Out of Isolation: A Charity Anthology is a collection of poems, essays, diaries and personal reflections from well-known writers, all written during the Covid-19 pandemic. This book provided me with much-needed distraction over a weekend, away from the rest of the world, as I dipped in and out of its written treasures. It took me on a literary journey across time and space. All of the entries were thought-provoking and beautifully written. The most poignant contributions for me included the anonymous contribution by a junior doctor, the diary of a complicated pregnancy, and an amusing poem about being stuck inside during lockdown, when you're naturally an outdoors person (with an outdoors dog) - these are real people leading seemingly ordinary lives struggling to cope with the extraordinary circumstances of a pandemic and its impact, particularly on mental health. The anthology is raising money for the charity Shout 8528, which offers free 24/7 mental health text support in the UK.
Out of Isolation is a collection of writing from the COVID-19 pandemic. From famous names such as Julian Fellowes, Tom Felton, Derren Brown and Alexander McCall Smith to historians, travel authors, poets, screenwriters, actors, the Dean of Canterbury and a Junior Doctor, the pieces range from personal reflections on life during the pandemic, to poems on love, to the diary of a journalist in Goma. This interesting and wide-ranging collection provides a fascinating insight into what was being written whilst the world was in isolation. Out of Isolation is raising money to support Shout 85258, an important charity that uses a free, 24/7 text messaging service to help anyone struggling to cope with their mental health. Susie Coreth will donate GBP1 from the sale of each book to Mental Health Innovations (reg charity no 1175670) to support its Shout 85258 24/7 mental health support service.
