In a Nutshell: Utterly invaluable, gloriously gracious guide to life | This heartfelt handbook for young adults by an inspirational presenter and producer is the literary embodiment of a big sister’s shoulder and a best friend’s ear.
Split into segments exploring Your Heart, Your Mind, Your Body and Soul, Your World and Future, this warm-hearted, straight-talking nugget of non-fiction gold offers vital advice on dealing with life’s challenges (e.g. depression, bullying, eating disorders, self-harm and grief), while also providing succinctly savvy introductions to politics, feminism, finance and the environment. Cairney confides in her readers throughout, thereby opening a healthy headspace in which individuals can contemplate their own outlook, anxieties and aspirations. The book also offers readers opportunities to personalise the funky graphic pages, which feature thought-provoking, interactive exercises, from playing Family Bingo and taking the Period Quiz, to a map on which to mark your wildest wanderlust dreams.
Packed with an abundance of info, insight, empathy and encouragement - from the comforting “we all mess up sometimes”, to the truly uplifting “now go reach for the moon!” - Open is surely set to become THE must-have manual for young women navigating the often-tempestuous waters of their teenage years.~ Joanne Owen
Open: A Toolkit for How Magic and Messed Up Life Can be Synopsis
Open: A Toolkit for How Magic and Messed Up Life Can Be is full of honest advice about the big, bad and beautiful things that growing up is all about: from mental health to families to first love, and everything in between.
Gemma Cairney is an important advocate for young people and between her life experiences and her personal insight from her time as Radio 1's resident agony aunt on The Surgery, she is perfectly placed to offer hope and a huge comforting cuddle to young people questioning what life's all about or dealing with hard times. Along with practical help and advice from a range of experts and gorgeous illustrations, this bright and colourful book also has a ribbon marker and plenty of space for readers to personalize and make it their own, making Open a treasured resource to return to whenever advice is needed.
"If you ever needed a wise best friend in a book, this is it. Avert years of teenage trauma!” Caitlin Moran
“This book by Gemma Cairney is perfect – she is warm, witty, huge-hearted; the perfect confidante and the perfect storyteller. What a great idea this book is!” Annie Mac
“Gemma is absolutely brilliant – long may she use her voice to such a powerful effect” Annie Lennox
Author
About Gemma Cairney
Gemma Cairney is a multi-award winning broadcaster, writer, producer and general polymath. She currently presents The Surgery on BBC Radio 1. As the network’s only speech-based show, it focuses on tackling the everyday issues of young people and creating positive social action. She has racked up a breadth of experience across the BBC networks including Radio 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and, most recently, the BBC World Service, and covers Glastonbury each year on BBC1 and BBC2. Gemma is known for her irreverent approach, insatiable appetite for telling stories and sparkling imagination. Outside the BBC she owns her own production company called Boom Shakalaka Productions, where she oversees different audio, visual and arts content. She has edited and written for various publications, including The Pool, Elle, Red, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, the Guardian and The Debrief. She is ‘Artist In Residence’ at The Southbank Centre and is on the committee for Women Of The World Festival. Outside work she loves to DJ garage classics at parties and lives by the sea, where she can be found wild swimming in a tidal pool. Follow Gemma Cairney on Instagram.
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