The Shock of the Fall: WINNER OF THE COSTA BOOK OF THE YEAR 2013

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Bosman, Julie (10 February 2014). "After Prize, Novel Gets 2nd Chance in the U.S." The New York Times . Retrieved 15 April 2019. The novel made book world headlines last year when 11 publishers bid for it, a "dizzying and unexpected" experience, said Filer. The winner, with "a substantial six figure sum", was HarperCollins.

Anyone can have a fall, but older people are more vulnerable and likely to fall, especially if they have a long-term health condition.

Beyond the Book

a b c "Award-winning author Nathan Filer to receive Honorary degree at Abertay". Abertay University. 25 November 2015 . Retrieved 30 November 2015.

Hughes-Hallett's book The Pike has already won her the Samuel Johnson prize for non-fiction. Her subject, D'Annunzio, was an early 20th-century poet and demagogue who in 1919 tried to set up what he saw as a utopian modern state called Fiume in what is now Croatia. Judges called the book "an unexpectedly seductive biography which brilliantly transports the reader into the mind of a monstrous talent who was at the heart of Europe's dark past". Writers' Guild Awards 2014/15". Writers' Guild of Great Britain. 19 January 2015 . Retrieved 15 April 2019. Matt Homes is a young man from Bristol with schizophrenia, writing out his life story which centres around the death of his Downs Syndrome brother when they were children. As Matt’s narrative progresses, we learn there’s more to his brother’s death than he initially lets on and that this is why he carries around feelings of guilt. The frequent reference to the medicine that Matthew Holmes has to take throughout the novel, and the disjointed and frantic tone of the sections wherein he misses or refuses to take his medication, create a strong sense of tension and of personal struggle that highlights Filer’s skill as an author in dealing with some very hard-hitting issues. Although, if I was to make one criticism of the novel, it does seem to leave readers guessing over a lot of the central events. However, this only serves to improve the overall effect that Filer no doubt intended of creating the narrative of ‘unreliability’ which this causes in many of the chapters. It seems that, by pure coincidence, I have stumbled into a number of books regarding mental illness, however, the depiction that this book utilises is purely unique. This book is quite simply unlike anything else I have ever read, that is without doubt or question.He holds a master's degree and PhD from Bath Spa University, where he is a Reader in Creative Writing. [26] Books [ edit ] The descriptions of family life before and after the tragedy are bittersweet and wonderfully etched, especially Matthew's relationship with his nan and his sole friend, Jacob. The tragedy, when it is fully revealed, is stark. We are selfish my illness and I. We think only of ourselves. We shape the world around us into messages, into secret whispers spoken only for us. If you're living with or caring for an elderly person, read what to do after an incident. What causes a fall? He also describes drawing a family portrait for his mother’s 50th birthday, the ‘secret notes and partial sketches’ he makes by way of preparation, the careful decisions about composition: he includes Simon by putting him in a photograph on the table beside his mother; he draws himself ‘with a sketchbook on my knees, drawing a picture. And if you look carefully, you can make out the top of the picture – and it’s the one we’re in.’ Just in case the analogy isn’t clear, he explains: ‘I think that’s sort of what I’m doing now too. I am writing myself into my own story, and I am telling it from within.’ Well, yes and no.

Life After Life tells the multiple stories of Ursula Todd, born in England during a snowstorm in 1910. It has won praise for its inventiveness, with the narrative starting over and again, in a Groundhog Day fashion, exploring the question of what happens when we get the chance – time after time – to do the right thing. The book, shortlisted for last year's women's prize for fiction, was described by Costa judges as "astonishing"." They added: "This book does everything you could ask for in a work of fiction and so much more." Matthew was never quite the same after that, either. He’ll tell you that “you notice it when he isn’t there anymore. You notice so many of the places where he isn’t, and you hear so many of the things he doesn’t say. I do. I hear them all the time.” The scenes in which Matthew is sectioned are bittersweet and full of sharply droll details. "The mugs are provided by Drug Reps," Matthew notes in his journal. "They have the brands of the medication we hate stamped all over them." Stay as comfortable as possible and try to change your position at least once every half an hour or so.As a result, there's a great deal of help and support available for older people, and it's worth asking a GP about the various options. Referring to the world of the schizophrenic, since that’s what this novel is all about. But I wouldn’t call mentally ill young people and their lives in and out of institutions a hidden part of life , there are movies ( Broken, Silver Linings Playbook, etc etc) and books ( Henry’s Demons – recommended - and lots of others), it’s not terra incognita. He also worked as a performance poet contributing regularly to festivals and spoken-word events across the UK, including Glastonbury, Latitude, Shambala, Port Eliot and the Cheltenham Literature Festival. His poetry has been broadcast on television and radio, including BBC Radio 4's Bespoken Word and Wondermentalist Cabaret. [8] In 2005 Filer's comedy short film Oedipus won the BBC Best New Filmmaker Award and numerous international prizes. [9]

Matt’s other creations aren’t produced so easily. It takes him weeks to build an atomic model ant farm in his flat, sketched out for him by Simon ‘moving my hand, scratching my pen across the sketchpads and the bedroom wall. His interstellar dust. His atoms.’ Simon had always wanted an ant farm, but his parents never let him have one. So Matt makes one for him. ‘With the right ingredients, like the right sort of atoms and everything,’ he explains, ‘you can build’ memories, ‘stop them being memories, and make them real again’: Filer was born in Bristol in 1980. He attended the Ridings High School, a large secondary school located in the village of Winterbourne in South Gloucestershire. [5] In 2002 he trained as a psychiatric nurse gaining a first class degree in Mental Health Nursing from the University of the West of England [6] and later worked in mental health research at the University of Bristol. [7] There are books which, because of the sheer skill with which every word is chosen, linger in your mind for days.Matthew’s problems started when he lost his older brother Simon. Simon was a child with special needs and Matt often resented him for being the center of their parents’ attention. But when Simon died in an accident partly caused by Matthew, he kept on living in Matthews head, a product of his guild and schizophrenia combined. Another common cause of falls, particularly among older men, is falling from a ladder while carrying out home maintenance work. What is spectacular about this book is how immersed in our main character you get, he is telling the story of his life, his feelings, thoughts, his mental illness, it's a bit like sitting in the room with someone, listening avidly to their life story. And feeling things along the way. Hold on to the furniture with both hands to support yourself and, when you feel ready, slowly get up. Sit down and rest for a while before carrying on with your daily activities.