What's Young Adult Fiction Got To Do With Mental Health And Identity?

Soul Sessions with Jodie Gale

In this episode Jodie Gale interviews Author and Winner of the CBCA Book of the Year, Younger Readers, Pip Harry. We discuss young adult fiction, mental health, diet culture, competitive sport and identity. Pip talks about her personal story, her struggles with weight, dieting and competitive sport, and how she overcame them, her career history including being a former editor of New Idea, the long road to success which included many knockbacks, what is young adult fiction?, what age is young adult fiction aimed at?, what kind of concerns do young adult fiction cover?, why is it important for this age demographic to read about mental health concerns such as anxiety, depression, disordered eating, mother-daughter issues?, how competitive sport puts pressure on young people in terms of their relationship with food and their body, do authors write about the struggles in their own lives?, Pip's advice for anyone else struggling with these concerns, how writing can help in recovery, why are so many adults reading YA books? Themes in this episode are trauma, CPTSD, eating disorder recovery, anger, boarding school, mother-daughter relationships.