An Impact Press book
Published: 1 May 2018
ISBN: 978-1-925384-39-0
ISBN ePUB: 978-1-925384-40-6
Format: Paperback
AU: $29.99
eBook: $9.99
Categories: Memoir
About the Author
Kim Hodges currently resides on the NSW north coast and immerses herself in the pristine beauty of beaches, mountains and estuaries. She grew up in Coolah, a small remote town in Central NSW, Australia with a population of 900, and has lived in Sydney and the UK. Kim has been employed in many professional roles: tutor and lecturer in the School of Arts and Social Sciences (Southern Cross University), and a consultant in curriculum development (TAFENSW) and policy (NSW Government).
Website: kimhodges.id.au
Girl Over the Edge
A raw and confronting account of mental illness and recovery
By Kim Hodges
‘I had a slight inkling that things were not quite right. I, too, had felt a slender change in me. It was a feeling. I could neither touch nor see it – so how could it be real? I was out of kilter, out of sync.’
When Kim Hodges’ psychologist suggests she has depression, she immediately recoils from the idea. She is a mother, a wife, an academic – a functional human being! But it is the only diagnosis that explains the days she can barely lift her heavy limbs out of bed, the sick feeling that moves its way across her body and brain, the isolation, alcohol use, the colour that evaporated and left her world grey.
What follows is a five-year journey that involves six lengthy hospital stays, multiple trips to the Emergency Department, innumerable engagements with health professionals, and eventually, the ability for Kim to overcome the denial, shame and stigma she feels about mental illness to begin her road to recovery.
Raw, honest and confronting, Girl Over the Edge strips bare the range of human emotions, struggles and treatment options associated with mental illness, and encourages an overall message of hope, positivity and understanding.
Praise for Girl on the Edge
‘In her raw and personal account Kim Hodges details how her mood disorder stripped her bare and articulates what has kept her going. The reader will be struck by her honesty and authenticity.’
PROFESSOR GORDON PARKER, FOUNDER, THE BLACK DOG INSTITUTE
Other titles by Kim Hodges
Girl on the Edge
Written through a child’s sensitive lens with reflections that could only be surmised and truly understood as an adult, Girl on the Edge explores identity, belonging, and alienation, as well as class, gender and power.
‘A powerful memoir that richly illustrates the struggles of a young woman to experience freedom and pursue desires beyond those prescribed by small town rural Australia.’
PROFESSOR SIMONE FULLAGAR, DEPARTMENT FOR HEALTH, UNIVERSITY OF BATH