Sometimes I feel like freedom is near Sometimes I feel like freedom is here Sometimes I feel like freedom is so near But we’re so far from home.

Writing about my depression and my recovery allowed me, to paraphrase the Bible, to feel ‘oneself to be in a desert, and make of it a well’. Something positive came out of it, which perhaps spoke to others. And for me the creative process itself is also valuable – writing for me, and fiddling with sentences, and how to express myself, feels fruitful and purposeful. Mental health campaigner and journalist Rachel Kelly has published a new book You"ll Never Walk Alone Rachel’s wonderful book offers a carefully curated and wisely annotated selection of poems designed to offer support and solace during the more heart-stopping, heartbreaking, exhilarating, joyful, and unpredictable times of our life.’ This book will show you how to bring poetry into your everyday emotional reality, where it can be a new tool for wellbeing. And one that means you’ll never walk alone. My Review of You’ll Never Walk Alone As if in the middle of an intimate conversation between the poet and reader, the poem begins with what seems strange advice. Oliver urges us to unlearn one of the first lessons we are taught – to be good. In fact, we do not have to be good to be loved. Instead, all we need to do is reconnect with our essential loving, animal nature. All we must do is to ‘let’ this happen.The second poem I want to share is for anyone who finds it hard to love themselves. Love after Love Rachel's wonderful book offers a carefully curated and wisely annotated selection of poems designed to offer support and solace during the more heart-stopping, heartbreaking, exhilarating, joyful, and unpredictable times of our life.' If the thought of writing daunts you. Don’t think about it as being good or bad. Instead, write straight from the heart: writing for wellbeing is as much about how you feel as the words you choose and the images they suggest. While many argue that the reason for our mental health epidemic is the stress of modern life, our deteriorating diet is a more important factor. Our brain’s large size was made possible by our evolutionary relationship to fish; fish were not only our main source of protein and calories, but also they gave us important vitamins and minerals, and, crucially, omega 3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). The new book is You”ll Never Walk Alone: Poems for Life’s Ups and Down. It is a selection of poems and writing, prefaced by Kelly’s thoughts on why she chose to include each one. The range is broad, from Sappho through Keats and Wordsworth to Mary Oliver and Derek Walcott, the author of her favourite poem in the book, Love.

Instead, we can embrace unconditional love, just as Walcott embraces us. The frantic search for the approval of others is over. The poem ends with that same certainty. The simple instruction to ‘sit’. But the poet’s invitation is more than simply to eat; it is to feast. Here is a poem for the Autumn of our minds: a time to gather in and gorge on Walcott’s message of self-love and acceptance, ready for any psychological challenge. This book will show you how to bring poetry into your everyday emotional reality, where it can be a new tool for wellbeing. And one that means you'll never walk alone. The poems are grouped by season with each season having a different tone; Winter – time for sadness, Spring – time for hope, Summer – time for joy and Autumn – time for reflection. Each poem is printed and Rachel then reflects on the meaning. Spring includes ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ by Oscar Hammerstein II – the one the title is taken from and also the one that definitely can’t be read without effectively singing it in your head.Why is loving ourselves so hard? And how can we change this? Here, Walcott takes us by the hand and leads us not just to imagine but to believe in a new relationship with ourselves. We can relax right from the start of the poem, in the astonishing certainty that, in the future, we will greet ourselves with elation. It is only a matter of time. When you were at your lowest, did you ever envisage a way out and that today, as now a keynote speaker, bestselling writer and mental health advocate, you are sharing your experiences to help others and encourage debate about mental ill-health? Rachel Kelly is a bestselling author, mental health campaigner and Ambassador for SANE. Poetry has played a huge role throughout her life and was an integral part of her recovery with depression.

I didn’t think of others at all. Only when I began to get better did I want to share my experience and the reality of severe mental illness, how it could happen to anyone, and why charities like SANE are lifesavers to those who were desperate like me. Kelly's brilliant introduction and explanations of each choice make this an indispensable companion. -- Bel Mooney A lovely collection of inspirational poetry, designed to help you through every occasion, on good days and bad... insightful. -- HELLO

Rachel Kelly runs poetry workshops and is also an official ambassador for mental health charities Rethink Mental Illness, SANE, The Counselling Foundation and Head Talks. Rachel Kelly is a keynote speaker, bestselling writer and mental health campaigner. She shares her experience of depression and evidence-based strategies that helped her recover. Rachel has spoken all over the world from Delhi to Sydney, America and across the UK. Her critically acclaimed books are published in over 10 countries.