Tag Archive | mental-health

The Girl From Pompey

May15

Please welcome Bryony Best to my blog. Hello Bryony! I’m so happy to have you on my blog today.

Please introduce yourself to those reading this blog post.

I publish memoir style books that shine a light on healing trauma, addiction recovery and mental health. Spirituality is also embedded into all my books, and I share my own spiritual development and growth throughout my stories.  

I am also a Holistic Therapist who has studied mediumship for many years. 

My books are currently being used as resources within mental health in the U.K. and USA. I also created my own branding and I currently sell TGFP limited edition merchandise alongside my books.  

Has writing always been part of your life and when did you “know” that it was time to start writing your first book?

I have written poetry since I was a child, but I never thought of myself as a writer. I am a spiritual person who meditates daily, and it was while meditating that inspiration hit me and I started writing my first book back in 2011.

How difficult was it to write your first book?

It was easy. I was unaware of what I should have been doing and therefore I just transferred my ideas and knowledge into my laptop. Now, I plot and plan my chapters, research the theme and am more aware of what is required from me.

Have you ever wanted to give up and what stopped you?

Recently I have considered whether writing is a viable career for me financially, but I love creating stories and sharing my experiences to help others. I work multiple jobs and volunteer too, but I feel it is important to love what you are doing. I tried chasing the high-powered career and it did not make me happy. Writing and helping others makes me happy.

Who is the most supportive of you and your dream to be a writer?

My fiancé believes I will become financially independent and a famous author in the future, and he is my biggest supporter alongside my readers.

Anything specific you want to tell your readers?

My first book contains ten years of research for happiness and fulfilment, and I believe this is why the book has received such great reviews.

What is the best advice given to you (book or otherwise), and by whom?

Be true to yourself. When you fall asleep in bed are you happy with your choices? If yes, then continue.

What is your target audience and what aspect of your writing do you feel targets that audience?

My books entertain everyone, but they also contain themes for very serious subjects. Any person seeking guidance or advice for overcoming trauma, mental health, inspiration, or addiction can especially benefit from reading my book.

Did the cover evolve the same way, or did you work with someone to make it come together for you?

I have a clear idea of what I want before I finish the book making the cover design easier. I usually hire the same cover artist who is very talented.

What are you working on now? Can we get a peek, an excerpt?

I am currently writing my tenth book, and it will be book number five in The Girl from Pompey series. The story continues from my last book and is set in Wales. I share details of my new life, but it is not long before my demons catch up with me. The book has two timelines, one in the present and one in the past set in a mental hospital.

Any last words before we wrap things up?

I love writing books and connecting with readers. I publish disturbingly honest books based on my life. At the heart of my writing is a desire to help others. If you are ever in need of help, then please do not suffer in silence. Reach out or tell a friend. Call a help line or find someone to help you.

Bryony Best currently lives in Wales with her fiancé and much loved chihuahua dog. Bryony works part-time for a charity and writes books but hopes to be a full-time author in the future. In her spare time Bryony volunteers with her registered pet therapy dog in a local care-home alongside volunteering as a Reiki healer at a local church. Bryony is a Reiki Master with a diploma for Crystal Healing, alongside training for Mediumship for many years. In Bryony’s books she shares wisdom and Spirituality alongside her triumph defeating her own addictions and overcoming mental illness.

Social Media 

Bookbub – https://www.bookbub.com/profile/bryony-best

Instagram – https://instagram.com/bestbryony?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/thegirlfrompompey

Tik Tok – https://www.tiktok.com/@bryonybestauthor?_t=8aVbG7g14iM&_r=1

Website – https://www.bryonybest.com

Twitter – @bryony_best 

Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/friend/i?invite_token=MTNiMmM0OWItNjJlYy00MjBlLWE1OWQtNzdjNGJiNDEyMDFl

Linked In https://uk.linkedin.com/in/bryony-best-17b393221

X https://x.com/bryony_best?t=WM9_eGepNWjSriXReJVMJA&s=09

Amazon.com Author page – Amazon.com: Bryony Best: books, biography, latest updateBook on Amazon.com https://a.co/d/cxzDC7m

Number One New Release! Thank you!

Feb6

Link

Shadow is a children’s picture story about the death/loss of a pet dog named Shadow, and how it affects both children and adults. Emphasis is how it affects a child or children as this is often the first time they learn about death, the death of a dear pet is palpable, and how to help a child or children cope. Grief is real and it is hard for children to cope as they have nothing in which to compare this new loss, thus the focus is on how it affects children and how to help them cope using strategies such as talking about the loss, drawing pictures of their pet, lots of hugs and love, and possibly plant a new tree or flower in memory of the lost pet. This story helps children know that grief is normal and they are not alone in the dealing with and healing process of this type of grief. In the back section of the story are parental tips on knowing how to help your child and yourself. Learning about grief and/or pet loss is essential for social development in all children. Children are better able to understand the grief process when the time comes for a relative to pass away. This concept and principles can be taught at an early age in situations where a child’s best friend has a pet pass away or a family member.  

New Release of “Shadow”

Feb5

#NewRelease! $2.99 Ebook out, softcover out on February 16th! “Help a child or children cope with and understand grief with pet loss.” Palpable Loss! https://amazon.com/dp/B0DW2LHNW7/

Shadow is a children’s picture story about the death/loss of a pet dog named Shadow, and how it affects both children and adults. Emphasis is how it affects a child or children as this is often the first time they learn about death, the death of a dear pet is palpable, and how to help a child or children cope. Grief is real and it is hard for children to cope as they have nothing in which to compare this new loss, thus the focus is on how it affects children and how to help them cope using strategies such as talking about the loss, drawing pictures of their pet, lots of hugs and love, and possibly plant a new tree or flower in memory of the lost pet. This story helps children know that grief is normal and they are not alone in the dealing with and healing process of this type of grief. In the back section of the story are parental tips on how to help your child and yourself. Learning about grief and/or pet loss is essential for social development in all children. Children are better able to understand the grief process when the time comes for a relative to pass away. This concept and principles can be taught at an early age in situations where a child’s best friend has a pet pass away or a family member.

@MaryLSchmidt#BooksWorthReading#SCBWI#IARTG#BookBoost#childrensbook#picturebook#pets#petloss

Survivor’s Mind : When Childhood Trauma and Poetry Collide

Oct12

Book Link

From Amazon:

A dark and poetic look into the world of childhood trauma, family secrets and into the mind of a survivor. Written through tears and empowered by strength, each poem amplifies the voices of the shame, secrets and silence that accompanies the lifelong struggles of being a statistic in a world full of abused children. A window into her upcoming memoir, A Childhood Tragedy Under A Mother’s Watch. May these poems bring comfort and strength to those who can relate and an understanding to those who don’t.

My Review:

Top reviews from the United States

Mary Schmidt

5.0 out of 5 stars What pain was held inside

Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2024

Verified Purchase

Mellon has taken on a challenge of writing poetic verse regarding childhood abuse of all kinds. And they are about her own experiences. No child should be abused, ever! No child should have one parent a monster and the other act blind about what was going with their very own child. Society says abuse is wrong, yet society also does not want to get involved, a large percentage of the time. To have repressed memories come forth from buried deep within oneself, Mellon has overcome what she endured, and now she writes books and poetry to express what horror she endured, and to help others is similar situations.

Grief, Loss, Love, and Anger

May27

It should go without saying that with great love comes great loss. As fiercely one can love another, then loss happens, that is how acute this loss will be. I made this post public in the hope that it will be shared and thus, help others. I’m writing this post with sincere honesty. If my words help to validate another person’s loss, then my pain in writing this verbiage was worth it.

If a person loses a child, a parent, a sibling, and so on, the level of your love will equal the pain of your loss. The King of Loss is Child Loss.

I’ve lost many loved ones, many felt more acutely and for longer than others. I’ve lost many, but my first horrible and acute loss was the death of my baby brother after heart surgery to repair the heart issues that came with Down Syndrome. An innocent one, not quite age three years. A baby I changed diapers, gave small bits of nutrition and heart medicine (digitalis), and that meant careful measuring of dose, or he could die, and I was the one honored with baking his last earthly birthday cake. It took a lot of time to deal with this loss.

Sadly, I gave birth to my oldest son, knowing he was already gone to heaven, as he’d strangled on his umbilical cord inside me, yet still had to deliver him. It did not go well at all. At that point in time, Shane dying ripped me apart. It was too much. Dealing mechanisms failed. I chose a 30 day stay in a psych unit coming to grips with his death. I still feel his loss to this day, but not acutely, not all consuming. With the great love I had for him, the loss was too much. I wasn’t weak. My little brother had died one year prior, my stepdad only a few months earlier.

The following year, I gave birth to my rainbow baby, Gene, and I was scared as he was born blue, after 30 plus hours of intense labor. It came down to one last push from me and the doctor using suction cups to bring him into the world. I thank the Lord every day for this blessing. That was December 1983. Something bright and good came into my world.

Come April 1985, my third son was born. I was in bliss. We were a family of four. I won’t delve into the relationship I had at the time with my boy’s father. Sammy was a happy and well-fed baby, just like his brother, Gene. He started getting sick a lot in September 1989. Multiple sinus infections, ear infections, and he even picked up mononucleosis! His mono spot was positive, and the doctors were amazed. Source: Most likely grocery shopping cart. Reason: Lowered immune system due to treating his multiple infections.

He remained sick and had head x-rays and CT scans, sadly misread by a radiologist in Salina. His pediatrician never looked at the scans. The Ellsworth doctors never looked at the scans. During this time, Sam had a “bad head hurt” that he didn’t tell me about until after diagnosis.

Mono comes from the Epstein Barr Virus. If a person gets this virus, they can get nasopharyngeal cancer. That was the cause of my little boy developing his nasopharyngeal cancer. When finally diagnosed, it had already spread to his brain and both lungs. He endured a living h*** for eight months at KU MED, after diagnosis.

His manner of death was traumatizing and with horrendous pain at only age five years. My loss was so palpable, I was not a pleasant person. He died in October 1990.

I was extremely angry at God. Why did my son suffer? I still attended church; I was picky on how things would be for my middle son when he was young. I was ANGRY at God. With GREAT love comes GREAT loss. Acute loss that is still felt at times, and right now as I write this piece. Many years, I’d go up to confession and discuss my anger at God. Bishop Fitzsimmons helped me the most. I no longer have anger at God, and I haven’t had anger at Him for a very long time. Not since 1993.

Why did I write all the above? There are people in the Ellsworth community and county, and around the world who are going through huge losses. It’s an unquantifiable loss for each person. It’s normal to go back and forth after a huge loss. Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross became my friend, and she helped me the most with phone calls and emails after Sammy died. Our connection was special.

People are hurting with grief. Sometimes, when we are hurt, our hurt and anger gets misplaced upon another person. I see that clearly happening here, thus, it happens around the world. My post is to help those who are hurt. Your pain is validated. Only you know your pain. Your pain is real. Anyone can talk with me. I validate what you feel. I get it. Email me, text me, drop a note in messenger, etcetera. I will help you anyway I can.

I’m NOT a doctor and doctors are the people to see if your situational depression doesn’t get better. I’m a sounding board and I will cry with you. I pray my message is clear.

Lord,

Lift the hearts of the brokenhearted in Your Glorious Name.

Amen.

The Eyes of a Killer

Mar12

Book Link

From Amazon:

Janie Fletcher’s ordinary life is about to get complicated. Five lost souls need her help to find peace and vengeance for their untimely death. Her only impediments are her self-doubt, fear of insanity, and bipolar disorder. If she can overcome those obstacles, she just might be able to stop a psychopathic killer poised to commit his next murder.

My Review:

This is one of those must-read books. I don’t know if all of this is fiction or not, but the sheer gravity of a stone cold serial killer is much to take in. Mind you, I lived with a cold-blooded killer, not knowing my mother could do that to a person. But this book is not about me. This book is about innocent people and innocent victims. Ghosts who speak to you? I’ve had two experiences with spirits and brief ones, but they were real. They also never came back as what they needed me to know, they conveyed in a nonverbal form. One was to comfort me, and the other was for finally letting my step-dads death be heard. How he didn’t shoot himself. Again, this review isn’t about me. My point is I believe in ghosts and how they use a type of conduit to get a message across. I believe our souls go to heaven only through belief in Jesus. Through Jesus, we have an afterlife. That written, I believe that when a brief visit happens, that spirit just stops by to give comfort and healing. The spirits in this story were the opposite. They needed their stories told, and they needed to get a serial killer caught. Bipolar disorder fluctuates with the seasons, the medication level in one’s blood, and so on. It was excellent to include not one but two people with Bipolar disorder for two reasons. First, people need to try and understand mood swings. Secondly, it’s important to know that some with bipolar disorder have additional abilities others do not.