JANE FISHER, AUTHOR

BSc (Hons) RMN

Jane is a mental health nurse with over fifteen years clinical experience across a variety of mental health settings. After the birth of her daughter, Bella Hope, Jane developed severe perinatal mental challenges. This was the start of her own personal journey through mental illness. She dramatically went from a mental health nurse to a mental health patient, virtually overnight.

These personal struggles fuelled Jane’s passion to challenge stigma attached to maternal mental illness. It made Jane acutely aware of the impact of parental mental illness on the whole family. Personally and professionally she is aware of the importance of speaking openly with children around mental and emotional wellbeing.

Jane speaks publicly about her experiences, and delivers training to health and social care professionals. She works as a trainer and speaker with local and national organisations and charities. These include The Royal College of Midwives, The Institute of Health Visitors and Public Health England. Jane was featured on Channel 4 news in 2018, raising awareness of perinatal mental health. She has published two articles about perinatal mental health and stigma in The Mental Health Practice and The Journal of Health Visiting. She is a regular guest lecturer at a number of universities.

The text of The Sun Will Shine Again, came from Jane’s own battles navigating the complexity of motherhood and mental illness. She reads the book regularly with her own young children, as she continues to face head on the challenges of parenting with a mental illness.

You can get in touch with Jane at

hello@thesunwillshineagain

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AMY DIGNAM, ILLUSTRATOR

Amy Dignam is a visual artist and feminist. She is the founder of a radical art project called Desperate Artwives set up in 2011. This gives support and a platform to women artists who are also mothers, parents or carers.

In 2019, in collaboration with Artist Susan Merrick and the Women’s Art Library at Goldsmith College, Amy launched the Woman Up! podcast. In this channel the group collect conversations with activists, academics, writers, art critics and feminist historians to name but a few! These are also women with caring responsibilities. The channel offers free long-form conent for anyone to access.

More recently, following her own experience of perinatal mental health struggles, Amy became involved and active within the maternal environment. She has held various roles supporting pregnant women, pregnant people and new mothers/parents.

Amy is a Hypnobirthing teacher, birth and post partum doula. She is Maternity Voices Partnership co-chair at Chelsea and Westminster and West Middlesex hospitals. Amy recently founded the ‘Play the Race Card’ project. She is also one of the founding Mothers and active member of the Maternal Journal.

Last but not least, she is the mother of 3 children who are the inspiration and influencers of all she does.