“A small masterpiece that might even save lives.” Joanna Lumley
Matt Haig is a British novelist who is very open about his struggle with depression and anxiety. He believes that depression will lie to you about the future. The main theme in his novel called The Humans (which I am now eager to read) conveys how depression can cause feelings of alienation, making outsiders of those it afflicts, detaching them from the joys of human life.
Writing Reasons to Stay Alive saved his own life in a way, and is an honest account of his experience, as well as an offering of tips from someone who has ‘been there.’ What Matt wanted to convey is a message of hope to others, that their feelings of despair are real, but that they are not alone.
This is an important book with easy-to-read short snappy chapters, that is relevant for those suffering from depression and anxiety and/or those supporting them. It also speaks clearly and builds awareness for those who are mystified or who misunderstand mental illness.
The pandemic has gotten people talking about mental health in a more open way than ever before and that is a good thing. Haig says, “It took me more than a decade to be able to talk openly, properly, to everyone, about my experience. I soon discovered the act of talking is in itself a therapy. Where talk exists, so does hope.”
Joanne's Reading Blog 
Thank you for bringing this to the fore, I read The Midnight Library last week and was so compelled by the premise I requested both this one and Notes on a Nervous Planet which was recommended by a favorite Indy bookstore Brilliant Books in Traverse City Michigan. As we continue through this COVID world (one shot down, 2nd in 3 weeks) we all need to protect our collectively fragile mental health. Along those lines a friend gave me The Day the World Came to Town about Gander Newfoundland’s response to 9/11. It is a love letter to the generosity of human beings (particularly Canadians of course!)
Hi Nancy, Looking forward to reading The Midnight Library when it gets thru multiple holds at the library! Yes, one of the good things we can take away from the pandemic when it is finally behind us, is a greater empathy for mental health issues. Glad you enjoyed the Gander story. That book was the basis for a magnificent stage production called “Come From Away.” If you ever get a chance to see it, whenever those things become possible again, it is brilliant!