Reasons to Stay Alive

Insightful and brave admission on depression by a great author revealing that we are all human, susceptible to life’s challenges. Many varied references and examples were convincingly provided making for a very credible publication.

I first read midnight library before this one and I have to admit I didn’t write the most favorable review. However, after reading this, I have a better understanding where Matt is coming from. He’s speaking to a specific audience (that is larger than professional critics probably want to admit). It’s not really an autobiography as much as it is a pivotal moment in his life where he went searching for answers and understanding. The book becomes more profound and to the point the closer it gets to the end. You feel the evolution almost on the same timeline as him. As a bipolar person, I can’t fully relate to his experience. BUT a depressive experience/existence and anxiety are the cornerstones of blood sweat and tears of all brain health issues. So I’m grateful for that simplicity. People find the concept of depression hard enough to accept in and of itself, yet alone bipolar. It’s a great book for people who deny depression as it might help them understand a little. It does have components of a self help guru vibe, but it isn’t THE vibe. So people looking for a strict autobiography, or self help book, or guide on how to scientifically actually not die might be disappointed. Go in with an open mind. I appreciated this book and it’s simple (but not basic!) language, I love his style of very appropriately structured paragraphs, it’s an easy ready, but of no less value. I’m guessing I’ll hear about this book the rest of my life, and well deserved. I know you like to read your reviews, Matt. I write too so I can imagine - just know that although your big hits don’t necessarily speak to me, this one did. And I get a better sense of who you are, which makes me appreciate your other works a lot more. Keep up your great work. I know you’re helping a lot of people while also getting some great writing out there. Maybe one day we’ll meet. Congrats and thank you.

But especially for those who tend to depression or love those that doMy oldest daughter and my husband both have had bouts of depression. Much of my extended family has too.The book is incredibly healing to hear said out loud what it feels like to help me relate but also to understand.So very helpful to have words to put with the feelingsThank you

I am a big fan of Matt Haig. I have been a fan ever since I read The Midnight Library. This book was so comforting to me especially since I am going through a transitional phase in my life right now.

I think the book is really brave. I’m only 50 pages in and the author’s honestly vulnerability is appreciated.That said, if you are acutely struggling with suicidal ideation and desperately turning to the internet trying to find any shred of hope that that life is worth living, like I was… this is not the book you need right now.The author begins by describing his own battle with suicidal ideation and even the “hopeful” moments are still tinged with the cynicism of a depressed person. Reading the author’s story of depression, addiction, and suicidal ideation actually made my suicidal ideation and depression spiral worse. I had to put the book down. I will come back to this book in the future when I am more grounded and able to stick with it. I do believe it gets more positive later on and I’m assuming, based on skimming through, he talks eventually about his recovery, the hope, and actual reasons to stay alive.If you’re severely depressed, wondering if you can go on, and looking for a book that will help you “snap out of it” right from the first few pages, try “Uncovering Happiness” by Elisha Goldstein or “How I Stayed Alive When my Brain Was Trying to Kill Me” by Susan Rose Blauner. Hang in there.

Matt, thank you so much for sharing your story. I feel seen, and I know I can help people around me that also need to read your book.

This book wants to do a lot of things, and because Matt is such a great writer (How to Stop Time and The Humans are 5-star books, in my opinion), Reasons to Stay Alive succeeds at being a compulsively readable packet that's part memoir and self-help book, and part a survey of the most common experiences with depression and anxiety. It also serves as an introduction to other great books out there on depression and anxiety, as well as to great literature (by Graham Greene, for instance) which can fortify the spirit as it looks for a way out of these debilitating conditions.At the same time, the book is plainly about a very lucky person, who had the unwavering support of a dedicated partner as well as both parents. A lucky person who gets to have two children with his spouse, when so many other people battling depression are struggling to go through life mostly alone, with the help of a good friend at the most. But that doesn't take away from the core of this book, which allows people with depression to see more ways to look at their life, even as it may be much different from the author's, and people in general to learn about what depression and anxiety can do to a person, and how it may be overcome in some cases.This book is a little gem. It would be a five-star book but it's fragmented to the point where observations don't feel substantial enough. I would have liked his mind to burrow deeper into those observations.That said, I will recommend this book to other people, as, indeed, I will anything by Matt Haig. I rate his novels five stars.