LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – It may be hard to understand what depression and anxiety mean for young children.
But a Las Vegas man is changing the narrative by publishing his own book that depicts the challenges that come with those struggling with their mental health.
On the front page of Caleb Staker’s book “Saggy Town” it reads, “Dedicated to everyone in the depths of darkness. You are not alone.”
This is because, once upon a time, Staker did feel alone.
“When I was young and starting out with my therapist, I thought I was the only one and I felt ashamed and felt like I shouldn’t tell people and I realized that throughout all these years that’s not true,” Staker said.
He knew he was battling feelings of depression but wasn’t sure how to explain it.
“I didn’t have words, I just kept coming back to the word ‘saggy,’ I was just feeling saggy,” Staker said
Staker said his therapist knew he was an artist and challenged him to draw out what feeling saggy looks like. Through his drawings, Staker eventually came up with Saggy Town and wrote a story to match it.
The book is about a boy who struggles with anxiety and depression. One night, those feelings take physical form and begin to tear the town apart.
In a way, it is an illustration of his own life, Staker said.
“The hardest part could be sharing too much. You don’t want to put people off by talking about this,” Staker said.
The Hollywood character artist is used to creating animated characters for other stories, but this character was a special one.
When FOX5 was at Staker’s home studio, we discovered that Staker saved all his drawings from his therapy sessions, and we asked him if he ever surprised himself with the drawings that would come out.
“Yeah, it was a little scary at first, the images that were coming out, but with so many people online interested and going through the same thing, it really kept encouraging me,” Staker said.
That encouragement will now spread one page at a time. Saggy Town will be released on January 20 on Amazon.
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