Editor and writer Lauri Hornik went searching for a psychological well being ebook that didn’t exist. One thing that was relatable, freed from the standard jargon, and will assist younger individuals with a lot of questions safely navigate their psychological well being. One thing that might present them “the place to begin.”
When Lauri couldn’t discover a ebook 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 just lately featured alongside Lauri in Folks journal.
With an esteemed profession as an editor, Lauri just lately 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 study extra about her profession and the way the ebook got here to life.
Psychological Well being America: Might you describe your background in publishing and speak in regards to the function of an editor within the creation of a ebook?
Lauri Hornik: I began as an editorial assistant proper out of faculty at a kids’s ebook writer, and I’ve apprenticed my means up – which is how editors do it, actually. They begin as an assistant, they usually 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 tasks to publish, develop these tasks with the authors, and if it is a image ebook, then with the illustrator too. Additionally, to be the advocate for the ebook in-house, to gross sales, to advertising, after which type of the clearinghouse for all the data transferring ahead.
For locating tasks to publish, there are one million other ways to do it. “The place to Begin” was a ebook that I very a lot wished existed when my daughter was in center college and past. So I began eager about, okay, who can be penning this ebook? The place’s the most effective content material? And I used to be so admiring of Psychological Well being America, and after I was digging via the web site, all the data 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 after 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 concentrate on 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 needed them to be informational and in addition present consolation to individuals going via tough emotional issues.
I felt many of the books printed for youngsters have been about youngsters observing psychological sickness in others quite than being within the perspective of somebody struggling. The norm was usually about residing with a guardian who was depressed, for instance. So I needed my books to supply far more firsthand expertise.
Even with image books, which I do lots of, I goal to introduce coping methods for teenagers aged 4 to seven. Definitely, youngsters that age are contending with nervousness and grief. I’ve printed numerous 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 ebook to assist steer them.
Psychological Well being America: And also you named the imprint Rocky Pond. What does that title imply to you?
Lauri Hornik: Rocky Pond was my childhood swimming gap after 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. Once 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 beneath the raft. So if we have 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 via discomfort. And exploration—and positively childhood.
Psychological Well being America: There are lots of books with psychological well being themes that do not have comfortable endings. However you are searching for tales which can be comforting and finally 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 geared 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 might love for the books I publish to supply some steering and hope to readers who’re simply at first of attempting to determine what is going on on of their heads and how one can transfer ahead via 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 completely unfavorable. There’s loads of richness that comes from pushing via an expertise like that as nicely.
Psychological Well being America: What was the method like collaborating with Psychological Well being America on writing “The place to Begin”? How did you resolve what sources you needed to incorporate?
Lauri Hornik: Effectively, there instantly was a call to not be very heavy on jargon, to be very, very clear and use plain language as a result of the ebook is supposed to be the introduction, step one. For those who really feel like one thing is off, in case you’re fighting one thing and you do not fairly know what, if you do not know how one can discuss it. This ebook is about what could be occurring and how one can discuss it and who to speak about it with. So, simply making that language actually accessible and clear.
An grownup nonfiction ebook about psychological well being may cite research, may go into the science, you understand – so not that stuff. That is for an additional ebook. 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 have been completely taking the tone, the content material that was already there.
Psychological Well being America: This ebook was written for teenagers and younger adults, however many older individuals discover a lot to narrate to in it. Can the viewers be even broader than you meant?
Lauri Hornik: I completely agree that it interprets to a wider viewers than what it is marketed for. When the individuals at Penguin have been determining how one can greatest place the ebook, there was lots of dialogue about whether or not or to not embody the phrase “teen” within the subtitle, and it was MHA who felt that “teen” shouldn’t be included as a result of lots of the first viewers for this ebook 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 usually begins in center college. I needed the ebook 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 companion of MHA. Beautiful, humorous, relatable illustrations. They actually deliver an additional bit of sunshine to the ebook. Are you able to discuss that collaboration and share your ideas on together with illustrations in younger grownup books?
Lauri Hornik: Gemma’s cartoons have been one of many first methods I discovered Psychological Well being America and one of many first items in attempting to determine what this ebook needs to be. I completely needed art work that will 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 undertaking. And I feel art work of that kind in a ebook generally is a shorthand of expression and a means for a reader to really feel a fast connection to the ebook.
Psychological Well being America: 1000’s of copies of “The place to Begin” have been offered to this point, many instantly from the Psychological Well being America retailer. What do you suppose is resonating a lot with readers?
Lauri Hornik: It was a ebook 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 varied spots, and now it’s all on this good, compact, fairly ebook. It additionally has worksheets, that are very helpful too. I feel it is a ebook that when the one that wants it hears about it, then it is an apparent selection.
“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.