The BBC’s Fergal Keane: ‘The breakdowns get harder to recover from each time’

The former BBC war reporter, now special correspondent, on the terror of PTSD, his tips for living with it day to day, and the people and poets he admiresDuring a career spanning more than 30 years, BBC special correspondent Fergal Keane has covered brutal conflicts in South Africa, Rwanda and Bosnia. It’s taken a lasting toll on his mental health, and in 2020 he stepped back from frontline reporting, revealing that he’s suffering from acute PTSD. In his memoir The Madness, newly published in paperback, he goes into greater detail, powerfully describing multiple breakdowns, alcoholism, and the inherited trauma that shaped his Irish childhood, as well as the resilience he’s found in himself. He will be talking at the Edinburgh International book festival on 17 August.What part of The Madness was hardest to write?Most difficult was what it was like to be in a psychiatric hospital. People talk about going mad and it conjures up all kinds of stereotypical images, but it’s terrifying, it’s this implosion. I’ve never been so afraid in my life. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2023-08-06 08:30:06 UTC ]

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Hardman's 'important' book on mental health to Atlantic

Atlantic Books has signed The Natural Health Service by political journalist Isabel Hardman. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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World Book Night titles focus on mental health

Penguin Random House and Hachette titles dominate the World Book Night 2018 list, which this year has a spotlight on mental health. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-12-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bookstore News: September 29, 2017

New bookstore coming to Florida; Upstate New York stores launch seasonal promotion; a California indie fights for survival; bookselling in South Africa; and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-09-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In an Economic Crunch, South African Readers Turn to Used Book Stores

From the VOA: Amid tough economic times in South Africa, consumers are supporting a growing number of used book stores, avoiding new-book prices. The post In an Economic Crunch, South African Readers Turn to Used Book Stores appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-08-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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African Book Trust Raise Funds for South Africa’s Library Collections

With a goal of getting South African authors' work to the country's readers, the African Book Trust is working to donate bookjs to library collections. The post African Book Trust Raise Funds for South Africa’s Library Collections appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The fall and rise of physical book sales worldwide – in data

The effect of ebooks on sales of paper books has not been as drastic as expected – it seems that other, more unpredictable factors have a greater influence on how and what we readNielsen, which tracks book sales in several countries, released 2016 figures to coincide with this week’s London Book... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2017-03-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Inaugural In Other Words shortlist revealed

BookTrust today released its shortlist for In Other Words, its inaugural children’s books in translation project, comprising a story of spies and kidnapping set in Stalin’s Russia as well as "laugh out loud" entries from Denmark and South Africa, and entries translated from Afrikaans and Korean. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Raw Nerve of Pain

Daphne Merkin’s new book, This Close to Happy: A Reckoning With Depression, is at once an exploration of her own mental health and a memoir of her experiences growing up in an Orthodox Jewish family with a complicated, domineering mother. “My mother was only nice to me when I was sick,” Merkin... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2017-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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France leads LBF International Excellence Awards nominations

The shortlists for the London Book Fair (LBF) International Excellence Awards have been unveiled, with France leading the way with four nominations followed by China, the US, South Africa and Canada each with three. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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South Africa’s Exclusive Books Customers Move to Canada’s Kobo

In another deal that expands its international reach, Canada's Kobo is taking on the ebook customers of South African bookseller Exclusive Books. The post South Africa’s Exclusive Books Customers Move to Canada’s Kobo appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Self-Publishing: An Insult to the Written Word or a Boon to the Industry?

A few months ago, after I picked up and devoured a beautifully written memoir by Elisa Hategan and was left with a serious Continue reading at HuffPost

[ HuffPost | 2017-01-03 15:48:11 UTC ]
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Spotlight on South Africa

Jessica Faircliff looks at the challenges faced by the book trade in South Africa. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-10-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Students' social venture aims to help teenage males out of depression

Film-maker Taika Waititi and Prime Minister John Key are among a dozen Kiwis who have shared their insights into mental health in a book published by Onslow College students. Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2016-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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South Africa’s Bridge Books: ‘To Link Publishers With Readers’

As in parts of the world, distribution challenges loom large in Johannesburg for the book business. Bookseller Griffin Shea sees the need for a 'metaphorical bridge.' The post South Africa’s Bridge Books: ‘To Link Publishers With Readers’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-08-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Meet Kwezi - Africa's cartoon superhero

Most comic book superheroes are Europeans or white Americans but one artist in South Africa has been trying to change that. Continue reading at BBC World

[ BBC World | 2016-07-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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South Africa’s Sunday Times Literary Awards Go to Gqola, Sithole

The 'overt threat of toxic masculinity' and 'the vapid promises of politicians and religion' in the other: South Africa's Sunday Times Literature Awards. The post South Africa’s Sunday Times Literary Awards Go to Gqola, Sithole appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-06-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Orion wins auction for illustrator Rubyetc

Orion is publishing the darkly comic sketches of a 22-year-old illustrator exploring struggles with mental health, following a five-way auction. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-02-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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South African education lists fear state publishing move

Educational publishers in South Africa are meeting with the National Department of Basic Education this week in a bid to allay fears over a potential move towards state publishing that trade figures believe would “totally decimate” the industry. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-02-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pan Mac buys Oprah Winfrey memoir

Pan Macmillan has acquired Oprah Winfrey’s memoir The Life You Want, a book that uses her own story as the source of inspirational advice. Non-fiction publisher Robin Harvie bought UK and Commonwealth rights from Jennifer Rudolph Walsh at WME and will publish the memoir in January 2017,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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5 Reasons Books are So Expensive in South Africa

Jeremy Boraine, publishing director of Jonathan Ball Publishers, offers five reasons why books are so expensive in South Africa. The post 5 Reasons Books are So Expensive in South Africa appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-11-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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