
Learning to Breathe
My Journey With Mental Illness
Rachael Newham(Author)
SPCK Publishing
Published on 16. August 2018
Book
Paperback/Softback
160 pages
978-0-281-07808-0 (ISBN)
Description
It begins slowly, so slowly that I hardly notice at first. My chest tightens and my heart begins to beat a fraction faster. I try to draw breath, but instead I choke on oxygen I can't inhale. As I realise that I can't breathe, the panic wraps itself around my mind.
I can't make myself draw a breath.
Rachael was aged just six when she had her first suicidal thought. Over the next decade, life would become increasingly fraught with depression and self-harm, and her outlook only bleaker. Before her eighteenth birthday, Rachael would twice try to take her own life.
And yet amidst this darkness, a flicker of faith lived on.
This is Rachael's story of her journey into, and out of, the darkness of depression. With unflinching realism and complete honesty, she shows us what it looks like to live with mental illness, and how God can find us and rescue us even in the most desperate of places.
I can't make myself draw a breath.
Rachael was aged just six when she had her first suicidal thought. Over the next decade, life would become increasingly fraught with depression and self-harm, and her outlook only bleaker. Before her eighteenth birthday, Rachael would twice try to take her own life.
And yet amidst this darkness, a flicker of faith lived on.
This is Rachael's story of her journey into, and out of, the darkness of depression. With unflinching realism and complete honesty, she shows us what it looks like to live with mental illness, and how God can find us and rescue us even in the most desperate of places.
Reviews / Votes
'Learning to Breathe is a companion I would recommend for any Christian who is struggling with the desolation of mental illness. Woven with the threads of her tears and God's love for her, this is a truly precious read.' - Rev Will Van Der Hart, Director, The Mind and Soul Foundation and Pastoral Chaplain, HTBMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 10 mm
Weight
186 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-281-07808-0 (9780281078080)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
08/2018
1st Edition
SPCK Publishing
€9.49
Available for download
Person
Rachael Newham is the Founding Director of ThinkTwice, a mental health awareness charity and a graduate of the London School of Theology. She is an associate at Mind and Soul, a trainer for selfharmUK, and regularly writes features and articles for Premier Youthwork magazine and Threads.
Content
1 Prologue
5 Introduction
9 1 First breaths
21 2 Struggling for air
47 3 Suffocation
99 4 Resuscitation
121 5 Learning to breathe
135 Epilogue
139 Appendix
141 Resources
147 Notes
5 Introduction
9 1 First breaths
21 2 Struggling for air
47 3 Suffocation
99 4 Resuscitation
121 5 Learning to breathe
135 Epilogue
139 Appendix
141 Resources
147 Notes