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As a kind, chatty, and good-humoured man with a zest for life and a passion for helping people, Chris Young adored his job as a social worker. But things fell apart when, in 2008, he was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. His illness brought about the end of his calling and he found himself in need of a new project and purpose.
And so it came to be that in 2011, Chris began a campaign called Walk a Mile In my Shoes. He walks around the edge of the UK – the edge of society being where many people with mental health problems feel they are – without spending any money and relying on the kindness of strangers.
In 2015, he joined forces with See Me Scotland to distil the success of the coastal walk into a series of events, inviting other people to join him and discuss mental health. He encouraged them to literally walk a mile in each other's shoes.
Walk a Mile: Tales of a Wandering Loon is the story of how a normal, nurturing childhood turned into one of neglect and abuse and how this, combined with a little faulty brain wiring, led to a severe and enduring mental illness.
