Summer 2014: Volume XVI, Issue II
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Get a sense of some of the powerful and creative stories that appeared in this summer issue of Open Minds Quarterly.
Face to face: Living with mental illness
Featured inside our summer issue is a Q&A with Amanda Tétrault, the daughter of a man with schizophrenia, who uses photography to document the ever-changing relationship that she has with her father. Amanda’s photo book “Phil & Me” is an attempt to capture and shed knowledge on the complexities of mental illness, how stigma has affected them both, and the affects that an illness can have on the entire family. It is also a means to holistically portray the feelings of embarrassment and shame along with love and compassion. We were curious to hear more of her perspectives as a family member and an artist.
I began to turn my camera onto us as a form of self-preservation. It was a way for me to control an absolutely uncontrollable situation, and it allowed me to gain a clearer understanding about our experience while working through the emotions I had around him and the illness.
Amanda Tétrault’s photobook “Phil & Me” is available on Amazon.
Poetry
In every issue, we publish captivating, touching and telling poetry of the struggles, realities, and survival tales of mental health consumer/survivors. The Summer 2014 issue was no exception. Included in this batch of poetry was a poem by Ray Scott entitled “broken glass in wet sand” that speaks to the stories and poems that are too brutal or unable to be written with the flourish of a pen, and instead, are told from the dotted lines of broken glass bottles.
The following in an excerpt from that poem:
with……………
left out souls
left out names
left out lies
rhyming facts
To learn more about the poet, Ray Scott, and to hear his poems in his own voice, click here.
Perspectives
On March 14, 2014, six-time Olympic medalist Clara Hughes began her 110-day journey across Canada to spread the word about mental health and break down the stigma attached to mental illness. Over the course of her 12,000km route, she stopped in 105 communities, speaking to students, the general public and her peers in mental health. Clara’s Big Ride, as it is known, was sponsored by Bell Let’s Talk, a multi-year charitable program dedicated to mental health. NISA/Northern Initiaitve for Social Action, Open Minds’ Quarterly‘s publisher, was selected as the host organization during Clara’s stop in Sudbury, Ontario, and on June 27th, 2014 - Day 106 of the tour, 10,072 km into her ride - Clara joined us at NISA’s biggest fundraiser yet, an Indian dinner served to 315 guests. The dinner was held to support the costs associated with the move to our new office in July. For more detailed coverage of Clara’s inspiring stop in Sudbury supporting NISA, check out the local news coverage here.
In our summer issue we were excited to publish Clara’s thoughts to some questions we posed to her before she began her cycling journey.
As an athlete suffering from depression, I learned how important it was just to get out and move. Movement helps me clear my head and gives me the energy I need to encounter what the day ahead holds.
I’m hoping that as part of Clara’s Big Ride, I will be able to inspire Canadians to move in their own way.
Open Letters
Open letters give writers a chance to express to someone or something, an issue as it relates to mental illness, that they desperately feel they want to address. While one of the rarer forms of writing we receive, it is a powerful means to hear from the minds of those with an important story to tell and share. In our summer issue, we were privileged to publish Hannah Baggott’s open letter to the Master of Fine Arts Degree (MFA). Hannah bravely critiques that unhealthy assumptions around the process of completing this degree; the “romance of writing” and the fallacy of its integral connection to depression; and her call for change for a more truly supportive and healthy environment for writers. To read her letter in its entirety, click here.
Meet Our Contributors
Connect a little more with the writers in each issue through the About the Authors page. Below, meet some of the authors whose work appeared in the Summer 2014 issue. To learn more about them, and others, click on the “about the authors” image at the top of this page.
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Cover artist
The cover artwork for this issue was done by Scott Glover. Scott is a skilled portrait artist, and a valued member of NISA’s Artists’ Loft. He works in paint and in pencil. His portrait of Clara Hughes, depicted on the front cover, was revealed to her during her visit to Sudbury as part of her cycling tour across Canada.
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