Survival is an Instinct

Sometimes, survival isn't a choice. Sometimes you don't have the forethought and heart to put into place the recovery building blocks required to rebuild your future. Sometimes, everything is just a raw response to external stimuli. Sometimes, survival is an instinct. Brooke Forbes is a lawyer, writer, mental health survivor and Newcastle, NSW, Australia local. After a part-time University job teaching creative writing to mental health clients, her former client, good friend and fellow mental health survivor Nathan Bell encouraged her to publish her own short stories. The result is a personal essay on survival, recovery and reclaiming your future; embedded with a series of short stories written from Brooke's early University days to her post-psychosis reality. The short stories focus on how big small relationships are, turning points and the beauty within the suburban sprawl. The personal essay shines a light on the importance of creativity and expression in recovery, and how complex it is to map out your future when the building blocks of your past have been in some way shattered. Rather than becoming the Prime Minister, which was one of Brooke's delusions of grandeur when in psychosis, Brooke went on to complete a law degree at the University of Newcastle and works as a lawyer locally in Newcastle, NSW.