Editor and writer Lauri Hornik went in search of a psychological well being e book that didn’t exist. One thing that was relatable, freed from the standard jargon, and will assist younger folks with plenty of questions safely navigate their psychological well being. One thing that might present them “the place to start out.”
When Lauri couldn’t discover a e book fairly like this, she teamed up with Psychological Well being America and artist Gemma Correll to create “The place to Begin: A Survival Information to Anxiousness, Melancholy, and Different Psychological Well being Challenges.” Since its launch in 2023, hundreds of copies have been offered, and it was not too long ago featured alongside Lauri in Folks journal.
With an esteemed profession as an editor, Lauri not too long ago fashioned her personal imprint, Rocky Pond Books, at Penguin Random Home, the place she focuses on publishing genuine and hopeful psychological well being tales for teenagers and youths.
To have fun the paperback launch of “The place to Begin,” we sat down with Lauri to be taught extra about her profession and the way the e book got here to life.
Psychological Well being America: Might you describe your background in publishing and discuss in regards to the function of an editor within the creation of a e book?
Lauri Hornik: I began as an editorial assistant proper out of faculty at a kids’s e book writer, and I’ve apprenticed my approach up – which is how editors do it, actually. They begin as an assistant, and so they observe their supervisors, after which regularly give you their very own approach. I feel each editor has a special course of, however primarily what an editor does is use initiatives to publish, develop these initiatives with the authors, and if it is a image e book, then with the illustrator too. Additionally, to be the advocate for the e book in-house, to gross sales, to advertising and marketing, after which type of the clearinghouse for the entire info shifting ahead.
For locating initiatives to publish, there are one million other ways to do it. “The place to Begin” was a e book that I very a lot wished existed when my daughter was in center college and past. So I began fascinated by, okay, who can be penning this e book? The place’s the perfect content material? And I used to be so admiring of Psychological Well being America, and once I was digging by the web site, the entire info that I actually want I had discovered on the time was there. In order that appeared like a pure match. I used to be thrilled once I obtained the possibility to collaborate with you on it.
Psychological Well being America: You latterly launched an imprint at Penguin Random Home with a deal with psychological well being tales. What was your inspiration?
Lauri Hornik: The inspiration was completely wanting to place out extra content material for teenagers and youths primarily about psychological sickness and the psychological sickness expertise – and wanting these books to be very genuine. I wished them to be informational and in addition present consolation to folks going by tough emotional issues.
I felt many of the books printed for youngsters had been about youngsters observing psychological sickness in others moderately than being within the viewpoint of somebody struggling. The norm was usually about dwelling with a mum or dad who was depressed, for instance. So I wished my books to supply far more firsthand expertise.
Even with image books, which I do a number of, I goal to introduce coping strategies for teenagers aged 4 to seven. Actually, youngsters that age are contending with anxiousness and grief. I’ve printed various books about these matters for younger youngsters as a result of they assist make sense of those difficulties, and adults of their lives can use the e book to assist steer them.
Psychological Well being America: And also you named the imprint Rocky Pond. What does that identify imply to you?
Lauri Hornik: Rocky Pond was my childhood swimming gap once I lived in Hollis, New Hampshire. It is the place we went in the summertime. It was a pond with a raft. So the emblem could be very a lot a drawing of Rocky Pond and the raft that we might swim out to. After I was attempting to consider what to name this imprint, I spotted that piece of my childhood and my teenage years was actually consultant of coming of age, of turning into extra courageous.
For one factor, the rumor was that there have been snapping turtles below the raft. So if we had been going to swim to that raft, it was a really courageous factor. What if the snapping turtle obtained ya? So, it was about pushing by discomfort. And exploration—and positively childhood.
Psychological Well being America: There are a lot of books with psychological well being themes that do not have comfortable endings. However you are in search of tales which are comforting and in the end strike a theme of hope. Why is that this particularly necessary to you?
Lauri Hornik: Sure, that’s completely a objective. One factor that led me to that was what my daughter, as a younger teenager, was selecting to learn. She was studying grownup books that weren’t aimed toward serving to a teen make sense of an expertise. They provided a really genuine expertise, however the steering and the mild contact wasn’t there. So I’d love for the books I publish to supply some steering and hope to readers who’re simply initially of attempting to determine what is going on on of their heads and the way to transfer ahead by wrestle.
Residing with psychological sickness is one thing so many individuals do, and it is one thing to take care of, however not one thing that’s solely detrimental. There’s loads of richness that comes from pushing by an expertise like that as effectively.
Psychological Well being America: What was the method like collaborating with Psychological Well being America on writing “The place to Begin”? How did you determine what assets you wished to incorporate?
Lauri Hornik: Effectively, there instantly was a choice to not be very heavy on jargon, to be very, very clear and use plain language as a result of the e book is supposed to be the introduction, step one. In case you really feel like one thing is off, in case you’re battling one thing and you do not fairly know what, if you do not know the way to discuss it. This e book is about what is likely to be occurring and the way to discuss it and who to speak about it with. So, simply making that language actually accessible and clear.
An grownup nonfiction e book about psychological well being may cite research, may go into the science, – so not that stuff. That is for one more e book. And I feel all of us agreed that was the way in which to go. And that is very a lot the language on the Psychological Well being America web site, so we had been completely taking the tone, the content material that was already there.
Psychological Well being America: This e book was written for teenagers and younger adults, however many older folks discover a lot to narrate to in it. Can the viewers be even broader than you supposed?
Lauri Hornik: I completely agree that it interprets to a wider viewers than what it is marketed for. When the folks at Penguin had been determining the way to finest place the e book, there was a number of dialogue about whether or not or to not embrace the phrase “teen” within the subtitle, and it was MHA who felt that “teen” shouldn’t be included as a result of a number of the first viewers for this e book can be twentysomethings. It’s positively broader than simply teenagers.
However the preliminary inspiration was that it will be for even 12-year-olds, youngsters after they’re first beginning to expertise signs—that always begins in center college. I wished the e book to work for center college and past.
Psychological Well being America: You’ve printed many various kinds of books, a few of them image books, and “The place to Begin” options art work by Gemma Correll, a longtime accomplice of MHA. Attractive, humorous, relatable illustrations. They actually convey an additional bit of sunshine to the e book. Are you able to discuss that collaboration and share your ideas on together with illustrations in younger grownup books?
Lauri Hornik: Gemma’s cartoons had been one of many first methods I discovered Psychological Well being America and one of many first items in attempting to determine what this e book needs to be. I completely wished art work that might be one other expression of the expertise of psychological sickness that’s accessible, that feels good, that looks like, “Oh, this particular person will get me,” and “Sure, that’s me.” Gemma is the grasp of that, so it was a thrill to have her be part of the challenge. And I feel art work of that kind in a e book could be a shorthand of expression and a approach for a reader to really feel a fast connection to the e book.
Psychological Well being America: 1000’s of copies of “The place to Begin” have been offered to this point, many immediately from the Psychological Well being America retailer. What do you assume is resonating a lot with readers?
Lauri Hornik: It was a e book that was actually wanted and that did not exist but. Folks hear about it and see that is the content material they have been needing. They have been attempting to seize it from numerous spots, and now it’s all on this good, compact, fairly e book. It additionally has worksheets, that are very helpful too. I feel it is a e book that when the one that wants it hears about it, then it is an apparent alternative.
“The place to Begin: A Survival Information to Anxiousness, Melancholy, and Different Psychological Well being Challenges” is accessible to order at Psychological Well being America’s retailer and wherever books are offered.