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A Personal Poetic Journey Through The Mental Health Minefield
By Christopher Fairweather
ISBN: 978-1-84747-304-2
Published: 2007
Pages: 143
Key Themes: poetry, bullying, asperger’s syndrome, depression, paranoia, hearing voices, obsessive compulsive disorder, prejudice, change
Description
This book is a collection of poetry and prose, of seriousness and wit, of raw emotion and considered debate.
The book is designed to show to the reader what it is like to live with problems of mental health; how people with problems like this can be treated unfairly and with prejudice by those around them, and how that prejudice can affect the sufferer in the long term.
Essentially the book is trying to make the reader think, and educate them in what living with mental health problems can be like. The book also tries to change the way the uninitiated think about mental health problems.
About the Author
For some years now Christopher Fairweather has been writing poetry about his complex and varied experiences, both of illness and of other people, and he has been performing them in front of audiences at local poetry groups in the Hampshire area. These groups include the Salisbury Poetry Café, the Hanger Farm Poets corner in Totton, and the Test Valley Poets meetings each month. He has also performed further afield in Birmingham but this is his first published work which includes both poetry and other reflections.
Book Extract
Though I did not realize it at the time, that day when I was given this Bible would change my life forever. It is true to say that my problems did escalate when I read the Bible, but I do not blame religion for my problems. In some ways it was an extension of a condition I have had since I was a baby, but did not find out about until 2006. This condition is known as Asperger’s Syndrome.
Asperger’s Syndrome has been described as ‘having a dash of autism.’ Many sufferers can have specialist skills in many fields such as being brilliant artists, writers and many other things as well, but we often come across as rather eccentric, strange or slightly weird or a loner. The condition was not officially recognized until 1993, and before this time many sufferers were simply thought of as eccentric, but if you want to be accepted at school, eccentric is not the thing to be. At school in order to fit in you often have to be ‘cool.’ This was something I was never interested in being, and I would say as much to my peers. This with hindsight was perhaps not the best thing to do, and I got a lot of stick and was bullied a lot because of it. This next poem sums up how I felt and how I was treated because of my views:
Uncool and Proud of It
I’m uncool and proud of it,
I believe that’s the way.
I’m uncool and proud of it,
And that’s how I’ll stay,
For in coolness there’s sneering
And pressure to conform,
To be things you don’t want to be,
And that is the norm.
To be cool at school,
You have to act like your peers,
Or endure their taunting,
Like I did for years.
But they were the cool ones,
And they caused all the trouble,
And as I wouldn’t conform,
They reduced me to rubble.
But they didn’t succeed
In making me live life their way.
“I’m uncool” I shouted,
“And that’s how I’ll stay.
I’ll do the things I want to,
Not just what’s cool.
I’ll live life my own way,
And not to your rule.
So please say I’m an anorak,
I really don’t care,
If I want to stare at trains,
I’ll do it, SO THERE.
I’m not hurting your lives,
By doing what I do,
So why do you bully me?
What’s in it for you?
And you’re not going to break me,
No matter how hard you try.
I do the things I want
While you live a lie.
You might make me feel sad,
But I won’t give in,
And no matter how you try,
You will not win.”
So I’m uncool and proud of it,
And will be forever,
While those who want cool
Are at the end of their tether,
Trying to keep up
With whatever’s in fashion,
Even though deep down
They hate it with a passion.
I say,
“Join the uncool army,
We do what we please.
We don’t taunt all others,
To bring them to their knees.
We just get on with what we want,
And so could you.”
And if the we all did that,
We’d all be happier too.
Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.
Graeme Sandford (verified owner) –
Tony’s journey is still continuing. I’m just glad to have met such an inspirational person. His memory is phenomonal and his recitations always of the highest quality.
This E-book lets you in on his life with Asperger’s and OCD in an intimately open way, and made me think all the more of him and what he has experienced to get where he is today.