The No Bullsh*t Depression Sketches.

My Sketchy Head has signed a publishing deal! The No Bullsh*t Depression Sketches: A Guide to Overcoming Low Mood and Depression will be published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers, an imprint of Hachette, in January 2024. The book will be sold in the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand in paperback and e-book formats.

The book is a visual self-help guide for anyone experiencing low mood or depression, combining lived experiences of depression and psychology, to provide psychoeducation and practical tools and give readers the confidence to manage their mental health.

When the idea for this book came about, with the help of someone who has long been in my support network, I knew we were onto something. I’ve tried and tested a good number of “side hustles” and projects of every flavour (literary magazines, newsletters, mental health events and more besides) but none felt as good as this one. I knew that people needed a different way to get help and support for their mental health. I knew that my ability to illustrate, and make accessible, concepts around mental health, psychology and just looking after ourselves – through the lens of someone who has been depressed six times – was doing exactly that.

Even though I knew we were onto a winner, I will never ever ever ever get over being offered a publishing deal. It’s a miracle I’m yet to frame the email and put it up on my wall, to be honest! I feel such warmth, gratitude and exhilaration every time I think about it – and that’s no exaggeration (and that’s even when I’m neck deep in more illustrations than you would believe a book like this requires). Of course, a publishing deal of any kind is always such a gift and an incredible affirmation of your creative output. But with this book comes the opportunity to help so many people (around the world!) in a way that I wish I could have been helped. It takes someone’s (mine!) lived experience of depression, interweaves it with the lessons that ten years of therapy has taught me – and the confidence and hope that has gifted me – and puts it out there for others to hopefully feel empowered and supported by. We are all able to do something to help our own mental health – it’s just that most of us lack the knowledge and the support to be able to do so.

To me, knowing that we all have some agency in our recovery, and the ability to pull ourselves out of a depression hole, is one of the most empowering realisations there is.

At the time of posting, the book is half-written and will be completed by the end of the year. There’s so much to think about in writing a book like this, and no doubt I will write a post about it in the not too distant future (in-keeping with my mantra of “if you didn’t blog about it, did it even happen?”). But, for all the complexities and tough questions around how to make this book as inclusive as possible, I want to share with total delight that it is an absolute joy and a privilege to write and illustrate The No Bullsh*t Depression Sketches.

I must say, I haven’t got over the fact that I’m creating the book I always wanted and needed – and I don’t suppose I ever will.

If you’d like a sneak peek while it’s a WIP, you can follow My Sketchy Head on instagram.

Big Sketchy Love,

My Sketchy Head.