#IAMWHOLE began in 2016, as a joint initiative between the NHS & YMCA that went viral after Rizzle Kicks’ Jordan Stephens got involved, with the campaign gaining massive international coverage, endorsements from Liam Gallagher and James Corden, being mentioned in Parliament and reaching over 120 million people. It’s grown year on year and in 2018 they threw their Music 4 Mental Health concert at Roundhouse with Ed Sheeran, Professor Green, Anne-Marie, Ella Eyre and Nothing But Thieves playing.
This year #IAMWHOLE is focusing on books. The inaugural Books For Mental Health book club took place last night at The Ministry, as part of National Mental Health Awareness Week.
Organised by mental health organisation #IAMWHOLE (www.whole.org.uk), the session saw Rizzle Kicks’ Jordan Stephens in conversation with best-selling author, Matt Haig. The pair had met last year on the organisation’s podcast The Whole Truth. In an incredibly open and stimulating hour they discussed Matt’s memoir ‘Reasons to Stay Alive’, which was a number one bestseller and stayed in the British top ten for a staggering 46 weeks, as well as wider mental health issues, their own experiences battling depression and anxiety, and the ways they have learned to deal with mental illness.
Reasons To Stay Alive is the first book chosen for what is to be a monthly series taking place at The Ministry, with the #IAMWHOLE community being invited to read the book and discuss it on their online forum and social media networks. The series aims to open up conversations around mental health and the many mental benefits reading can have.
Have you read Matt’s book or would you like to attend an #IAMWHOLE event in the future? Let us know @CelebMix!