Ilana and Martin Gerschlowitz are an ordinary middle-class South African family – young, newly married with bright, promising futures. Ilana falls pregnant and gives birth to David, a happy, healthy baby boy. At 10 months old, David suffers recurring ear infections, and at 11 months old a terrible fever sends him to hospital. David’s behaviour abruptly changes – he no longer looks at his parents, his motor and budding language skills disappear, and the light in his eyes dims. It is the beginning of a journey with autism that few parents would ever want to encounter, and yet a staggering number of children are now diagnosed with autism, and the number of diagnoses rises every year.

Ilana and Martin work tirelessly to understand David’s autism diagnosis, and to search for ways to treat their son. The couple arrange an international autism conference, open a treatment centre for autistic children, and begin outreach programs for underprivileged families dealing with autism.

Ilana falls pregnant again and their third son, Aaron, develops normally. And then the unthinkable happens – at 16 months Aaron develops ear infections and they decide to insert grommets. Immediately after the procedure, they realise that Aaron is not behaving in his usual manner. Within days, it becomes clear that Aaron, too, has developed autism, and their journey begins afresh. Armed with the knowledge gained from years of treating David, the couple set about ensuring that Aaron’s condition is treated swiftly and carefully.

Based on interviews in schools, workplaces and homes, this book tells the story of an epidemic of unkindness, uncovering the stories of bullies all around us. The online environment has given bullies a much wider range of tools to use to abuse their targets. Marion Scher tracks the links between bullying and mental health issues.

As Marion says: ‘I had to brace myself to hear the often heartbreaking and vicious stories from those who encountered torturous relationships. The big question I kept asking myself was, “How could you get involved with such a person?” But just who is that kind of person, and is it even possible to spot them?’

She calls on the advice of a range of experts to help make sense of the bullies and their victims, with a range of advice to help manage the bully boss, the bully in school and the bully in a relationship. The book has stories, statistics, advice and lots of help to understand how bullies work.

It is time for victims to call bullies to account and for schools, workplaces and society as a whole to put a stop to the tormentors.

An average of 1400 people call the South African Depression and Anxiety Suicide Helpline every day. And those are just the people who know it exists and are able to reach out for help, either for themselves or for a loved one.

Journalist Marion Scher has spent years speaking to people suffering from depression or some other form of mental illness and felt compelled to share some of these stories in Surfacing. Each chapter tells a different and very personal story, from a Springbok rugby player faced overnight with mental illness to a successful businessman who attempted suicide three times in one day. A new mother whose horrific real experiences didn’t match the Instagram photos of blissful motherhood she had expected, and a mother’s heartbreaking story of surviving the loss of her teenage daughter to suicide. The common thread that runs through the stories is how each person learnt to deal with their illness, conquer their personal mountains and go on to lead healthy, fulfilled lives – more than they’d ever hoped for.

Most stories of mental illness go untold, hidden away, for fear of the stigma that mental illness holds. Marion hopes this book will inspire you to reach out for help for yourself or to offer encouragement to people you know who are battling secret demons.

Dieses Buch erzhlt von Jonas, der in den Bergen lebt und sich des Nachts mit Hilfe seines Regenbogenkristalls in die Welt der Kristalle und Naturwesen trumt. Er findet dabei Freunde und entdeckt wundersame und faszinierende Dinge. Das Buch vermittelt Wissen und Einblicke in die natrlichen Zusammenhnge der Erde und darber hinaus.