Awkward Honest: The Girl Diaries, #1

I'm a long time journalist and community worker, I started my first novel series as a way to help teens discover who they are; reconnect with parents; engage with a more diverse range of texts; find their voices and ultimately interact better with teachers and peers. 

I just want to help Australian youths find their own path to joy, love and fulfilment in an engaging way that teens can relate to. Reading books about real lives is the perfect way to do this. Life is a journey that can be very trying at times, escaping reality for a few hours in a good novel can be just as beneficial as working through your troubles.

Speaking of, I also promote narrative practice and therapeutic journal therapy, which put simply, is a respectful, non-blaming approach to community work which centres people as the experts of their own lives and views problems as separate from people. By reflecting on the events of your life through diary style writing and drawing, tree of life workshops and creative writing classes you take control of your own health and well-being journey which assists people to reduce the influence of problems in their lives. If you're interested in setting up a group to facilitate youths learning these healthier coping skills, send me an email to info@authormathomas.com.au for more information about these great intensive programs.

I also release a monthly newsletter of book reviews, works I have read myself or I include ones that the beautiful teens down at the local youth hub have finished and reviewed for the project. The archive of these newsletters is on my website https://www.authormathomas.com.au/