New Work Published - Defeat Your Beast

Here's one I'm rather proud of for different reasons than usual.  Not that it's necessarily my greatest work, artistically.  In fact, the art I contributed is rather basic.  I'm proud of this project for its intent.

"Defeat Your Beast" is a book (and soon to be accompanying board game) aimed at younger readers that deals with the subject of social anxiety (the titular "beast") and how to deal with it.  The author is teen student Evan Hennigar, a young author and actor who has appeared in television shows such as "Haven" and "Mr. D", and who, by his own report, has had first hand experience at dealing with anxiety.  Rather than give in to his anxieties, Evan has taken control of the situation by becoming an activist and educator on the topics of anxiety and bullying.

From the book's description:

Defeat Your Beast is the true story of one kid who battles his beast known as anxiety. He battles him, and wins, taking control of his anxiety and taking control of his life.
Evan Hennigar sheds some light on an issue that is largely left in the dark, giving kids with anxiety a voice, hope and understanding.
 
For the past couple of months, I've been working with Evan's mother, Tina, to help put together a set of illustrations for this project that they have turned into two books, a game, and educational materials to help young people understand and cope with social anxiety.  They've spun this concept out into a series of workshops where Evan speaks to young people on the topic, supported by the materials and links available through Evan's website, where you can also buy the books.

Below is the book trailer on YouTube....check it out, then go to Evan's site to check out the other resources available there, and grab a copy of the book.  If you know a young person dealing with anxiety (and I can almost promise that you do), I hope it will be a valuable tool in helping them to deal with and overcome their problems.