CLAREMONT resident Martin Graham will aim to raise $45,000 to self publish his book, “Awakened from Blind’s Walking Sleep: Journey Into Love and Reflection”, in an effort to build mental health awareness.
The former journalist now poet described the book as a telling of his personal journey to positive mental health.
The 52-year-old said his poetic ensemble of 120 pages took him eight years to finetune.
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READ NOW“Later in life I went through turmoil and emotional harm and the way I made myself better was through writing,” he said.
“I initially kept it to myself but then some people read it and told me I should publish it because if it managed to help me feel better then I thought maybe it could help others.”
The book starts with Mr Graham’s epiphany about human perception but then takes a dark turn and outlines the mental health journey he went before reaching a turning point, where he started to love his life again.
Mr Graham said some of his work was inspired by where he lives, in an apartment overlooking the Claremont Baths.
“Every day I watch the river reflect the sunrise and count my blessings, living here above the jetty,” he said.
According to Mr Graham the creation of his literary work was a team effort with photographers Michael and Jane Pelusey and book designer Vanessa Tolomei contributing to the project.
“I came up with the idea to match the Peluseys’ photography with the poetry because the pictures articulate the sentiments behind the words,” he said.
Mr Graham said he looked at 70,000 photos over four months before deciding on those he would print in his book.
Mr Graham has set up a Kickstarter page to fund the publishing of his book.
“I’ve only raised about $3000 so far,” he said.
“I need people to make a pledge on Kickstarter to buy a copy of the book for $40 dollars and when I’ve got enough pledges, I will have enough to fund publishing a book for everyone who made a pledge.”
Graham will need to raise $45,000 by October 13.
To make a pledge go to http://kck.st/2OjZX08