Sam's Journal

A beneficial book for mental health professionals, social workers, nurses, teachers or parents and caregivers who may be working with high risk youths with mental health disorders or substance abuse disorders. Sam's Journal gives a glimpse into the person behind the mental illness and can be used as a way to break the ice and initiate valuable discussion around mental health, substance abuse, and recovery topics with youth, students, and families.

As a vibrant young adult diagnosed with schizophrenia, Sam Ko laces his art journal with writing that is so real, you'll feel like you are seeing the world through his eyes.

Sam's Journal is a powerfully raw and brutally honest art journal book of a young adult’s struggle with chronic schizophrenia. On the outside, Sam Ko is like any other self-aware hipster who asserts his love for outsider art, black skinny jeans, and shoegaze. But in his head, Sam struggles daily with increasingly persistent and disruptive psychosis. Even with the support of his drug dealing brother, Rollie, and a nurturing single mom, Sam’s life descends into a downward spiral of events as he attempts to self medicate through an assortment of street drugs to cope with his unreality.

No other book has approached the subject matter of schizophrenia and drug abuse in a manner that Sam's Journal has done. It combines visually sumptuous illustrations with the intimate perspective of first person narrative via short stories, poems and free verse prose describing events, moods, and states of mind experienced by Sam as he progresses through mental health adversity and recovery.

Mental health affects us all. Just as our bodies become unwell, our minds can also encounter challenges that can interfere with our daily lives. However, mental health can be a subject that is surrounded by stigma, shame, and silence. Sam's Journal is a tool to help begin important conversations with those in our life who may really need our support.

**Reader Discretion: Mature themes related to language, drug use, and sexuality. **