The Journey Home by Lorraine Nicholson

The Journey Home is subtitled “A collection of poetry, artwork and photography embracing the theme of recovery from severe depression.” And that is pretty much what it is. There is no ambiguity; you know what you’re getting when you pick it up.

There is little background to Lorraine Nicholson’s story. We know that she suffered from depression, but we don’t know in what circumstances. That said, those facts are probably unimportant. Indeed, were they known, it might restrict the appeal of the book to those whose experiences were similar to her own, when of course depression and its effects are diverse and wide-ranging.

What we do know is that Lorraine has an ability to express herself, in a number of different media; that is obvious from the contents of the book. Was this something that she was aware of in her “pre-depression” life, or was it (as I, and others, have experienced) depression itself that triggered those abilities in her?  The answer lies in her introduction, where she talks of “this artistic flourishing which I had suppressed all these years”. 

“The Journey Home” is divided into a number of chapters, which chronologically follow the rough pattern of depression, as most of us experience it. The chapters have such titles as The Storm, The Gathering Calm, Embracing the Light and Trusting the Onward Journey.  These titles will be familiar to those who are going through, or have gone through, their own particular journey.

The poetry, however, is very personal, as one would expect. My own experience of depression, however, made some of her poems very real; a wry smile here, a turn of the stomach there.  Some didn’t strike any chords with me, but that is my point. The experience of depression is not the same for everybody; those poems that “worked” for me won’t necessarily do the same for others, and vice versa.

The poems are accompanied by a remarkable collection of paintings and photography, which complement the emotions of the words. The connections are not always clear, but sometimes they are blindingly so.

The Journey Home is not a book that is for reading all at one time. Quite apart from the sheer volume of material that has to be absorbed, that would deny the book its prime value. For me, it’s a reference tool. Wherever one is on one’s own particular journey, that point can be identified here. Hence, the poetry and artwork can provide comfort, encouragement, and motivation.

Finally, I don’t like to give the endings of books away, but I will this once. Lorraine is “currently fulfilling my life’s dream of going to art school”.  She has, indeed, made the journey home.

 You can buy The Journey Home from Lorraine's website.

Review by George