FOR OLDER CHILDREN
BOOKS
TOGETHER, WE BARK IN SILENCE
Gringe
Supported by the voice of his brother Thibault, diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2001, rapper Gringe delivers the story of their childhood amidst guilt, treatments, visions, love, laughter, music and hope.
First novel. Electre 2020
BROTHERS AND SISTERS FACING PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS
Hélène Davtian and the Brothers and Sisters group of Unafam
A brother or sister is almost an alter ego, someone with whom we share the same origin, the same blood, the same memories, the same roof… If they happen to “lose their mind,” to see external reality differently than we do, to behave strangely, how does that change our relationship? How does it change us?
Unafam, 2006 (reissued 2020)
ISBN 978-2-9521104-8-8
www.unafam.org /sinformer /publications-de-lunafam
€9.50
GOUPIL OU FACE
Lou Lubie
Après des années de questionnement, Lou découvre qu’elle est atteinte de cyclothymie : un trouble de l’humeur de la famille des maladies bipolaires. Que faire quand on découvre un petit renard sauvage dans son cerveau ? Peut-on l’apprivoiser, le dompter ? Et comment être heureux quand on doit cohabiter avec une créature imprévisible ?
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THE MEOWING JAGUAR
Christine Deroin, The Muscadier Tree, 2022
Theo's father is ill. He's having hallucinations… but are they really hallucinations? To prove his father isn't crazy, Theo sets off in search of a jaguar with Julie, whose mother is also ill, but as cruel as Theo's father is kind. Will they find the animal? Perhaps behind the small door? And perhaps they'll find more than just a jaguar…
THE PARROT
ESPE, 2017, Glénat
Graphic novel. Bastien is 8 years old and his mother is ill. Drawing on his own experience, Espé delivers a story that is both personal and universal, that of a child lost in a reality where imagination is the only refuge; in his eyes, we see incomprehension and pain in the face of his mother's illness. The ending is difficult and may not be suitable for all readers.
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WHAT'S WRONG WITH OUR PARENTS?
Tytti Solantaus and Antonia Ringbom, Finland. Unafam French translation.
A booklet written for children whose father, mother or both parents suffer from mental disorders.
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AN UNFORGETTABLE GAZE
SIMILAR
Anna is always on edge. Her mother is sometimes exuberant and euphoric, and then humiliating and hurtful. Anna and her brother Sam then endure their mother's harshness and icy coldness. A book to better understand mental health issues.
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THE FILMS
MY FATHER'S FOREST
Véro CRATZBORN
Autobiographical fiction / Suitable for all audiences
Fifteen-year-old Gina grows up in a loving family on the edge of a forest. She admires her unpredictable and whimsical father, Jimmy, whose every excess she readily forgives. Until the day the situation becomes unbearable: Jimmy snaps, and the fragile family balance is shattered. Confused and rebellious, Gina teams up with a teenager from her neighborhood to save her father.
Downloadable file for a film screening and discussion session
THE DIVORCE OF MY FRIENDS
by Romy Trajman
Fiction
Romy is 23 years old and hasn't seen her father since her parents' divorce. Since then, she's had an extremely close relationship with her mother, with whom she's working on a musical. In the midst of an existential crisis, she decides to visit her bipolar father in Brussels and investigate her parents' divorce. This exploration of the past will bring unspoken truths to light. A liberating adventure that will blend the Holocaust, family secrets, mental health struggles, pop songs, and a fierce desire to live!
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DADDY COOL
(Infinitely Polar Bear), by Maya Forbes, 2015
Fiction
Between fits of laughter and tears, Cameron Stuart is completely overwhelmed. Diagnosed with bipolar disorder, Cameron is undergoing treatment in an attempt to win back his wife Maggie and reintegrate into the family life they share with their two daughters. But when Maggie decides to leave Boston for New York to resume her studies, she has no choice but to entrust her children to her not-quite-unconventional father…
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MY MOTHER'S LIFE
by Julien Carpentier 2024
Comedy drama
Pierre, a successful florist, 33, sees his life turned upside down when his eccentric and excessive mother, Judith, suddenly reappears after two years apart. Pierre's only thought is to get back to his normal life, but nothing goes as planned. Their unexpected and explosive reunion will change Pierre and Judith forever.
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WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO WITH JACQUES?
by Marie Garel-Weiss, 2022
Autobiographical fiction
After their parents' death, Fabien, Estelle, and Louise must consider the future of their brother Jacques, believing he cannot be left to fend for himself. He refuses to go to a care facility, leaving his siblings at a loss: what to do? Louise, the youngest, agrees to look after him and eventually takes him in, with her partner's consent. Fabien, however, has little patience with the unpredictable reactions of this intrusive and unmanageable brother. As for Estelle, preoccupied with the impending birth of her child with her partner, she keeps her distance, delegating the burden of decision-making to Louise and Fabien…
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PODCASTS
THE RICOCHETS
The Blue Ailments podcast. Episode 23, June 2022
Les Maux Bleus is a podcast dedicated to mental health that explores the various aspects of mental illness through the recovery journeys of people who are affected, directly or indirectly. This episode discusses the impact of mental illness on siblings.
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