In early October last year, Odean Forbes, Mental Health Officer with the Southern Health Regional Authority, delivered frightening statistics. He said there were 100 new cases monthly of patients with that illness in St Elizabeth.

Having gone through a period of depression, and helped counsel others in similar situations, Ashlyn Anderson was not surprised. She addresses the sensitive matter of mental health in Reimagine Reframe Rise, her recently released book.

“After going through that difficult patch in my life and becoming a stronger, more resilient individual, I decided that such experience should not go to waste. And as I learned from my trials, it is an opportunity to let others know that everything we go through should be a stepping stone for the next level,” Anderson told Observer Online.