WHEN his brother committed suicide four years ago, it was a crippling blow for Matt Barwick.  

“I didn’t even know my brother was depressed or suicidal – he kept that from me,” Matt says.

The reality of losing a loved one soon spun Matt into a manic state and a deep depression of his own. He became suicidal and was admitted to a psychiatric ward where he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

The experience made him realise one of the most important things in life was “communication.”

“I learnt from what happened to my brother and, luckily, I told my wife what I was feeling,” he says.

“I think it shows how important talking to each other is… if my brother had spoken about his problems, maybe he would still be here.”

The power of communication is one of the main messages in Matt’s debut book, “Life in Limbo”, a personal account of how he got through the darkest period of his life.

The book’s timely release comes before “R U OK” day on September 13 and Mental Health Week in October.

Matt, a Stirling-based public servant, says he wrote the book because he “thought others would benefit from my story” and wanted people to hear a “male’s perspective.”

“I think it is relevant to many people as we can all be indirectly affected by mental illness – one in five people will have an episode in their lives,” he says.

“I’m not saying this book will have all the answers, but I hope it will help and give hope to people. I think it will appeal because it’s from an emotive, less clinical, sufferer’s perspective. It shows mental illness doesn’t have to be a death sentence.”

The 35-year-old hopes his story will help to end the “stigma” behind mental illness.

“I think there’s a strong view, or prejudice, about people with mental illness and how they come to be unwell – there’s a view that these people are weak,” he says.

The book also covers Matt’s struggles with infertility, after he and his wife Ali spent five years desperately trying to conceive.

“If you’re going through infertility, it’s very easy to become obsessed by it,” he says.

“The death of my brother was hard and tragic, but it was certain… with infertility you’re in limbo, you wonder do you keep trying or not.”

Matt and Ali had a baby boy, Oliver, through IVF last year.

“It was such a blessing,” Matt says.

Although “Life in Limbo” deals with heavy topics, Matt says there’s an underlying humour.

“The book isn’t all doom and gloom, I always try and see the funny side of things,” he says.

“When I took this to my publisher, they thought it was an important story to tell, particularly because there’s not much resources out there for men about these issues, whether it be infertility or mental illness.

“I hope it helps because talking about problems is hard for us men sometimes; it’s that macho thing how men are portrayed even in movies or TV, they’re not often shown as being sensitive – it’s the Aussie bloke, ‘chin up, she’ll be right mate’ scenario.”

Matt hasn’t had a manic episode since 2008 and says his current mindframe is “positive.”

“I will never take my mental health for granted. It really is everything about you as a person,” he says.

“Life in Limbo” is $29.99 and available from selected bookstores; or ebooks can be ordered from Big Sky Publishing, www.bigskypublishing.com.au. Two thirds of the royalties from the book will go towards Beyond Blue; www.beyondblue.org.au and Sids for Kids; www.sidsandkids.org.