I Just Want To Be... ME!

Timothy Bowden & Sandra Bowden (authors)

Exisle Publishing, Australia: 2010

ISBN: 9781921497476

Genres: graphic novel, non-fiction

Issues: mental health, resilience

Holly finds it hard to get out of bed and face the world each day. She suffers terribly from anxiety and is convinced that she isn't good enough – not good enough to have friends, not good enough at anything to succeed, not good enough at all. What Holly doesn't realise is that most people feel as she does at least some of the time – and it is possible to learn to manage such feelings in order to overcome the despair and anxiety.

ACT is the acronym for Acceptance & Commitment Therapy, developed by psychologist Steve Hayes in the 1980s. Dr Russ Harris' bestseller, The Happiness Trap made ACT accessible and understandable to a wider readership. I Just Want to be...ME! is trying to bring ACT to a younger readership. If children learn to manage their anxiety and self-doubt at an early age then they have a much greater chance of avoiding mental health problems in adulthood. Pyschologists Timothy and Sandra Bowen have used a simple narrative to demonstrate the basic principles of ACT.

Holly finds herself adrift on a boat after fleeing the tension of her daily life. Drifting is lovely but she soon realises that it's an escape, not a solution – and that the negative thinking that destroys her confidence has come along for the ride. By using the metaphor of 'monsters in the boat', the Bowdens show the reader (through Holly) that it is possible to challenge those confidence-eroding thoughts and use various techniques such as mindfulness and distraction to avoid engaging with them.

The graphics are very basic but the important part of this book is the clarity with which ACT is outlined for younger readers. I Just Want to Be...ME! is accessible to readers of any age and is something that can be shared as a family or read alone. While these may be strategies you have already shared with your gifted child, it doesn't hurt to reinforce them – or for your child to find those ideas being put forward from another source. Gifted children are extremely vulnerable to self-doubt, anxiety, low self-esteem and often internalise their feelings because they feel 'alien'. I Just Want to be... ME! makes it quite clear that many people – gifted or not – feel the same way and that there are things that an individual can do to manage these destructive thoughts and feelings.

An excellent resource for homes and schools.