by Gillian Galen, PsyD

The first DBT skills workbook aimed at adults with drug or alcohol addiction.

When recovering from addiction and managing a mental illness, it can feel like both have the ability to take over your life. Applying the principles of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) to the 12 Steps addiction recovery approach, this workbook equips you with the tools to regulate your emotions, develop self-management skills, reduce anxiety and stress, and feel yourself again. Written by Clinical Psychologist, Laura Petracek, this ground-breaking workbook draws on the author’s clinical and lived experience of addiction recovery, bipolar disorder, and other mental health challenges.

oct 2022 | £16.99 | 176pp | pB | ISBN-9781839972522