A coming-of-age memoir about Harm OCD. A young Scottish woman struggles as her obsessive compulsive disorder worsens and her mind is plagued by violent intrusive thoughts. The book follows Halket as she navigates mental illness, addiction, university, sexual assault, motor tics and her relationship with her family. Through access to treatment, she forges her identity not in spite of her disorder but in the acceptance of it and all its messiness.
 
For more details and to read Chapter 1, click here. To buy the paperback, click here.
 
Release date: 14 October 2021
Kindle ebook
190 pages
 
"We need more voices like Jillian Halket's in conversations around mental health in Scotland." — Elsa Maishman, The Scotsman
 
"In The Art of Memoir, Mary Karr wrote: 'In some ways, writing a memoir is knocking yourself out with your own fist, if it's done right.' By this measure, Jillian Halket’s debut memoir, Blade in the Shadow, has surely been done right." - Ann Rawson, author of The Witch House. Read the full review here.
 
“A testament to the power of naming what you are and a wrenching portrayal of the mind in all of its colours.” — Jessica Andrews, author of Saltwater (Portico Prize 2020)
 
“The writing is fresh, frank and fearless and I highly recommend it.” — Catherine Simpson, author of TrueStory and When I Had a Little Sister
 
“Often uncomfortable in the reading, Blade in the Shadow is revelatory and necessary. And above all, it blazes with hope.” — Harriet Mercer, author of Gargoyles.

Any questions, get in touch: gutspublishing@gmail.com