Rae Earl‘s interview with The Independent about her My Mad Fat Diary is published online today: ‘…these heartfelt, and oftenhilarious, entries form the basis of a new E4 show throwing a spotlight on the subject of teenage mental illness.’ Hodder & Stoughton publish…

…the TV tie-in tomorrow (Jan 3) and the opening episode airs on Jan 14 at 10 p.m.

In her interview, Rae tells how her diary and the TV series throw the spotlight on the subject of teenage mental illness:

‘It’s a problem Earl, now 41, has learned to “manage” if not entirely overcome, thanks in no small part to the daily catharsis provided by that scrappy yellow book.

In fact, Earl was nowhere near as alone as she felt at times.

One in 10 people aged between six and 16 suffer from a diagnosable mental-health disorder in the UK, and nearly 80,000 of them suffer from severe depression.’

To read the feature in full, click here

Click here to buy a copy of the diary.