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9781473643253

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'Reads like a compelling novel with complex characters and challenging plots ... Inspiring ... Growing Pains is a book I look forward to re-reading. I highly recommend it ... It will be one of only a few that live on the shelf above my desk for easy reference.' -- Augene Nanning * BACP CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE * 'A highly readable book for families as well as carers and professionals to help to understand the experience of growing up - and a valuable contribution towards better outcomes for many young people experiencing difficulties today.' -- CATRIONA WILLIAMS OBE, CEO, Children in Wales 'How can we offer advice to others if we don't recognise our own flaws and weaknesses? Mike Shooter reflects on his own journey and the challenges of depression to draw from many a gentle message of hope that things can be better. I have never read a book where turning the page I found myself in tears. A book that was difficult to put down.' -- MIKE GREENAWAY, Director, Play Wales 'In his engaging and informative book, Dr Mike Shooter's wisdom and insight are significant as he works in some of the toughest areas of child and adolescent mental health problems.' -- DR HADYN WILLIAMS, CEO, British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP) 'Mike Shooter's book is full of humanity. Following the journey through the stories of people he has seen during his career, we learn so much about the stresses and pains of young people's lives. We also learn about the ways in which thoughtful therapy can make a real difference. Mike places himself by the side of the young people he works with not least by sharing his own life challenges. A wise and ultimately uplifting book.' -- JENNY EDWARDS CBE, CEO, Mental Health Foundation 'Provocative, engrossing and engaging. Compulsive reading and should be compulsory reading for all who have children and those who look after and deal with children and young people. Lessons from a life time of learning and sharing.' -- DINESH BHUGRA CBE, President (2014-17), World Psychiatric Assocation 'Brilliant book. Mike Shooter has through the lens of his own lived experience of depression given us a truly 3D picture of the struggles of growing up. This is the first book I've read that bridges the gap between evidence-based texts and what all of us privileged to work with children need - intelligent kindness, emotional intelligence and a listening, non-judgmental ear.' -- PROFESSOR DAME SUE BAILEY, Chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges 'This is a unique book which combines the wisdom of a psychiatrist who has helped heal the minds of young people in crisis for over four decades and his own experience of a damaged childhood and subsequent depression. The stories he tells are poignant and powerful testimonies to the resilience of the human spirit and will fascinate all of us who struggle to make sense of our own and other people's lives.' -- MARJORIE WALLACE CBE, Chief Executive, SANE 'A remarkable, powerful, tender and insightful book that will change lives. I cannot doubt that hundreds - I would hope thousands - of families can be helped by Mike Shooter's profound, careful and utterly convincing insights. He combines all the clinical and scientific expertise of a physician with the understanding, patience and openness of the best therapists. But he has something else too - his own very special gifts of wisdom, warmth, humour and kindness, which shine through on every page. Nothing here is reduced to a cookie-cutter syndrome. Dr Shooter understands Tolstoy's famous observation All happy families are alike; all unhappy families are unhappy in their own way. If you had a troubled, dark childhood you will wish someone in your family had had access to Growing Pains and if you have children who don't seem to be able to be happy, I urge you to read it now.' -- STEPHEN FRY

Author Information

Dr Mike Shooter CBE is a former President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and was the first child psychiatrist to hold that post. He is now an honorary fellow of six Royal Colleges and has spoken from public and professional platforms, written and advised governments in many parts of the world. An ex-journalist, Mike is a passionate believer in the power of stories and the need to share them - those of his patients and his own. He still lives in the Welsh Valleys, amidst a large family, many animals, and the community with whom he worked for more than 40 years.

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