Writer? Author? Going MENtal!

new FREE ebook featuring stories from 8 men baring their souls and stories on burnout, depression, mental health — and what to do about it

What makes an author, an author? What makes a writer, a writer?

I mentioned the free ebook on how to help those with depression that I had written a few years ago to a friend the other day. She exclaimed, “Oh! You are an author!”

I felt small in my chair and cringed. Gingerly, I answered, “Errr… I guess so… actually not really… it’s just a few pages put together in a PDF…”

And then my voice trailed off.

I had not thought of myself as an author with a simple ebook. I don’t know if I will even call myself a writer. Insecurities and all that aside, I don’t know what makes an author or writer one. What is the benchmark? I see many people calling themselves “Best Selling Author”, where the “best-selling book” is but a compilation of blog posts. Does that make a book? I suppose so. And, not really, not in my dictionary anyways.

I think of books as those like, Green Eggs and Ham, 1984, Affluenza, China On the Mind, Lord of the Rings, Pride and Prejudice, and even Confessions of a Shopaholic and Sweet Valley Twins.

And so, does this compilation of interviews that I did for May’s Mental Health Awareness Month count as a book? I had published some of these interviews on my own blog and a few on Thrive Global, and also on my WeChat official account. Now, these look sleek and suave thanks to the generosity of Patrice Boulais of PixelArt Communication, for his time and effort to put all the interviews together on a pro bono basis.

Whether on the basis of this book, you call me an author or not, is for me, besides the point.

“Going MENtal — Men DO Get It!” focuses on men’s stories, because I have not found much written just from men’s perspective, because many men have told me they wanted to hear from other men, and because I think their stories are worth telling.

These interviews I hope, will continue to contribute to the dialogue of mental health, particularly that of preventing burnout in the workplace, and to reduce the stigma of this topic. I also hope this will reach as many people as possible — so, the request I have of you, is to share this to your network, on your social media, and to your friends.

For this reason, I have decided, similar to the first ebook, Pull Yourself Together, that this one, “Going MENtal — Men DO Get It” will also be FREE for reading and downloading, and that you do not have to circumvent marketing ploys with signing up to this and that before you have access to the book.

Let’s make help and inspiration accessible.

Thank you again to all those who agreed to be interviewed and share their perspectives. Happy reading!

Click here to read the book for FREE.

Originally published at nochnoch.com on July 16, 2018.