These were words used by reviewers from the Daily Telegraph, The Times and some other another author. The story is an unsettling and yet important one and really makes you think about the difficult subject of mental illness and the struggles of patients and families. I believe the author worked in this field himself and therefore had a good insight into the topic he choose to write about. In this imaginative debut, the tale of Noah's Ark is brilliantly recast as a story of fate and family, set in a near-future London. Matt's mental illness was not taken lightly in this book, and this is what made it feel so realistic in my opinion. It wasn't introduced as something that can be fixed overnight. It's a daily struggle for the patient and his family. Novel, described as 'one of the best books about mental health', goes on to compete for overall prize

I have an illness, a disease with the shape and sound of a snake. Whenever I learn something new it learns it too.......................My illness knows everything I know. HELLO, my name is your potential. But you can call me impossible. I am the missed opportunities. I am the expectations you will never fulfil. I am always taunting you, regardless of how hard you try, how hard you hope.” I didn’t feel emotionally connected to anything. It was underwhelming because I felt like I was supposed to feel emotional, and I wasn’t. The use of mixed formats, different fonts interspersed with occasional line drawings cleverly mirrors the ebb and flow of Matthew’s mental illness. Likewise, the narrative flits between different stages in his life, before Simon’s death, after Simon’s death, during hospital stays, independent living. This is an extremely honest account of one man’s journey through mental illness but there is also humour and great insight from Matthew as he sees how his brother’s death tore his family apart and left them adrift. Try and remember that if you can. Hold onto it through everything else that happens in life, through all the things that might make you want to forget - keep it safe somewhere.”

Haven sighed. Then shrugged. "He's the best man I know, but he believes himself to be the worst. He sees himself as some...monster." She narrowed her eyes, watching Cole, thinking how best to help him. "I don't know how to change that.” I think what I liked most about the book, is how Nathan Filer played with time. The story keeps jumping around in time, and quite a few times I wasn't sure where we were. This is what it must be like for Mat all the time - Time falls through my fingers. You can also feel the incredible sadness that surrounds the whole family after Simon died, and see how everyone tries to cope with the situation. Matthew is one of the most honest characters I've ever met, but that's possibly because his reality is not as fixed as most other people. But if you live in a place where is is often likely to rain, or your perception falters and dislocates so that you retreat, suspicious and afraid of those closest to you, that is climate.”

Matt Holmes is a 19 year old schizophrenic struggling within the mental health system who decides to put his thoughts to paper when his Nana buys him an old typewriter and hopes his scribbling and notes will be therapeutic and bring him some freedom. This novel follows the story of a young man named Matthew. We are told of the tragic death of Matthew's brother during childhood and how he blames himself for its occurrence. As the reader we are unsure as to whether Matthew is actually guilty of the death of his brother or whether it was just a tragic accident. Nearer the end of the novel we discover the real story as to how his brother died. Matt’s other creations aren’t produced so easily. It takes him weeks to build an atomic model ant farm in his flat, sketched out for him by Simon ‘moving my hand, scratching my pen across the sketchpads and the bedroom wall. His interstellar dust. His atoms.’ Simon had always wanted an ant farm, but his parents never let him have one. So Matt makes one for him. ‘With the right ingredients, like the right sort of atoms and everything,’ he explains, ‘you can build’ memories, ‘stop them being memories, and make them real again’: Where the Moon Isn’t is a story told by Matthew Homes, a mentally ill nineteen-year-old. It’s a metafictional novel, as Matthew constantly and intentionally exposes himself as the author and communicates openly with the readers. He provides excuses when he’s unable to explain something or offer further details. He makes constant remarks about his mental stability, and his reasons for writing the story. Writers' Guild Awards 2014/15". Writers' Guild of Great Britain. 19 January 2015 . Retrieved 15 April 2019.

If the tap choked and spluttered before the water came, he was saying I’m lonely. When I opened a bottle of Dr Pepper and the caramel bubbles fizzed over the rim, he was asking me to come out and play. He could speak through an itch, the certainty of a sneeze, the after-taste of tablets, or the way sugar fell from a spoon. Reading Paulette Jiles' revenge western Chenneville, it's easy to remember she's a poet. She plays ... Filer, 32, won in the best first novel category for a story about a young man's dramatic descent into mental illness, although the author said he hopes it is about more than that. Odmah u startu čitaoci su svesni da on nije jednostavan, da je nešto drugačije u njemu, njegovom načinu razmišljanja i da je pritisnut mnogim bolima, tugom i krivicom. Matthew’s problems started when he lost his older brother Simon. Simon was a child with special needs and Matt often resented him for being the center of their parents’ attention. But when Simon died in an accident partly caused by Matthew, he kept on living in Matthews head, a product of his guild and schizophrenia combined.

The use of various fonts interspersed with simple drawings complement well the inconsistent thought process which Matt's thought process follows. Moreover, the subtle references to past events, without explaining full details, created momentum in a plot which could simply have been a procession of unrelated ideas. This book encompassed so many themes on death, grieving and mental health issues that it also feels like it lasted so much longer than it really did - though without dragging in the slightest. Matt’s traumatic past is so profound that he begins manifesting “commanding hallucinations” of Simon. When Matt begins summoning Simon’s voice in his head, his father Richard and mother Susan send him to be treated at a mental hospital called Hope Road Day Centre. At the ward, Matt experiences a repetitive routine of treatment that he loathes. He complains about the rigid schedule enforced by Dr. Edward Clement, saying: “it tells me exactly what I have to do with my days, like coming in for therapy groups…what tablets I should take, and the injections, and who is responsible for what.” He continues by grousing: “there is literally nothing to do.” When Matt begins seeing an art therapist named Denise Lovell, he’s asked to perform a genogram. Matt agrees, and slowly begins to remember what happened to Simon by writing about the night he died. The Heartland (also published as This Book will Change Your Mind about Mental Health [27]) (Faber, 2019) Filer was a mental health nurse who has worked as a researcher in the academic unit of psychiatry at the University of Bristol, and on in-patient psychiatric wards. Healthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations. We avoid using tertiary references. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.But that is what these people do - the Steves of this world - they all try and make something out of nothing. and they all do it for themselves.” Moreover, the experience that Nathan Filer has gained as a mental health nurse is apparent through his irreverent treatment of the subject matter. He does not idealise the staff or the patients, both of them have good days and bad days and this was remarkably refreshing. I could not deny that I did not gain something from the text, but it was also pleasant to find that an author did not shove his or her ideology down my throat to the extent that the book merely appeared distasteful. Even better was that Filer managed to inject sharp bursts of humour which cut through what could otherwise be an oppressive narrative to entertain and make the work somehow more real. She's known sadness. That's what it is. I only just thought that as I wrote it. She's known sadness, and it has made her kind.”