Surrey-based writer Christina Myers co-edited a new book filled with "stories of heartbreak, healing and hope" in postpartum depression.<\/p>\n
She and Oga Nwobosi, co-creator of Beyond Blue<\/em>, met in a postpartum support group 18 years ago, after the births of their first children. They stayed in touch over the years and, in 2023, began creating a book about their own and others’ experiences.<\/p>\n Twenty-six writers from across Canada contribute personal essays to Beyond Blue <\/em>(Caitlin Press), a 174-page book that explores "the hidden struggles of postpartum mental health in an honest, compassionate and empowering collection of stories that breaks the silence and fosters hope."<\/p>\n A significant number of mothers experience depression, anxiety or other psychological impacts that go beyond the “baby blues,” post-childbirth. "For many, their post-partum depression goes undiagnosed, often due to embarrassment, lack of access to resources and the stigma associated with trying to get help," says an intro on the Caitlin Press website.<\/p>\n Myers, a former journalist and author of a few books, writes about "Laundry Day" in a Beyond Blue<\/em> chapter in which she repeats the phrase, "Stand up, find the clothes, go down the stairs, start a load."<\/p>\n She has a conversation with herself.<\/p>\n "You haven’t eaten in ages. You’ll never be thin, not you, but you’ve lost so much weight — baby weight and then some extra, and people are starting to notice," Myers writes.<\/p>\n "Isn’t it weird, how they notice and then they say out loud that they’ve noticed and then they congratulate you? Good job for being smaller than you used to be, the most important of all accomplishments. You want someone to notice that you’re shrinking because you don’t sleep, you never sleep, even when you lie down in the dark you can’t manage it, and your brain is going too fast to even figure out how to make a meal, and even if you made a meal you’re not hungry and it would sit there, getting cold."<\/p>\n Copies of Beyond Blue <\/em>sell for $26 on caitlinpress.com<\/a>, website of the Qualicum Beach-based publisher. An Oct. 18 launch event<\/a> will be held in Vancouver at the Canadian Memorial Centre for Peace.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Christina Myers co-created, co-edited ‘Beyond Blue’ with longtime friend Oga Nwobosi<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":130,"featured_media":157795,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-157786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","category-regional-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n