Young Derry woman is set to release her own book of poetry on mental health

The book is titled ‘We Are All Creatures of Struggle,’ and it’s author said the main theme is mental health.

"Being a Derry Girl, I think Derry especially goes through a lot of mental health struggles,” Aimée said.

“I know Derry people are quite quiet about it. Hopefully, wherever the book ends up, it helps people speak up and realise that it's not taboo. We need to start taking it seriously."

The new poetry book, Aimée adds, “spans over the last five years of my life”.

"There's poems in the book from 2019 and there are poems in the book right up to last year, 2024. It's like a documentation of my early 20s.”

Aimée described how during the writing process she was going through a break-up and was mentally at a low point, but writing the book turned into ‘free therapy’ for the young writer.

“When I was going through all these struggles, I started to feel low. I turned to writing, it was interesting to see how despite how low and hopeless I felt, the poems I was writing were quite hopeful. I think it was nice to see my subconscious thinking like that.

“It showed me that there was a light at the end of the tunnel. I decided at the end of writing that it might be a useful tool to publish so people could feel less alone.”

Aimée’s interest in writing started in childhood. She said: “My mum and dad would always read to me when I was really young, and that always stayed with me.

“When I was seven, I started loving creative writing. I would go up to my room and create my own stories. I would get a pencil and an A4 sheet, fold them over to be a book, and cellotape them. In school, I would bring my own paper copies, I just always loved it.”

School teachers began to notice Aimée’s passion for literature. At Lisnagelvin, her primary teacher asked her to mail her first book to them. This stayed with Aimée through her journey, inspiring her craft.

“That was a huge doorway into discovering that I really love writing,” said Aimée. “When I got into secondary school, poetry started to grip me. We were studying Seamus Heaney. I have always loved Victorian writers, I love Emily Bronte's poetry. I have a fascination for the Victorian era, I love their respect for the craft."

Surreal is how Aimée described her feelings on publishing her debut book.

“It's just amazing. I know it sounds cliche and corny, but it is a dream come true. When you are younger, you go through a list of things you want to become when you are older, like a fireman or an astronaut, but they change. But mine never changed, I wanted to be a writer.

“Finally getting the publishing deal, I feel like I have been really true to myself, I’m doing my younger self such a huge service and making her proud,” said Aimée.

‘We Are All Creatures of Struggle’ releases on March 13.

You can pre-order the book here: https://tinyurl.com/ysahsrvv