Night Shift

Description

'Debi Gliori is amazing. Her pictures offer people an insight into depression that words often struggle to reach. She makes visible the invisible. And I for one want to thank her for that.' - Matt Haig, bestselling author of Reasons to Stay Alive With stunning black and white illustration and deceptively simple text, author and illustrator Debi Gliori examines how depression affects one's whole outlook upon life, and shows that there can be an escape - it may not be easy to find, but it is there. Drawn from Debi's own experiences and with a moving testimony at the end of the book explaining how depression has affected her and how she continues to cope, Debi hopes that by sharing her own experience she can help others who suffer from depression, and to find that subtle shift that will show the way out. 'I have used dragons to represent depression. This is partly because of their legendary ability to turn a once fertile realm into a blackened, smoking ruin and partly because popular mythology shows them as monstrous opponents with a tendency to pick fights with smaller creatures. I'm not particularly brave or resourceful, and after so many years battling my beasts, I have to admit to a certain weariness, but I will arm-wrestle dragons for eternity if it means that I can help anyone going through a similar struggle.'

Debi Gliori lives in Scotland. Debi is well known for both her picture books and her novels for children and has been shortlisted for all the major prizes, including the Kate Greenaway Award (twice) and the Scottish Arts Council Award. Debi was the Shetland Islands' first Children's Writer-in-Residence. She has written and illustrated No Matter What, The Trouble With Dragons, Stormy Weather, The Scariest Thing of All, What's the Time, Mr Wolf?, Dragon Loves Penguin and, most recently, Alfie in the Bath and Alfie in the Garden as well as the popular Pure Dead fiction series for older readers.

I'm not sure how to review Night Shift without making it personal. Stories that focus on depression are, much like depression themselves, deeply personal. I can't read this book, look at the illustrations, without making comparisons to my own experiences. So sometimes I will think "yes this is me" and other times "no I don't feel like that". Depression is unique to the individual and while traits can be shared or similar for many I don't think it's possible for one story to ever be universal. This might come across as negative but it really isn't. Debi Gliori's has written and drawn a beautiful and dark map. It is because of the illustrations (which I think have a bigger impact because they aren't tied down by words) that this book connects so much. Night Shift is very effective and for a book so contained it's powerful. * Luna's Little Library * In only a few pages, with beautiful black and white drawings, Gliori brings home the misery of her existence in the grip of depression. Much like Haig's book, it helps convey how it feels to be depressed. The unrelenting nature of it, the desperate feeling that nothing matters. The book has a hopeful, forward-looking ending. It's perfect to give to somebody when you can't put into words how you are feeling. * Geek Dad * I thought this was a beautiful, brave and poetic book. With exquisite brevity, Debi Gliori articulates the struggle of living with depression, in stunning black and white illustrations, punctuated by a single burst of the dragon of depression's fire. Books like this are immensely important, so that the many children, teenagers and adults going through similar night journeys through the fog of illness, can feel that they are not alone in their struggles. The spread where 'something shifted' and the depression lifts, is moving beyond words. * Cressida Cowell * Gliori's words and illustrations capture something that 'there is no language for' and include a reminder that there might not be a knight in shining armour but at some point, there will be a shift. So creatively diverse and clever books like Night Shift are a great way of communicating the effects of depression through metaphor. * Sarah's Chapter * A hugely personal book drawn from Debi's own experiences, and putting her amazing writing and illustration skills to brilliant use. Do not miss this one. It's a vital addition to your bookshelf * Read it Daddy * such a creative way of sharing what depression is like... she makes visible the invisible and I for one want to thank her for that. * Kit Kats Can Read * a beautiful and important picture book for older readers...this is a book that instantly feels special and appropriate to the subject. A poignant, empathetic and ultimately hopeful book * School Library Journal * it finishes with a little message of hope that the depression will not last forever as she stops seeing dragons but starts to see seabirds flying overhead instead. Despite its small size and only taking a few minutes to read, the book is quite a powerful and moving personal expression of depression and a worthwhile quick read. * British Journal of General Practice * Gliori uses stark language and somber charcoal-like artwork to reflect on the weight and intensity of depression. * Publishers Weekly * A picture book about depression? Sounds like a terrible idea, but Gliori's slim volume vividly elucidates her "dragons" and the "night skills" she uses to cope. * People Magazine * In a small-format picture book aimed at a teenage and adult audience, Gliori (Side by Side) uses stark language and somber charcoal-like artwork to reflect on the weight and intensity of depression * Publishers Weekly * this little book stands out as being astoundingly poignant and sincere...This small (nearly pocket-sized) book is gorgeous-from the cover to the silver feathered endpapers to every dark-hued illustration and perfectly chosen word. Just gorgeous. This gentle, hopeful, deeply affecting book shows how all-encompassing, devastating, and difficult to articulate depression can be....For those of us who battle our own dragons, this book is a delicate and empathetic reminder that we're not alone and that, somewhere in all this darkness and fear, there is a strand of hope and a way forward. Profound in its simplicity and its honesty. * Teen Librarian Toolbox * I really thought this book was beautiful. Gliori's illustrations were not only beautiful, they were impactful and inspiring. As someone who does not have depression and has never experienced the full impact of what it can do, I thought this book really informed me of what others face everyday. Her journey through her hardships really spoke to me and her message of hope and healing was so beautiful * Liv The Book Nerd * Night Shift is a rare beast, a picture book aimed at young adults that functions somewhat as a guide through difficult times. This book is a novel weapon for banishing the darkness * INIS Reading Guide * Night Shift by Debi Gliori is an impressive, well considered articulation of what it means and how it feels to be depressed. A sophisticated picture book forged from fog, shaped from shadows and drawn out of darkness, it gives voice to that which often remains voiceless and can isolate. Listlessness and lack of colour is captured by the black and white illustrations, punctuated occasionally by volatile red. There's a looming, oppressive mood as muscular, hollow-eyed dragons - almost parasitic in nature - become metaphors for the condition. The triumph of the book is the way it uses verbal and visual language to shine a light onto the condition, enabling this to be better explained, shared and to contribute an endpoint to some of the loneliness and stigma that often accompanies it, offering some hope without losing power or falling into platitudes * Books For Keeps * Illustrated perfectly to match what the book is about * Teen Titles *