When our lives are filled to the brim with ‘busyness’, sometimes all we need is something to quietly soothe our mind. A pick me up. Support. Validation. Self-care.
This is the concept behind a new book by Bundaberg author Sarah Tump and illustrator Anna Unearthed. A combination of a self-help guide, an illustrated book and a journal, You Are is a unique concept that is both uplifting and comforting.
“I’ve always had the idea of the title in my mind, that it would be You Are, and then you fill in the blanks. You go to each chapter that is relevant to what you’re needing in that moment. It helps to affirm that you are allowed to be you. You are allowed to be having a bad day or be tempted by ego, or to feel powerful or be inspired,” Sarah said.
The idea for the book came after Sarah was reading her daughter a children’s book.
“Children’s books have all these beautiful illustrations. It took me away from being an adult, just for a moment,” Sarah said.
“I began asking myself why there aren’t books like this for adults and the idea just flowed from there.”
Sarah said pairing words with images allowed the reader’s brain to process thoughts in a completely different way, as well as breaking up the monotony that exists in many spiritual self-development books.
“They can often be 10 or 20 pages in one chapter, when you only need the one paragraph right at the end to learn from. The sections in You Are are broken up, so you don’t have to read lots of pages to get some sort of self-soothing and answers,” she said.
Anna said the pair were amazed by how well You Are had been received so far.
“We’re in a time now where there are a lot of people vulnerable from the last couple of years and mental health has gone through the roof. More people than ever are feeling lonely, struggling with financial issues and all those big feelings are being forced to the surface,” Anna said.
“One of the special things in this book is there are blank pages with notes after each chapter which gives people the opportunity to have a place to write notes or draw a picture if they feel inspired or write a poem. It really allows the reader to make it personal to them.”