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Former Bahrain resident and publisher Robin Barratt’s new book focusing on mental health is set to hit the shelves next month, following Mental Health Awareness Month in May, and features entries from 32 countries including the kingdom.
Anxiety and Depression is the seventh in a series of books he has compiled and published on the subject.
The others include Suicide – volumes one and two, Addiction and Mental Health – volumes one, two and three.
The latest 250-page book anthologises a collection of interviews, personal stories, poetry and short prose from around the world.
“I am still currently in the process of compiling it and have received almost 100 submissions. It is due for release mid-June, but with a submission deadline of May 31,” the 62-year-old Briton told GulfWeekly.
“It will be available as a paperback and in Kindle format on Amazon worldwide or directly from me in the UK,” the former security industry specialist, who currently lives in Norwich, added.
Being on the autistic spectrum, Robin has had many mental health challenges throughout his life, which is why the theme of the book holds importance to him.
“I have been promoting positive mental health and mental health awareness for much of my life, and have taken a number of courses with organisations including the Red Cross. In 2020, I formed Poetry for Mental Health (www.poetryformentalhealth.org), which is now the biggest organisation of its kind, supporting thousands of people around the world through words and poetry,” the former Hoora resident said.
Visual artist and poet Anju Kapoor from Manama, who has been living in the kingdom with her family for the last 30 years, has shared her verses for the book, bringing alive a personal emotional journey.
“Excavating the Wound emerged at a time of deep personal introspection when a gamut of my feelings, grief and resilience met, as a result of which I found it necessary to process a silent grief,” the 54-year-old creative talent, who resorts to writing as a ‘coping mechanism’ to process her feelings, said.
An excerpt from her poem reads:
I want the solace of unclenched fists,
the freedom of a sky unchained, unbound
I want to find myself
in the wreckage of old bruises
Robin too finds books, words and poetry to be ‘therapeutic and cathartic’ in difficult times, and he tries to help others cope by motivating and inspiring them to write, and then publishing their words and work.
The founder of the Bahrain Writers’ Circle (BWC), who has released more than 60 titles so far, said, “The BWC proved crucial in my writing, as prior to this I was just writing within the true crime genre, but after forming the Circle, and compiling My Beautiful Bahrain (2012), I moved away from true crime into compiling and publishing anthologies,” he added.
The author is hopeful of moving back to live in Bahrain and believes there is a lot that the kingdom can do to develop awareness about mental health.
“Not many companies offer mental health awareness and support programmes to their employees and I am not aware of any corporate mental health awareness training on the island.
“So, my goal for 2025 is to somehow find a way of introducing this aspect of wellness and self-care to the kingdom,” he revealed.
To submit your entry or for more information, follow @RobinBarratt1 on Instagram.
