BOOKS THAT HELPED ME THROUGH BURNOUT

I talk a lot on here about burnout and how creativity has helped me heal, and ironically be more creative. I recently shared a reel on Instagram with trending audio all about it too! In my last major project I also explored how travel helped me heal as well, but in reality is was obviously a whole bunch of different things, including creativity, travelling, support from family and friends, therapy, sports, and also reading! I’m absolutely no expert, and I’ve only gotten into better practice of reading fairly regularly in the last few years, but I found reading to be incredibly beneficial for me specifically through my most recent and longest period of neurodivgent burnout. So here’s a list of books I’ve read over the last couple years that I really feel shaped me into a healthier and happier person that I’d recommend to anyone similar :)

ALSO if you struggle with reading, consider audiobooks!?!? I listened to more than half of these as audio on long drives as they are often narrated by the author which for me is super engaging! 

UNMASKED & How to be You by Ellie Middleton -  ADORED these and to be honest basically any of Ellie’s content

The Year I Met My Brain by Matilda Boseley - I thankfully discovered this the year I got my ADHD diagnosis and the most significant takeaway was validation that this shit is really hard so its valid that sometimes I really struggle!!

Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May - LOVED this, from an autistic female author all about navigating the slower and harder periods of life

The Salt Path by Raynor Winn - unfortunately this book now has horrendous press because it turns out it was all a lie… AND I thought the film re-make was incredibly disappointing, but ignoring that I really loved the book and it made me challenge my perspectives on a few things! 

Homesick: Why I Live in a Shed by Catrina Davies - Similar vibe to the Salt Path but hopefully true… and incredibly relevant to my experience of being a creative in Bristol and moving to a cheaper alternative to have more time to be intentional, connected to the earth, and creative!

Avoidance, Drugs, Heartbreak and Dogs By Jordan Stephens  - this also fits into the ADHD category but it more focused on his personal experience which is I imagine fairly relatable for many people. Also lovely poetic writing which isn’t surprising considering his background in music and lyricism! 

Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton

Notes on Heartbreak by Annie Lord

How to Fail: Everything I’ve Ever Learned From Things Going Wrong by Elizabeth Day

These 3 weren’t particularly life changing but it’s just real life stories (from female perspectives and largely centring heartbreak but also careers and general life) to remind you that we all fail, which all made me laugh and feel better about myself :)


The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin - LOVED this, it’s definitely more focused towards music oriented creatives and potentially writers, but I feel it’s beneficial for all creatives and enabled me to claim being an artist far more confidently!

The Hustle Cure by Sophie Cliff - premise is in the title. It’s specifically aimed at women and I’ve recommended it to almost every woman I know!

What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama - a short and simple but incredibly wholesome book centred around following little cues found in the library 📚 

JOY IN THE JOURNEY

I've always preferred a collection rather than a one off piece, so it’s no surprise that I translated this same attitude towards my first animations too, and after collating my 4 animations all together, I’m SO pleased with them!

I had quite a few ideas in mind when developing this collection, it all started with the RV we rented for our American road trip. Which was the first animation of the collection that I made. I wanted the RV to remain the centre point but for the background to change, to encapsulate our journey through the very different environments we travelled through as we crossed states, which I still think would be really fun! But unfortunately I couldn’t make this fit into the expectations from the Scunthorpe Studio School opportunity, which was for our work to fit into the theme of ‘place’, specifically North Lincolnshire (as we were funded by North Lincolnshire Council). So I switched up my idea instead, to a story that guides the audience through all the vehicles that lead to me getting my van, and subsequently enabling me to facilitate travelling to Scunthorpe in order to take part in the studio opportunity! The idea then shifted once more to limit it to just 4 animations, and that each of these animations would represent one of the four seasons. This was partially down to time restraints, but also as I thought more about what it was that I was trying to say within my work, and how it would look as a final outcome.

I decided I wanted the collection to encapsulate my personal narrative of emotional recovery achieved through various road trips, as this also eventually lead to me taking the plunge and buying my van, which brought me to Scunthorpe where I was able to re-enter my artistic practice following an incredibly challenging year of adverse personal challenges and ADHD burnout.

Throughout my healing journey, I also reignited my love for reading, I read books in order to slow down, and got through a load of audio books on my long drives. I read both fiction and non-fiction books that I feel shaped me, which I hope to go into more detail about at some point, but one in particular was Wintering by Katharine May. A perspective-shifting memoir that teaches us to draw from the healing powers of the natural world and to embrace the winters of our own lives. This resignated with me a lot, so I decided I wanted each of the animations to represent one of the 4 seasons, hinting at the slow and cyclical nature of healing.

To try and embed this theme within my project, I decided to also make bookmarks of each of the scenes too, they aren’t the highest quality, but a free and engaging addition!

I’ve now made a page for this project on my portfolio, it still needs a little work, but it’s great to see it coming together, it also finally has a name… Joy in the Journey!