Join us for a fascinating interview with Anne Buist and Graeme Simsion, authors of the Menzies Mental Health series – i.e. The Glass House and The Oasis. We have a lot to talk about including the complexity of the Australian mental health care system, balancing technical accuracy and storytelling, and telling the lived experience of healthcare professionals while also prioritising the rights of people living with complex mental health conditions.

• Detailed show notes, and other links: linktree.com/novel_feelings

Content notes for this episode: inpatient hospital settings, burnout, involuntary treatment, burnout of medical professionals, stigma and discrimination facing people living with mental ill-health.

Our podcast was recorded on Wurundjeri Land, which is home to both of us in Naarm/Melbourne. Always was, always will be Aboriginal Land.

Chloe Brown is a chronically ill computer geek with a goal, a plan, and a list. After almost—but not quite—dying, she’s come up with six directives to help her “Get a Life".

Our May book club discussion is about Get a Life, Chloe Brown, a romance novel that features characters experiencing chronic pain and trauma. We talk about impacts and healing from abusive relationships; the mental toll of chronic pain and ableism; and accurate representations of being triggered.

• Book club info, detailed show notes, and other links: linktree.com/novel_feelings
• Get a 10% discount through Amplify Bookstore with the code NOVELFEELINGS10: http://amplifybookstore.com/products/novel-feelings-book-club

Additional content notes for this episode: This book is sexually explicit. We don't discuss details of sex scenes in the episode, but maybe listen to the podcast episode (or the audiobook) with headphones on!

Our podcast was recorded on Wurundjeri Land, which is home to both of us in Naarm/Melbourne. Always was, always will be Aboriginal Land.

A daring literary account of a young woman’s experience of psychosis by Bengali-Australian writer Sanya Rushdi.

This March, our book club discussion features Hospital, which explores the experience of psychosis and subsequent hospitalisation, drawn from the author's real-life experience. We unpack the limitations of the medical model approach towards treatment of mental health issues, shared decision-making, and the importance of empowerment and identity in recovery.

• Book club info, detailed show notes, and other links: linktree.com/novel_feelings
• Get a 10% discount through Amplify Bookstore with the code NOVELFEELINGS10: http://amplifybookstore.com/products/novel-feelings-book-club

Additional content notes for this episode: involuntary hospitalisation, stigma of psychosis, harmful psychiatric treatments, coerced medication prescribing

Our podcast was recorded on Wurundjeri Land, which is home to both of us in Naarm/Melbourne. Always was, always will be Aboriginal Land.