'A stellar cast of writers and thinkers' Nathan Filer An explorer spends a decade preparing for an expedition to the South Pole; what happens when you live for a goal, but once it's been accomplished, you discover it's not enough? A successful broadcast journalist ends up broke, drunk and sleeping rough; what makes alcohol so hard to resist despite its ruinous consequences? A teenage girl tries to disappear by starving herself; what is this force that compels so many women to reduce their size so drastically? In this essay collection, writers share the struggles that have shaped their lives - loss, depression, addiction, anxiety, trauma, identity and others. But as they take you on a journey to the darkest recesses of their mind, the authors grapple with challenges that haunt us all.

'A really clear, funny, useful guide to mental health.' Keith Stuart, author of A Boy Made of Blocks 'Warm, welcoming and wise.' Red magazine 'This is a funny, brutal, kind, sobering, remarkably brave and clear-eyed book. Compelling and necessary.' Warren Ellis, author of Normal, Gun Machine and Transmetropolitan 'Emily Reynolds is a brilliant writer on an important subject. And hilarious too.' Adam Rutherford 'This book isn't just brilliantly written and welcoming in its tone; it's honest, practical and important. It is going to help so many people - including friends and family who desperately want to help a loved one but don't know how.' Emma Gannon, author of Ctrl Alt Delete Emily Reynolds is mad. After years of trying - and failing - to cope with her symptoms, she was finally diagnosed as bipolar in her early twenties. Since then Emily has been on a mission to find the best way to live with her illness, and now she wants to share that knowledge with you. Living with mental illness is isolating, infuriating and painful - but also very boring and, sometimes, kind of gross. A Beginner's Guide to Losing Your Mind is a companion to make the journey feel a little less lonely. A Beginner's Guide to Losing Your Mind gives you tips on: How to deal with exam pressure at school and university How to date when you are mentally ill (and what to expect when you're on the other side) Navigating the internet and the online mental health community Handling self-harm and suicidal thoughts Diagnosis, treatment and maintaining your mental health A blackly funny, deeply compassionate and extremely practical book, A Beginner's Guide to Losing Your Mind is a candid exploration of mental illness that is both a personal account of what it's like to live with mental illness and a guide to dealing with and understanding it.

Earthen walls have always been a part of Japanese culture. Due to habits of aesthetic interpretation, few people realize that all of Japan's castles, temples and tea houses are maintained using their traditional methods. Clay, sand, straw and other natural fibers, seaweed, wood and bamboo. These natural materials are used to make the Japanese earthen wall. Along with a wide variety of makes and models of trowels, extensive time-tested techniques are used to create beautifully appealing atmospheres out of earth. These can be incorporated into todays world-wide green building movement to create a better balance between ourselves and our living environment.

This book offers a practical guide to the everyday actions and decisions that anyone can take to promote gender equality and social justice in their own life and the world around them. Beyond Burning Bras: Feminist Activism for Everyone is an antidote to the poison of shock jocks who caricature the women's movement as a radical fringe of man-haters and paint activists as spoiled hooligans. Two real-life feminist activists, Laura Finley and Emily Stringer focus on the mainstream of everyday feminism, explaining what feminism is really all about and fanning out a spectrum of simple, imaginative, user-friendly ways in which ordinary readers can promote gender equality and social equity in their own lives and in the world around them. Beyond Burning Bras taps the life stories and first-person accounts of 50 ordinary individuals of every age, sex, sexuality, class, nationality, race, ethnicity, and learning style. All of them tell how they found within themselves the courage to take a stand on the front lines of feminist activism, whether in subtle private ways or in life-changing public ways. After a survey of the history of feminism in the United States, the authors and contributors show in successive chapters how feminism today meshes with other forms of activism relating to the workplace, sexual violence, the environment, politics, human bodies, the arts, youth, empowerment, and mothering. Comprises over 50 entries arranged topically to show the broad reach of contemporary feminism Presents more than 40 contributors, including scholars, activists, professionals, students, and more Offers a timeline of key events in feminist activism provided at beginning of volume Includes an annotated appendix of recommended resources for feminist activists, including books, websites, and periodicals