THE BLUE VEIL (book) by Leigh Turgeon

THE BLUE VEIL, by Leigh Turgeon, is an honest and emotive account of a young woman - Leigh - and her struggle with depression. Keeping her depression a secret, Leigh hides behind a facade which she has created for herself; the Blue Veil.

Leigh takes us on her journey, allowing us to look behind the veil.

She has posted a video about her project, THE BLUE VEIL:

Blurb to THE BLUE VEIL:

The Blue Veil causes a self-induced social isolation.                                                        -The Blue Veil, 2012, Leigh Turgeon

When I was younger and somewhat more carefree, if I went ‘off the grid’ for a bit it was usually because I had met a guy and was chillin’ with him for a bit. As the years wore on though, and my depression got so much worse, if I was unreachable by phone for a bit, there was a problem. I started avoiding all calls, all conversation and just stayed at home not speaking to anyone.

My girlfriend Amber was the first one of my friends to actually notice this. When a major relationship of mine went bad I literally didn’t speak to anyone for weeks. One day, Amber showed up at my door. At the time she lived in a city 5 hours away and had decided she had to come to town to get me out of my apartment and out of my pit of emotion.

As the years went by I started to recognise when I was doing it, over and over again. Frankly I’m surprised I still have the caring friends that I do! I would practically hibernate in the winter, and then feel like a vampire coming out into the sun come spring. I won’t know where I would’ve been if it hadn’t been for Amber that first time, when she actually pointed out that I had been isolating myself.  I hope everyone has friends as observant as Amber…perhaps from this people may start to take notice?

THE BLUE VEIL can be purchased using the following links.

Kindle:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Blue-Veil-ebook/dp/B007733C8K

Kobo:
http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/The-Blue-Veil/book-XRoN7buNKkWXmRbVgqma7g/page1.html?s=S09sR_pmNkCf330NCg8gxA&r=1

And all other forms:
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/131171

Leigh has also created a crowd funding project for the release of THE BLUE VEIL.

http://www.indiegogo.com/TheBlueVeilTour?a=881595 
“I did this so I can print the book and take it on tour, while organizing speaking engagements .... to spread depression awareness.” - Leigh Turgeon

Free Your Mind with these links! (FYM making it up to you for the lack of posts!)

Due to an extremely hectic schedule, I have been, and I still am, unable to blog as much as I usually would. Hopefully, the links bellow will make up for the shortage of blog posts. :)

At the top of my agenda, however, has been the expansion of Free Your Mind from more than a blog into a recognisable campaign that can make a difference and open people's minds to mental illness, and raise awareness of the issues, and debates, surrounding mental illness.

But, before that, this... Thank You!
Since this mental health anti-stigma campaign (and blog) launched in July 2010, the support FYM has received has been immense. Without your support, I'm certain there would have been times when I probably would have felt there was no longer any point, and I may have given up; but(!) this didn't happen because I had your support, and I am so grateful for that. Thank you all for all of your support and thank you for continuing to support Free Your Mind.


Links:
The following link is to the blog of Michael 'Frost' Williamson, a great friend and supporter of FYM since it's very beginnings. Michael is a professional stylist and designer working within the fashion industry. His portfolio of work includes working for All-Walks a campaign aimed at promoting a healthy body image in the fashion industry. Michael has long blogged about his exciting career in fashion, and he now has a vlog where he shares his invaluable fashion advice and styling tricks (available to watch on his safety-pin-charm blog, hosted on YouTube).


This next link is for the emotional, touching and inspirational vlog by Lucy a.k.a LoopzCreate (on YouTube). She speaks from the heart, so please watch her videos, and show my girl some love! :)


My next link is for Voices for Awareness which is blog written my a male in his twenties, writing about his experience with manic depression, self- harm, and the issues that come with having a mental health disorder. Voices for Awareness is also on Tumblr.

Another fantastic and honest blogger on Tumblr is 'Skylar'; a female in her twenties, blogging about mental illness, addiction, and her road to recovery.

Personal recommendations:
Caroline C. Kimberley is a fantastic artist from Yorkshire, loves rock music and is a huge The League of Gentlemen fan. Check out her artwork here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.  <--All links here are to separate pages/blogs.

Free Your Mind can also be found online at Facebook and on Twitter.

Also:
Some great people to follow on Twitter:
Michael 'Frost' Williamson - @mwfrost
Lucy (LoopzCreate) - @loopysos
Caroline C. Kimberley- @CCKimberley
Me(!)Nicola Edwards - @TitchBNikkiE (changed Twitter username Feb. 2012)