It’s the five-year anniversary of Jake’s death, and his 18-year-old sister Jaycee is still grieving. In order to feel closer to him, she wears his clothes and recreates the daredevil stunts he performed while exploring abandoned sites and buildings. A group of friends decide to tag along with her: Nathalie, her bossy, cautious ex-best friend, Zach, an inveterate gamer, Bishop, a broken-hearted young man, and Mik, Jake’s mysterious friend. Will Jaycee…
Tag: depression
Liza Perrat
Continue Reading
Spirit of Lost Angels by Liza Perrat
Victoire Charpentier is a young woman living in Lucie-sur-Vionne, France, at the end of the 18th century. When her father dies in a coach accident and her mother is drowned for witchcraft, she has no choice but to go to Paris to work as a scullery maid for a noble family. Overwhelmed by the big city and abused by the Marquis who employs her, life doesn’t get any easier for…
Guest Post
Continue Reading
Interview With Jonathan LaPoma
The following is a guest post by Jonathan LaPoma, author of Developing Minds: An American Ghost Story. If you would like to write a guest post on my blog, please send me an e-mail at contact@cecilesune.com. Can you tell us a little about yourself? I’m an award-winning novelist, screenwriter, songwriter, and poet from Buffalo, NY. In 2005, I graduated from the State University of New York at Geneseo with a BA in history…
Fun Facts
Continue Reading
Did you know that Louisa May Alcott was addicted to opium?
She began using morphine to ease the after-effects of typhoid fever contracted while working as a nurse during the Civil War. The illness was at the time treated with mercury, which caused pain, weakness and hallucinations to the patients. In addition, Louisa May Alcott sometimes suffered from deep depression. In fact, she might even have been bipolar. Other interesting facts about the author: Her parents supported the abolition of slavery…
Review
Continue Reading
The Mapmaker’s Children by Sarah McCoy
It is 1859 in North Elba, NY, and John Brown is actively helping slaves escape to Canada via the Underground Railroad. His daughter, Sarah, has just learnt that she can’t have children after a recent bout of dysentery, and she is more determined than ever to help her father, using her artistic abilities to draw maps to show slaves the way to safety. In a parallel story, in the summer…
Michelle Muckley
Continue Reading
Psychophilia by Michelle Muckley
Back in July 2014, Michelle Muckley wrote a guest post on my blog on Being Adaptable as a writer, and I finally got the chance to read her book, Psychophilia. It is the story of Charlotte Astor, a 32-year-old real estate agent, who has just tried to commit suicide. Because she lost part of her memory, she doesn’t understand why her husband, Gregory, is so cold towards her, especially as she…
Aida Zilelian
Continue Reading
The Legacy of Lost Things by Aida Zilelian
Araxi is 18 years old when she runs away from home with her friend Cecile. Her disappearance forces her Armenian relatives to reevaluate their lives and think about the past to determine what went wrong. Levon, Araxi’s father, has to deal with his anger towards his wife and his sister. Tamar, Araxi’s mother, is depressed because of her failed marriage and a lost love. Sophie, Araxi’s younger sister, feels lonely…
Tennessee Williams
Continue Reading
Did you know that Tennessee Williams was hypochondriac?
He was obsessed with sickness and death, and constantly worried he was going insane. This was the result of being traumatized by his sister’s lobotomy after her mental breakdown. She was eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia. Tennessee Williams also suffered from depression and bouts of anxiety his whole life, and became dependent on drugs and alcohol. He died in 1983 at the age of 71 as he chocked on the plastic cap of…
Fiction
Continue Reading
Knots & Crosses by Ian Rankin
Ian Rankin was in Ottawa on Saturday 30 November 2013 to talk about his new book, Saints of the Shadow Bible. Earlier that day, he was having a drink in a pub when he started chatting with one of the customers there. The guy noticed that he was Scottish, and asked Rankin what he was doing for a living. When the author told him, the guy said he was actually…
Graphic novel
Continue Reading
Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge
First of all, I should mention that my love affair with graphic novels started only a few years ago when I was taking a Reader’s Advisory course at Algonquin College. Before that, I thought graphic novels were limited to the superhero genre which didn’t attract me much. Now I know that this medium is as interesting and as varied as regular books. If you have never read graphic novels, I…