"An inspiring look at well-known people who live with mental health issues and find a way to live their lives "
Meet 29 inspiring people and discover their mental health stories
The book is a bright and, at first glance, light-hearted look at mental health issues and some of the famous people who live with them and overcome them in various ways. But, as Professor Peter Fonagy states in the introduction, the graphics are intended as a ‘help to see the lighter side of ourselves’. Twenty-nine differing famous people – from current singers and songwriters to famous historical figures are all examined - with a double page spread each - giving a brief outline of their issue and how they, as individuals, found ways to deal with it. Each spread has a number of related quotations from the individual picked out and emphasized – helping readers pinpoint the issues being discussed.
The problems cover a huge range of problems - PTSD, Anxiety, OCD, Panic Attacks, Sexuality issues - to name a very few. Many have some form of depression as a symptom or result – but as something like 350 million people suffer with depression worldwide it is not as surprising as you might think. The fact that all the illness details are taken from publicly available sources just shows how much better we are becoming at talking about mental health issues generally.
There are some straightforward messages that come from all the cases – that talking helps, that taking time for oneself is vital and that coping skills will be different for different people. The main message I took from the book is that it is important to be honest about your condition and that it’s OK not to be OK! This last phrase is actually the heading for the list of useful and important organisations – vital in a book of this sort as young people may well browse the title, recognise their own feelings and want to get some help.
An ideal book to have in classrooms and libraries, very accessible and browsable.

Meet 29 icons, from pop stars to sporting heroes, and discover how they overcame a range of mental health issues, from anorexia to depression, to live inspiring lives. At a time when kids' mental health is under more pressure than ever, this book celebrates the message that it's ok not to be ok.
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Meet 29 icons, from pop stars to sporting heroes, and discover how they overcame a range of mental health issues, from anorexia to depression, to live inspiring lives. At a time when kids' mental health is under more pressure than ever, this book celebrates the message that it's ok not to be ok.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed Perfectly Imperfect Stories and determined it is suitable for children aged 9-12 years old
Perfectly Imperfect Stories features in the following genres: Featured Books for 9+ readers, Recommendations, People / Places, Children’s / Teenage: General interest, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Personal Social Health Economic (PSHE), PSHE: Health , Children’s / Teenage personal and social topics: Body and health, Featured Books for 11+ readers
Hardback. Not Available.
Perfectly Imperfect Stories was written by Leo Potion and published by Laurence King Publishing
Perfectly Imperfect Stories has 64 pages