Faris Atkinson's books (photo provided by Atkinson)

By Liam Verster

Picture books and mental health self-help

Local writer releases three new books

Jul 25, 2020 | 6:00 AM

After an 18 year hiatus, Faris Atkinson has released three books.

The first of her three new books, ‘Mother Moose’ she actually wrote a few years ago, and is comprised mainly of pictures. However, after a few years of trying to find an affordable way to produce and print the books, she discovered that Amazon would print books on demand, and she decided to release her works online.

While she and her husband were working through the process of getting her book online, Atkinson also wrote ‘Depression? You’ve Got This,’ as well as a picture book for kids, entitled ‘Let’s All Go to the Farmhouse, It’s Our Happy Place to Be.’

The first of her new books, ‘Mother Moose,’ is based on a true story. her husband had gone out hunting and shot a moose, and while he was cleaning it, he spotted an elk, standing nearby and watching, almost as if it were concerned about the loss of a friend.

Atkinson says that reminded her of an Indigenous story, and immediately began writing. Once she had finished, she took the story to some Indigenous elders, as she had made some vague connections to the Cree hunting traditions and ceremonies, and wanted to make sure it was accurate.

“They gave me some feedback, they loved it, and they gave me a little bit of feedback to help me sort of improve it and prepare it. I want to basically have their blessing on it to make sure it wasn’t offensive, that it was accurate, that kind of thing” says Atkinson. “I didn’t have to do many changes with it at all, I just took some of their instruction and added to that, and away it went.”

She says ‘Mother Moose’ is about Indigenous culture, and touches on topics that include the circle of life, gratitude and respect, and recognizing the similarities between those that seem so different.

She hopes that the book inspires people to look into their own ancestors’ hunting practices and traditions, and discover how, though people have lots of differences from one another, there are lots of similarities as well.

The second book, ‘Let’s All Go to the Farmhouse, It’s Our Happy Place to Be,’ was a collaborative work between Atkinson and her sister, Heather Swallow. Swallow did the illustrations, which depicts Atkinson’s farmhouse and the animals that live on the farm. Atkinson says her sister also helped come up with some ideas for the book, including adding the scientific names, and how the book should be ordered.

The final book, ‘Depression? You Got This?’ is a sort of self-help book for people struggling with their mental health. Atkinson says most mental health books are written by doctors, and she wanted to try her hand at tackling the subject with a different approach.

Her book is designed based on a sort of road map, that would get the reader from being depressed, to a healthy mental state.

“It’s like we’re going on a journey together and the destination is going to be health and wellness. And where we’re starting we’re in a place of mental illness, or not feeling well, so how do we get from this point to where we want to go? How would we take a trip, how would we travel? We would decide the method in which we’re going, the route we’re going to take. What do we pack with us? Who do we take with us on our trip? Where do we stop along the way and what do those stops look like and how will they add tot he trip?”

Atkinson adds that there are a few short stories mixed into the book as well.

Atkinson had spent the last 18 years working for Suicide Prevention, and says a lot of the work and presentations she did there helped influence her work in ‘Depression? You’ve Got This.’

Her first book, ‘Blooms and Butterflies: Life After Loss,’ can also be purchased through Amazon. All of her works are also available on eReaders.

She says she plans to continue to write, and has a few ideas of stories from her husband that she plans on getting onto the page very soon.