You Are Not Alone

You Are Not Alone Synopsis

In her second book of poems for young people, Shauna Darling Robertson takes an in-depth look at mental health and wellbeing. 

Just like our physical health, our mental health can fluctuate over the course of our lives, or even from day to day. The poems in this collection explore a variety of topics, from how it can feel to live with various mental health conditions, to what it’s like dealing with with the everyday pressures and challenges faced by teenagers and young adults. 

Do your emotions feel like mosquitoes ?one minute and breakbeats the next? Does your mind behave like a cross between a cloud and a bulldozer?? Have you ever said ‘fine, thanks’ when how you really feel is heartsick and helpless? Have you bent yourself so far out of shape in the hope of fitting in that you’ve lost touch with who you are? Read these poems and know that you are definitely not alone.

Shauna says, “Young people’s mental health has never been so high on the public agenda, and rightly so. In the past three years, the likelihood of young people having a mental health problem has increased by 50%.” 

These poems are thought-provoking, reassuring, heart-breaking, galvanising, funny and hopeful. They embody a diversity of voices and experiences, and also invite us to consider how some aspects of our society might help or hinder our sense of wellbeing. 

Whether reading alone or sharing in secondary classrooms or other group settings, these poems are sure to prompt a wealth of reflections and discussions.