Westland Books Acquires Neha Kirpal And Dr Nandini Murali’s Latest Book On Mental Health

As part of Mental Health Awareness Month, Westland Books is pleased to announce the acquisition of Mental Health: Lived Experiences of Resilience and Hope by Neha Kirpal and Dr Nandini Murali. The book is about reclaiming and mainstreaming mental health narratives through the lens of lived experiences of women from across urban India.

The many stories in the book address the stigma, shame, secrecy and silence around mental health, offering reflective and informed perspectives, especially to those going through similar experiences either personally or witnessing it within their families and organisations. They also raise community awareness about the diversity and commonalities of people's experiences with mental health concerns; nurturing empathy, and support.

Women sharing their stories in the book range across cities, age groups and even professional and cultural contexts, offering deep insights through their lived experiences with depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, addictions, eating disorders, PTSD, suicide loss and adverse traumas.

Talking about the book, author Neha Kirpal said, "There's no better way for people to understand how to support those struggling with mental health challenges, than to hear first-person stories of 'experts by experience'. From the wisdom of our lived experiences, we can draw tremendous courage, inspiration and lasting hope."

Dr Nandini Murali added, "Lived experience narratives can heal, empower, transform and radically humanise society. However, lived experience expertise is more than just sharing stories. It involves a nuanced ability to harness our unique insights, perspectives and wisdom, to create lived experience informed and inclusive spaces."

About Westland Books

Westland Books is an award-winning Indian publisher with a diverse and exciting range of books from popular and literary fiction to business, politics, biography, spirituality, popular science, health, and selfhelp. Its key publishing imprints include Context, which publishes award-winning literary fiction and nonfiction; Eka, which publishes the best of contemporary writing in Indian languages and in translation;Tranquebar, home to the best new fiction from the Indian subcontinent; the eponymous Westland Sport, Westland Business and Westland Non-Fiction, and Red Panda, which publishes a range of books for children of different ages.

About the authors

Neha Kirpal has worked at the intersection of the creative and social sectors for nearly two decades. Having founded and successfully run India Art Fair (2008-2018), she moved onto the marginalised sector of mental health, joining Amaha health as co-founder in 2019. As a social entrepreneur and lived experience ambassador, Neha brings tremendous experience in weaving impact networks with great passion and commitment, stemming from her own family's mental health struggles for over three decades.

An Aspen fellow, an Eisenhower fellow, Neha has been part of the World Economic Forum's Young Global Leaders community and recipient of the prestigious Nari Shakti Puraskar given by the President of India in 2015.

Dr. Nandini Murali, is the author of Left Behind: Surviving Suicide Loss (Westland, 2021). A committed advocate of the transformative power of lived experience in mainstreaming complex issues around mental health and suicide, she is also a suicide prevention and mental health advocate.

Her lived experience of suicide loss inspired her to establish SPEAK, an initiative of MS Chellamuthu Trust and Research Foundation (MSCT&RF), Madurai, to create safe, inclusive, supportive spaces for conversations on suicide; SPEAk2us (93754 93754), mental health helpline for people in psychological distress; and Project SPEAK, postvention services for women impacted by suicide loss, in collaboration with MSCT&RF Mariwala Health Initiative (MHI), Mumbai. She has a PhD in Gender Studies and is a Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) professional who currently works with Avtar, a well-known DEI consulting organization based in Chennai.

For further details, please contact:
Anushka Goel
+91 98737 72101
[email protected]