Reviews
Review 1
Review 2
I’ve mentioned Matthew Johnstone before and it was great to have him back speaking at Tamworth City Librarylast week about his book: The Alphabet of the Human Heart. This page shows the visual notes I sketched while he was talking. You can tell when a speaker makes a connection with the audience – while talking, I looked around to see people (unaware to themselves) nodding, ‘hmmming’ in agreement or simply zoned in on what was being said. Matthew was definitely working his storytelling magic, helped by his pictures.
This book is beautifully illustrated by Matthew and was co-written with his long time friend, James Kerr. The book is described as: ‘A handbook for the happy, and a bible for the broken hearted, The Alphabet of the Human Heart is an enchanting and enriching journey through the upside and the downside of what it means to be human – our hopes and fears, our strengths and our weaknesses, our highs and our lows. It is an A to Zen of how we feel’.
Review 3 – The Brisbane Courier Mail November 30 2009
Matthew Johnstone has recently left a 15-year advertising career to give seminars on mood, resilience and happiness for the Black Dog Institute, NSW’s research and education facility on mood disorders. He has written books about depression called I Had a Black Dog and Living With a Black Dog. He has just created The Alphabet of the Human Heart with his life long friend James Kerr; Matthew shares his thoughts on Christmas:
“The sad thing about Christmas is that it is at the end of the year and at a time when we are most exhausted, time-strapped and cash-strapped. Christmas can add a huge amount of stress to people. We try to do everything at the expense of our own mental and physical health,” he says.
“It is interesting coming from an advertising background when it is your job to convince people to buy things that they don’t want or need. Christmas has become so commercial and is now about endless presents. We have lost the spirit and meaning of Christmas.
“For us, Christmas is all about family and we will visit family in New Zealand.
“It is all about our kids (Abby, 6, and Luca, 4) because it is such an exciting time for them.”
Johnstone’s tips:
“For too many people Christmas means S.O.W. – Stress, being Overwhelmed and Worry. They should also be aware of P (perfectionism) because setting high expectations creates too much pressure. It does not matter if the turkey gets a bit burnt. Focus on doing the best you can.
“The festive season should be about L.O.B. – Love, Optimism and Balance – with some C (Compassion) and G (Gratitude) thrown in. Many people feel they have lost the plot, especially at this time of year, which is why we did the alphabet book, to help simplify things.
“Do not feel pressure to put on massive events, which create stress, when most people just want to relax and catch up with family and a few friends. Get back to basics and be easy on yourself. Everything needs to be in moderation, including moderation.”
The Alphabet of the Human Heart, Matthew Johnstone and James Kerr,Pan Macmillan, $20