You Are Not Alone

They call them ‘moods’
but suppose they’re tsunamis,
mile-high walls of black water
thundering towards the guts, the lungs.

In her second book of poems for young people, Shauna Darling Robertson takes an in-depth look at mental health and wellbeing.

Just like our physical health, our mental health can fluctuate over the course of our lives, or even from day to day. The poems in this collection explore a variety of topics, from how it can feel to live with various mental health conditions, to what it’s like dealing with the everyday pressures and challenges faced by teenagers and young adults.

Do your emotions feel like mosquitoes 
one minute and breakbeats the next? Does your mind behave like a cross between a cloud and a bulldozer?
 Have you ever said ‘fine, thanks’ when how you really feel is heartsick and helpless? Have you bent yourself so far out of shape in the hope of fitting in that you’ve lost touch with who you are? Read these poems and know that you are definitely not alone.

These poems are thought-provoking, reassuring, heart-breaking, galvanising, funny and hopeful. They embody a diversity of voices and experiences, and also invite us to consider how some aspects of our society might help or hinder our sense of wellbeing.

Whether reading alone or sharing in secondary classrooms or other group settings, these poems are sure to prompt a wealth of reflections and discussions.

What is wellbeing, asks Sam.
A cross between a pillow, a pair of skis and a lioness, says Alexa.

Some extracts (click to expand)

Video resources

A selection of videos and short films featuring poems from the book.

Using poetry to talk about mental health

A series of resources / guides to accompany You Are Not Alone offers ideas and suggestions for using the poems in school, community, therapeutic or family settings to explore several themes related to mental health and wellbeing. The first, on anxiety and depression, are available below. Forthcoming themes will include: Wellbeing & happiness; Family challenges; Navigating big changes; Difference & diversity.

Check back for new additions, or follow Shauna’s blog on her website at www.shaunadarlingrobertson.com for updates on new resources. Contact Shauna via her website if there’s a theme you’d like to suggest, or if you would like to collaborate on a bespoke resource.

You can also read about what prompted Shauna to write the book in this blog post, and discover how poetry helped her to navigate her own mental health in Poetry and mental health, a guest blog for the Children’s Poetry Summit.

Awards & selections

• Selected for Empathy Lab’s Read for Empathy Collection 2024.

• A National Poetry Day 2024 Recommendation.

• 80 Books to Help Children Nurture Good Mental Health by LoveReading4Kids.

Reviews

“A triumph – daring, surreal, rich with ideas – exploring teen and young adult life in potent poetry without patronising. It tackles the various strands in powerful ways – there’s humour, pace and resilience, whilst recognising and valuing both the ups and the downs. A book that reaches deeper than most, I hope it flies into the hands of thousands of young people.”

Pie Corbett, Educationalist & Author

“A book of poems that are reassuring and hopeful, sometimes heartbreaking yet also uplifting, inspiring and accessible. Just like physical health, mental health changes day-to-day, and this book acts like a safety harness on this rollercoaster of emotions. It should be on every teenage shelf, there to pick up, laugh and cry with.”

Maggie Still, The Scotsman

“What teenagers and young adults need more than anything else is contained within the words of this book - acknowledgement, reassurance, help, recognition, acceptance, belonging, hope - along with things to think about, things to laugh about, things to wonder at, things to simply enjoy. If only I'd had this book when I was a teenager. HIGHLY recommended.”

Liz Brownlee, PoetryRoundabout

“Striking, beautiful and full of grace… the sort of book that should be available in every secondary school and classroom – as so many young adults now are experiencing such a downturn in mental health issues – to know someone is out there who understands and who can help you express these thoughts will benefit many.”

Tricia Adams, LoveReading4Kids.co.uk

“A powerful, thought-provoking treasure trove for individuals, classrooms and families to share and explore. The collection offers a rich source of material with which to support and develop understanding of emotions, encouraging empathy and self-awareness, a recognition that others may have similar experiences and an outlet for pent up worries and fears. An excellent collection which should not be missed.”

ThroughTheBookshelf.com

“These are poems that definitely speak to all of us: the strangeness of us, the strangeness of them and the strangeness of the world. It’s a collection that finds a means of conveying the unbearable oddness of being, and of making order, beauty, wonder, humour and compassion from everyday discomfort and more than occasional pain.”

Books for Keeps

By the same author