SECOND EDITION
SECOND EDITION
The 2nd edition of Walking from Home is coming soon!
This book is a love letter to anyone believing their life isn’t worth living.
Welcome to my visual & poetic reckoning of life & death.
Mental health has a dangerous way of lurking below the surface, as it is often labeled inconsequential & trivial. Wrestling with my own depression has inspired me to create a work that empowers people to speak up about what they need & how they’re feeling.
You are loved.
These pages offer vulnerable insights into my journey of healing to help you navigate & nurture your own — BECAUSE YOU’RE NOT CRAZY, LIFE’S JUST HARD.
Let’s face this together.
Hi there! I’m so glad you’re here.
I have been deeply ashamed about my anxiety & depression for most of my life. Now I am offering an open book inspired by it.
Quite frankly, I’m terrified & delighted. Some call that being alive.
In November of 2020, I committed to going on daily walks to get outta my room & outta my head. What began as a private, desperate mental health exercise of grabbing my camera, walking the streets, & scribbling my gnawing thoughts has now morphed into a project that I’m eager to share — Walking from Home.
In an effort to destigmatize the shame around mental health, the book includes selected poems from my Uncle Andrew who took his own life in 1977. His poems are joined by my film photos, taken on my many walks. I found great comfort in Andrew’s words and hope they can do the same for others.
Mental health has a dangerous way of lurking below the surface, but I’m inspired & determined to empower people to speak up about how they’re feeling & what they need.
By providing a safe, contemplative space within these pages, I hope we can begin healing together.
More behind…
Andrew’s passport photo taken months before he took his life.
Truth be told, this photo was my first inspiration to start wearing denim and try growing my hair out when I was younger. This is my Uncle, Andrew Medan Karp, & in 1977 he hanged himself from a shower curtain rod almost low enough for his knees to touch the ground.
Andrew grew up in Vancouver, British Colombia with 5 other siblings. Throughout his 23 years of life, he spent much of his time hitchhiking the West Coast, drinking coffee, smoking cigs, & writing poetry (things that are all too familiar to me as coping mechanisms).
After his death, my grandmother consolidated his journals of writing into a poetry book entitled Winds of Silent Mystery. I’ve now read it cover to cover many times. Throughout my own escapade of depression & anxiety, I found comfort & understanding in Andrew’s words, even though I’ve never met him.
Often times, mental health can be overlooked as inconsequential or trivial, but I know for many people that is not the case. My hope is that these pages can offer some comfort as you navigate your own journey of pain, in whatever form it may come.
