Me and My Brian

Josh has anxieties. He is thirteen and struggling. He is also one of the few teenagers who has given his brain a name, Brian.

Brian, he says, can be very helpful but he can also be very loud and say mean things about Josh and make Josh tease and bully other people. This is one of the most easily understood descriptions of mental illness that I have seen.

Josh’s elder brother, Charlie, who is sixteen and their mother have been continually arguing, so much so, that Charlie decides to go and live with the boys’ dad who lives separately from their mother in a new family, with two stepchildren, Evie and Ella.

Charlie’s departure unsettles Josh further so his mother sends him to stay with his estranged grandmother for the easter holidays. Josh detests this idea. He doesn’t want to live with an old lady in the middle of nowhere but it transpires he and his grandmother have much in common. Will this new relationship ease his anxieties?

This is a beautiful story about the similarities between people from different generations and the ability to be mutually helpful to each other. It also reinforces the idea for young people that adults can and do have problems too, which is a very valuable concept. It will be both affirming and challenging to anyone struggling or who has struggled with their mental health.