As someone who has anxiety, depression, OCD, ADHD, maybe even autism, and someone who has grieved the loss of my grandmother this year, I needed this book. Not even 30 pages in and I was crying. I do get what everyone says about it being repetitive, but sometimes you have to have things told to you several times before you actually believe them. 

This book was a journey for me. I hadn’t read any of Matt Haig’s books for well over two years when I started this one, and I don’t think I was quite prepared for the honesty of his writing. However, as I went through the book, I realised that actually I could do with the content of the book, what he was writing about: experience it, and let it go. I tend to be the kind of person who gets entirely caught up in a book, entirely obsessed with the characters and storyline (I realise you can’t do that with non-fiction or self help books, but still, I get caught up in them nonetheless) but here I was able to read, intake the information like a breath and then breathe it out again. Almost like a meditation. 

So although the content wasn’t always exactly calming (TW: there are many mental health and suicide references), the experience of reading it was one that I have overall found calming. So, I suppose, it fulfilled its title!

I like the idea, but some of the entries were meh. 

I really enjoyed reading this book. It gives advice and tells real-life experiences on mental health struggles. It includes a number of poems, quotes, book recs and song recs. This book is really heartwarming but it does discuss some very dark topics so definitely check TW/CW !!!