What We Buried

Written by Kate A. Boorman

Henry Holt and Company

978-1-250-19167-0

320 pp.

Ages 14-18

February 2019

You created your reality; live with it. (pg. 260)

But the realities that have been created for eighteen-year-old Jory Brewer and his sixteen-year-old sister Lavinia (Liv) are only minimally their own doing. Jory, born with Moebius syndrome, has several paralyzed craniofacial nerves which affect his appearance, his speech and his eating. He may choose to say very little and be more socially withdrawn but how others respond to him is not on him. He'd had one corrective surgery as a child and doctors had recommended further intervention but his parents didn't think it was a good investment. On the other hand, what they thought was a good investment was putting Liv on the child beauty pageant circuit, including a stint on Darling Divas, the reality TV show about pageants and their contestants. Unfortunately, in the aftermath of that career, Liv is now suing her parents for "irreparable and lasting harm." (pg. 11)

On the day of the trial, their parents disappear from the courthouse. Liv returns to the house, for the first time in months, ostensibly to help Jory but more to learn what has happened to their parents whom she believes Jory is helping. When she thinks she knows where they've gone, the two siblings head out to an old cabin their mother had inherited and which their father had always wanted to sell. But in a chilling road trip during which the two are haunted by fleeting visions, possible déjà vu, recurrent memories and danger, Liv and Jory transform from squabbling sibs to something unexpected.

And there it was–an uncanny sense of temporality. Like my reaction to what was happening–the focus of my attention–was a better measure of time than the minutes clicking over on the digital clock.  Everything was beginning to feel malleable and unfixed, like if I looked hard enough at the road illuminated by our headlights, I'd see beyond it, or behind it, or something. (pg. 103)

Kate A. Boorman has written a thriller that is equal parts plot and character in which both are significant and extraordinary. As the reader struggles to sort out the plot including what happened to the teens' parents, how the repeating news story on the radio is important, and what is real and either supernatural or illusion, Jory and Liv are exploring who they were, who they are and who they want to be.

Book jacket of What We Buried by Kate A. Boorman

The front cover of What We Buried may look like the story is about Liv and her perceptions but the back cover reveals that Jory's perspective is just as important. It's the way the two siblings see things about themselves, each other, their parents and the outside world and how it sees them that makes What We Buried intense and emotional.

You know the saying "Seeing is believing"? It's a problem, when you think about it. I mean, it's reasonable for people to want proof before they accept something they've been told. I do. I'm a fan of logic and demonstrable facts. But the idea inherent: that you can believe what you see? That's majorly flawed, because people usually have no idea what they're looking at. It's why people think my sister is a lovely, tragic victim. It's why they so often assume I can't tie my own shoes. (pg. 6)

The contrast of reality and illusion is a complex one in What We Buried and that's because Kate A. Boorman draws us in but doesn't join us for the journey. It's up to the reader to determine what might be real and what might be memory or what might be something else entirely. See if you can see beyond the masks of Liv's beauty and Jory's disorder and look deeper into their stories to find what may be buried, both literally and figuratively.

Counting Wolves

Written by Michael F. Stewart

978-0-993757945

217 pp.

Ages 12+

August 2017

"For the last three years I've been hunted by the wolf–wait."  I hold a hand up.  "I  know it sounds crazy–but I've been holding it back with my count.  It works like a magic spell, and it keeps others safe too, everyone.  I've felt the wolf.  I've seen it." (pg. 140)

We all have wolves at our doors.  Some just howl louder or claw more violently.  They may be the wolves of past events come to haunt us, or bad thoughts that want to become actions, or the ones that portend disaster.  But how do you survive the wolves when they're always, always waiting to get you?

Fifteen-year-old Milly Malone is convinced that she has found the magic spell to banish the wolf to the Dark Wood and survive: she counts.  She counts to 100 each time she passes through doorways or eats a single bite or speaks.  Perpetuating the predator theme, Milly will only cross a door's threshold by hopping.  Needless to say, she's often late for class, eats very little in the time allotted, and people get frustrated waiting for her to express herself verbally.  Her boyfriend Billy is her rock, defending her to those who might ridicule her, but even he can't help her when she hears the smacking of jaws, sees the welts of claw marks on her back and collapses, "Lost in the blackest of fairy tales." (pg. 6)

After a visit to Emerg with her step-mother Adriana who believes Milly's issue is an eating disorder–Milly's mother passed away three years earlier and her father is away on business–Milly is admitted to the Pediatric Psychiatry ward where she meets an assortment of characters.  There's Peter, a large boy who is convinced he's a fairy (a leg cast is indicative of a recent flying attempt off the building); the manic Vanet who "is like some stoned fairy godmother who's as liable to kill you as help you"; pg. 81); Red, a girl who dresses in red and is plagued by nightmares; Eleanor a.k.a. Pig, the aggressive homeless girl who likes to burn stuff; Wesley whom she calls Rottengoth whose parents hate him; and Sleeping Beauty, a girl who is on IV constantly and rarely awakens. And then there's Wolfgang, the scary dude with the dead eyes in an acute care room.  Through meals, group therapy, recreational activities and interviews with Doctor Balder all the young people reveal their own wolves, sparring in words and actions and ultimately forming a community of support to keep the wolves away.

Counting Wolves is an intense read about young people dealing with mental illness and how those around them, medical professionals and family, deal with them.  The stories in which these young people embed themselves are tragic, not unlike the fairy tales that Milly reads or was told as a child.  Like many of the original Grimm fairy tales, whose stories are not always obvious at first read, they are frightening.  There may be lessons within but they are devastating to body and soul, with fear often the prevalent emotion. Michael F. Stewart, whose earlier Assured Destruction series (Assured Destruction, Script Kiddie, and Assured Destruction with Zombies) revealed clever plotting and great characterizations, is able to get into Milly's head and give her a voice that is legitimate though perplexing.  Granted, he's the one who has created that head with its confusing thoughts and beliefs but Michel F. Stewart melds her mental illness with grim fairy tales so flawlessly that it's a wonder all issues can't be viewed better in terms of fables. Even as she works through her anxiety, independently–including with the use of a 1960s workbook–and with her established and new support systems, she is challenging the wolf. There is a surprise revelation when Milly recognizes that her wolf is not whom she believes it to be but that's a secret the readers will need to discover for themselves.

Counting Wolves illuminates the treachery of mental illness, including the distorted thinking that can override all and twist stories even more.  Keeping the wolves at bay under these circumstances can be even more challenging.  Still Michael F. Stewart provides some indication, maybe even hope, that help and protection is available, even where least expected.

Exit, Pursued by a Bear

by E. K. Johnston

Dutton Books for Young Readers

978-1-101994580

256 pp.

Ages 12-18

March 2016

It's not unusual for me to add graphic elements to my image of a book cover to enhance it and perhaps provide the reader with a little hint about the book. I could not do that disservice to Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E. K. Johnston as the book's emotional story deserves to have its superb cover unadorned by my trivial efforts.  Exit, Pursued by a Bear needs to be left with a starkness that attests to the nature of the story within because

Everything about this is unfair. (pg. 131)

Teen Hermione Winters is off to cheerleading Camp Manitouwabing with best friend and co-captain Polly, boyfriend Leo and the rest of the Fighting Golden Bears, Palermo Heights high school’s squad, along with their coach, Alexandra Caledon.  As she will be entering her senior year after camp, Hermione whose positive attitude is as bright as her future intends to make this, her last cheer camp, the best for all involved. At the first bonfire, when squad captains share what their teams need to overcome, Hermione talks of two curses the school has: that each graduating class, since the death of Clara Abbey in 2006, will lose one person to a drunk driver, and that every year one girl at school gets pregnant.

“…I do think it’s life’s way of reminding us that nothing should be taken for granted, that things might take a turn in ways that aren’t fair or don’t make sense.” (pg. 23)

It’s an amazing camp of hard work, meeting new people and fun, though Leo is in a perpetual cranky mood for the lack of time he gets with Hermione.  Then, at a dance, Hermione is drugged and raped and left in the lake.  Awakening in the hospital, she has to be told what has happened to her because she has no memory of the attack.

Exit, Pursued by a Bear is Hermione’s journey of emotions and waiting and introspection and compassion.  Hermione may be a flyer on the cheerleading team but she is fully grounded in herself and her caring of others and what she believes.  As much as she is convinced that she is a changed person when she returns from camp, she truly isn’t.  The rape, and subsequent pregnancy and abortion, and search for the rapist do not change the force that makes Hermione a leader and a flyer.  Even through her sessions with the indomitable Dr. Hutt, Hermione does not come across as traumatized or broken.

That’s the first time I’ve thought of myself as broken.  Polly won’t let me, I don’t think, but everyone else seems to expect it.  And maybe I am.  Maybe this would be easier if I acted like I am broken.  Then they’ll be able to fix me.  You can’t fix something that doesn’t know it’s broken. (pg. 81)

She is hardly self-absorbed–though she should be allowed to be–often worrying about how her trauma is affecting her best friend, her teammates, her parents, her psychiatrist, even the OPP officer that is handling the criminal investigation.

Take a deep breath before you read E. K. Johnston’s Exit, Pursued by a Bear.  It’s strenuously moving, both dispiriting and uplifting, as Hermione and her team of family, friends and strangers as well as the reader are taken from the trauma of a rape through the healing process, including an unlikely return to the scene of the crime, before tumbling to a finish that is fair and astonishing.

Mental Health Book List: Part III

In support of Partners for Mental Health's Not Myself Today campaign across Canada, I've compiled several lists of literature with characters, both main and secondary, dealing with issues typically identified as related to mental health i.e., those that impair judgement, stability, reliability, or general social or vocational capabilities.  This third book list indicates how pervasive issues dealing with mental health are in our fictional world, as well as our corporeal one.  In this list, I've included Canadian picture books, fiction and young adult titles, as well as any movies that include characters dealing with or plot-lines embedded with mental health issues.  Additional resources can be found in the earlier two lists: Mental Health Book List I (April 2, 2012) and Mental Health Book List II (April 12, 2012).

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Picture Books

Edward the "Crazy Man"
Written and illustrated by Marie Day
Annick Press
32 pp.
Ages 6-8

2002 
The "crazy man" dressed in wild costumes makes an impression on young Charlie when he spots him on the way to school.  But the "crazy man", who suffers from schizophrenia and lives on the street, comes to Charlie's assistance more than once.

EveryBody's Different on EveryBody Street
Written by Sheree Fitch

Illustrated by Laura Jolicoeur
Nova Scotia Hospital Foundation
25 pp.
Ages 5-8
2001

Sheree Fitch's lively poetry reveals how everyone is different and similar, with weakness and strengths. This book was published to support the Nova Scotia Hospital and raise awareness of mental illness and addiction.

Grumpy Bird
Written and illustrated by Jeremy Tankard
Scholastic
32 pp.
Ages 3-5
2007
When Bird wakes up snarly and unhappy, his friends try to change his mood and cheer him up.

Scaredy Squirrel
Written and illustrated by Mélanie Watt
Kids Can Press
40 pp. 
Ages 3-7
2006
Scaredy Squirrel's fears of everything from tarantulas to killer bees have left him with a life of seclusion and schedules.

What elephant?

Written and illustrated by Geneviève Côté

Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages 3-7
2006
When George comes home one day to find an elephant watching TV and eating cookies in his living room, no one believes him.  When the elephant returns the next day, George begins to wonder whether he is just dreaming or crazy.

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Fiction 

After the Fire

Written by Becky Citra
Orca Books 

186 pp.

Ages 8-11

2010 

While her mom and boyfriend are passed out drunk, a fire breaks out and Melissa is left scarred.  Two years later, Melissa, her brother and mom are spending the summer at a friend's cottage. There Melissa meets Alice and, although she is embarrassed about her less-than-perfect family, Melissa learns that Alice is not what she seems and her family is dealing with grief in a variety of unhealthy ways.

Breakdown
Written by Budge Wilson

Scholastic

152 pp.

Ages 11-13

1988

If you can still find this book, you'll be treated to a compassionate account of a father's depression and breakdown and his family's reactions to his illness and the roles they play in his recovery.

Drowning in Secrets

Written by Brenda Bellingham
Scholastic Canada
180 pp.
Ages 11-14
1998

Chloe, 16, travels to Shuswap Lake, B.C. to reconcile both her lack of memories about her mother's death by drowning eleven years earlier and the recurring dreams she has of a drowning woman.

Mercy's Birds

Written by Linda Holeman

Tundra Books
198 pp.

Ages 11+

1998

The women in Mercy's family suffer from depression and alcoholism and dysfunctional relationships including Mercy whose fears, such as of her aunt's boyfriend's inappropriate attention, can be overwhelming.  But, courage and selflessness help rescue them all from the point of no return.

No Cafes in Narnia

Written by Nikki Tate
Sono Nis Press
173 pp.
Ages 9-12
2000

Part of The Tarragon Island series, No Cafes in Narnia tells the story of a thirteen-year-old girl's need to manage her feelings with regards to a move to Tarragon Island, off the B.C. coast, the death of her grandfather, and her mother's subsequent depression.

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Young Adult

Before Wings
Written by Beth Goobie
Orca
203 pp.
Ages 14 and up
2000
After a near-death from an aneurysm, 15-year-old Adrien is more volatile and anxious, so her Aunt Erin offers her a job at the camp she manages.  While her Aunt Erin battles depression, Adrien tries to make sense of the spirits she now sees, even more plentiful at Camp Lakeshore.

Blink and Caution
Written by Tim Wynne-Jones
Candlewick Press
342 pp.
Ages 14+
2011
Blink left his mother and abusive stepfather for a life on the streets, and Caution took to the streets after the accidental shooting death of her cherished older brother. When Caution decides take off on her drug-dealer boyfriend, Blink and Caution's lives collide in less than conventional circumstances. 

Carving My Name
Written by Mary-Kate McDonald
Thistledown Press
137 pp.
Ages 12 and up
1998
Nine short stories tell of how young people find ways to deal with grief, schizophrenia and other issues.

Ceiling Stars

Written by Sandra Diersch

James Lorimer

141 pp.

Ages 12-17

2004

Although Danielle is more adventurous than her friend Chris, her increasingly risky behaviours lead Chris to believe something is not right. 

The Cupid War
Written by Timothy Carter
Flux
234 pp.
Ages 12-16
2011

In this fantastical and humourous satire, Ricky Fallon becomes a Cupid (after his accidental suicide) and finds himself immersed in others' struggles with depression and suicide.

Mistik Lake
Written by Martha Brooks
Groundwood Books
208 pp.
Ages 13-17
2007
In the Manitoba community of Mistik Lake, Odella, the eldest of three daughters, finds herself coping with and helping her sisters cope with their parents' divorce and her mother's unhappiness and death.  Luckily, her mother's aunt Gloria is also there to offer support.

Night Runner

Written by Max Turner

HarperCollins

261 pp.

Age 14-16 

2008

Orphaned and dealing with a multitude of health issues, both physical and mental, Zack is sent to live in a mental health ward of a hospital.  Things get weirder when a strange man tells Zack that he is a vampire and needs to flee the hospital.

Northward to the Moon
Written by Polly Horvath
Groundwood Books
244 pp.
Ages 12-16
2010
Jane and her family from My One Hundred Adventures (Groundwood, 2008) begin a series of journeys from Saskatchewan to Nevada, Massachusetts, and British Columbia. While they deal with a mysterious duffel bag of money, Jane observes her siblings to attempt to identify their respective fathers based on mental health histories. 

Outback

Written by Robin Stevenson

Orca

131 pp.

Ages 12 and up

2011

When teen angst leaves Jayden suffering with depression, his crazy Uncle Mel invites him to Australia but Mel's paranoia soon becomes a greater impediment to Jayden's welfare.

Schizo

Written by Kim Firmston

James Lorimer

150 pp.

Ages 12-17

2011

This volume of Lorimer's Side Streets series revolves around Dan's need to be a typical teen while juggling the repercussions of his mother' schizophrenia, particularly after she stops taking her medication.

Shadow Boxing

Written by Sherie Posesorski

Coteau Books

262 pp.

Ages 12-15

2009

The death of her mother has left Alice grief-stricken, though her father seems ready to move on.  Unfortunately, Alice's choosing to cut herself and create shadow boxes of her mother's trinkets, while failing to "improve" with the help of countless psychiatrists, has her father planning on moving her to either a boarding school or a mental institution.

Somewhere in Blue

Written by Gillian Cummings

Lobster Press 

336 pp.

Ages 14 and up

2010

The dysfunctional relationship between a mother and daughter is brought to the foreground when the father dies, leaving Sandy suffering from depression and her mother dealing with single parenthood.

Voiceless

Written by Caroline Wissing

Thistledown Press

241 pp.

Ages 14+

2012

After the murder of her grandmother, Annabel becomes mute.  Now in foster care and known as Ghost, Annabel finds some companionship and solace on a farm.  But, Ghost's yearning for love has her running away with a new foster boy, Graydon, and making some poor choices expose her to sexual abuse and life alone on the streets.

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Non-Fiction

Can I Catch It Like a Cold? Coping With a Parent’s Depression
Written by Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Illustrated by Joe Weissmann
Tundra Books
2009
A boy's questions about his father's depression are answered with regards to what depression is and how it is treated, reassuring children that there is help and support and that they are not alone.
 

Children of War: Voices of Iraqi Refugees
Written by Deborah Ellis
Groundwood/House of Anansi
128 pp.
Ages 10 and up
2009 
These narratives of young Iraqi refugees tell of the traumatic outcomes of experiencing war.

My Kind of Sad: What It's Like to be Young and Depressed
Written by Kate Scowen
Illustrated by Jeff Szuc
Annick Press
168 pp.
Ages 13-17
2006
Appropriate for teens, My Kind of Sad describes what depression is, how it can manifest itself, how it can be treated, and what resources are available to those seeking help.

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Movies

First Break
Directed by Adrienne Amato and Derek Rogers 
Produced by Silva Basmajian
National Film Board of Canada
50 min. 55 sec.
Order Number: C9197 116
Ages 15 and up
1997
This movie looks at several young adults and how they cope with the onset of mental illness, either schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or psychosis.

This Beggar’s Description
Directed by Pierre Tétrault
Produced by Gerry Flahive
National Film Board of Canada
65 min.
Order Number: 9105 214
Ages 16+
2005

Pierre Tétrault directs this story of his brother Phil's attempts to deal with his schizophrenia and continue to create poetry.

Flight From Darkness
Directed by Trevor Grant
Produced by Don Copeland and Lynne Beck Copeman
Produced for NFB by Joe MacDonald
National Film Board of Canada
52 min.
Order Number: 153C 9107 052
Ages 13+
2007

Percy Paul from a Dene community in Saskatchewan becomes a brilliant mathematician at Princeton before a suicide attempt leads to a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.

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