Spiritual & Creative Self-Help 5: Artist or Madman? Emotional Tales
Nonfiction, Health & Well Being, Psychology, Mental Illness, Fiction & Literature, Poetry
| Author: | Valkyrie Kerry | ISBN: | 9781310285448 |
| Publisher: | Valkyrie Kerry | Publication: | April 15, 2016 |
| Imprint: | Smashwords Edition | Language: | English |
| Author: | Valkyrie Kerry |
| ISBN: | 9781310285448 |
| Publisher: | Valkyrie Kerry |
| Publication: | April 15, 2016 |
| Imprint: | Smashwords Edition |
| Language: | English |
Kerry Valkyrie Baldock Kelly was born in Kent, England. She was diagnosed with severe ENT problems which included deafness. She had several operations and although she can hear now she continues to suffer from asthma and allergic rhinitis. Kerry struggled through life with extreme shifts in mood until diagnosed in 2008 with Bipolar, OCD and epilepsy.
She was aware from an early age that she was different and used the OCD to her advantage completing training in over 100 qualifications, 20 of which are from higher education. In addition she has numerous sporting and language awards. Kerry also took her five children to 30 countries around the world and encouraged them to take part in a wide range of activities.
Throughout this time she directed her emotions into words, poems and short stories to define how she felt and reflect her thoughts and observations. The emotions were turbulent and painful resulting in two arrest and a breakdown prior to diagnosis. Kerry is trying to raise awareness for mental health to prevent delay in the diagnosis of others and assist family and friends in supporting survivors.
In May 2015 Kerry completed a 24 hour poetry publishing 100 poems in 15 styles and 6 languages in a 24 hour period. Within 2 months of completing the marathon a range of Kerry’s writing was accepted for publication by the journals Short Fiction Break and Entropy. Her chapbook Pole to Pole was published by Voices Ireland and some of her poems published by Lover of Darkness and Peeking Cat.
Kerry wrote the poems to manage personal struggles and feelings, but on reflecting on her writing she was able to identify her Bipolar tendencies as providing the foundation of thought stimulating her creative work. Here she shares a collection of poetry and stories which allow the reader to develop an understanding of the thought processes behind the Bipolar mind. This insight will prove useful to both professionals working with mental illness and survivors and their friends and family.
Artist or Madman? provides a unique insight into emotional turmoil and elation caused by this mental illness. The poems and stories cover a diverse range of genres and sub-genres in order to convey the perspectives, feelings and reflections that lie in the psyche of a bipolar survivor.
The book opens with the poetic tale of a vampire romance in which the reluctant victim allows herself to be seduced but sacrifices her own life because she fears that her growing feelings of love and infatuation are unrequited. At the moment of death she realizes that her fears are erroneous and in that second she is consumed.
Further fantastical tales examine the sea as a possessive entity attracting those devoured by sadness, the ability to travel through time interpreted as a mental illness, protective ghostly creatures and frenzied mermaids robbing fishermen of their lives to save them from ageing.
Other pieces take the reader into the darkest recesses of the human mind grittily depicting addiction, neglect, isolation and death. Each poem or story invites the reader to empathize with the most passionate and devastating feelings that manifest as symptoms of bipolar.
Kerry Valkyrie Baldock Kelly was born in Kent, England. She was diagnosed with severe ENT problems which included deafness. She had several operations and although she can hear now she continues to suffer from asthma and allergic rhinitis. Kerry struggled through life with extreme shifts in mood until diagnosed in 2008 with Bipolar, OCD and epilepsy.
She was aware from an early age that she was different and used the OCD to her advantage completing training in over 100 qualifications, 20 of which are from higher education. In addition she has numerous sporting and language awards. Kerry also took her five children to 30 countries around the world and encouraged them to take part in a wide range of activities.
Throughout this time she directed her emotions into words, poems and short stories to define how she felt and reflect her thoughts and observations. The emotions were turbulent and painful resulting in two arrest and a breakdown prior to diagnosis. Kerry is trying to raise awareness for mental health to prevent delay in the diagnosis of others and assist family and friends in supporting survivors.
In May 2015 Kerry completed a 24 hour poetry publishing 100 poems in 15 styles and 6 languages in a 24 hour period. Within 2 months of completing the marathon a range of Kerry’s writing was accepted for publication by the journals Short Fiction Break and Entropy. Her chapbook Pole to Pole was published by Voices Ireland and some of her poems published by Lover of Darkness and Peeking Cat.
Kerry wrote the poems to manage personal struggles and feelings, but on reflecting on her writing she was able to identify her Bipolar tendencies as providing the foundation of thought stimulating her creative work. Here she shares a collection of poetry and stories which allow the reader to develop an understanding of the thought processes behind the Bipolar mind. This insight will prove useful to both professionals working with mental illness and survivors and their friends and family.
Artist or Madman? provides a unique insight into emotional turmoil and elation caused by this mental illness. The poems and stories cover a diverse range of genres and sub-genres in order to convey the perspectives, feelings and reflections that lie in the psyche of a bipolar survivor.
The book opens with the poetic tale of a vampire romance in which the reluctant victim allows herself to be seduced but sacrifices her own life because she fears that her growing feelings of love and infatuation are unrequited. At the moment of death she realizes that her fears are erroneous and in that second she is consumed.
Further fantastical tales examine the sea as a possessive entity attracting those devoured by sadness, the ability to travel through time interpreted as a mental illness, protective ghostly creatures and frenzied mermaids robbing fishermen of their lives to save them from ageing.
Other pieces take the reader into the darkest recesses of the human mind grittily depicting addiction, neglect, isolation and death. Each poem or story invites the reader to empathize with the most passionate and devastating feelings that manifest as symptoms of bipolar.
