Middle-aged and mentally ill: one man’s journey from fractured to fearless

In 2020, men accounted for 75% of deaths by suicide, and mental illness was identified as a risk factor in over 90% of people who died by suicide.[1] 

Alex Gerrick was a successful senior bureaucrat, a well-respected and inspirational leader. But as Alex’s mental health declined in middle-age, culminating in a suicide attempt, he realised he could no longer ignore the symptoms of PTSD that had been present for decades—he needed help.

In his debut novel, A Season of Clouds, Alex draws on his journey through mental illness to write a fiction-based-on-fact memoir of love, redemption, and healing. As a young man battling to flee his inner demons, Alex travelled to several continents and met an eclectic array of characters, including a young Bosnian woman with a harrowing tale of survival. ‘The book details how the lessons I learnt from several people I met overseas opened my heart and helped me overcome my trauma and mental illness,’ Alex says.

Alex shared that his main goal for the book is ‘to raise awareness of PTSD and mental illness, particularly among middle-age, professional men. It is never too late to work out who you are and change the trajectory of your life.’

Most of the proceeds from A Season of Clouds will go to the not-for-profit organisations, Fearless, which advocates for better support and services for sufferers of PTSD, and of which Alex is CEO, and Animal Therapies Limited. 

You can find out more about Alex Gerrick and his book on his website https://www.seasonofclouds.com/about-alex and https://fearless.org.au/team-view/alex-gerrick/.

[1] Australian Bureau of Statistics, ‘Causes of Death, Australia’, ABS, 29 Sept 2021, viewed 8 Feb 2022, https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/causes-death/causes-death-australia/latest-release#intentional-self-harm-suicides-key-characteristics.