Small towns are places where everyone knows each other’s names—and each other’s business, despite it being none of their own. Yet, folks in small towns never seem to want to talk about mental health. Rural living can be isolating with hours spent on the farm caring for the land, animals, the home, and everyone else first before yourself. Women especially know this struggle all too well.

Author Lewellyn Melnyk has experienced this her whole life, suffering from depression in her early teens that left her with what felt like only one option: to take her own life. Rooted: How I Stay Small Town Strong When Life Gets Hard and How You Can Too: A Guide to Finding Joy, Learning from Struggle, and Coming Together One Season at a Time is a blend of self-help and memoir to get you through the tough times and show you how to live with compassion and joy while caring for yourself first. Through humour, vivacious attitude, and a soundtrack to match, this guide acknowledges and dispels the myths around rural living and shows that mental injuries are often rooted in the culture of these communities. Whether you live on a farm or in an apartment in the city, you’ll relate to these small-town stories, and find these simple strategies achievable so you can improve your mental and physical health. Rooted is for anyone ready to take the next step and get their hands and heart dirty.