When people visit Leicestershire Libraries, alongside the range of Reading Well Books on Prescription titles, they'll also find a different, but complementary, title displayed on the open shelves.

The Yellow Book is a free publication created for people who have had experience of mental illness and their families. The book contains uplifting poetry and art, and recovery material from King College London Institute of Psychiatry and the Royal College of Psychiatrists. It also signposts to a whole range of organisations and schemes that can offer support and advice, including Reading Well Books on Prescription.

The Yellow Book is the brainchild of Peter Hirst, from Safe Inside Safe Outside (SISO) and rethinkyourmind, who found reading health and wellbeing advice and uplifting books helped with his own experiences of mental illness:

"I wish The Yellow Book could have been available to my family when I went into hospital. The wellbeing material inside was developed from the SISO Toolkit - this was the resource and work that aided me so much and I wanted to get this into the hands of the public."

Available throughout Leicestershire

Alongside libraries, The Yellow Book can now also be found in secondary schools, prisons, GP surgeries, and NHS hospital wards and outpatient departments throughout Leicestershire. The response to the title has been very strong:

"We've had positive feedback from outreach workers, psychiatrists and occupational therapists working with The Yellow Book, and comments about how accessible and non-threatening it is. They've told us how it has helped them to get people with mental health challenges to open up and start talking for the first time.

"Service users have told us that it has inspired and encouraged them. One woman who was in a Crisis Resolution Team setting, and who had been very frightened, told us that seeing and picking up and reading a copy of The Yellow Book warmed and lifted her at that challenging moment."

Reading Well Mood-boosting Books

If you're interested in the power of creative reading, you might also like to find out about Reading Well Mood-boosting Books, our national promotion of uplifting novels, non-fiction and poetry.

The books have all been chosen by readers and are available in many libraries nationwide.

Get involved

Download The Yellow Book for free and find out more about the project at rethinkyourmind.co.uk. A limited supply of paperback copies are also available for free.

Find out more about Reading Well and the positive impact reading and books can have on your health and wellbeing.