Reasons To Stay Alive by Matt Haig

Author : Matt Haig
Title : Reasons To Stay Alive
Published : 31/12/2015
Pages : 272
Genre : Autobiography / Mental Health
Publisher : Canongate Books Ltd

     What does it mean to feel truly alive? Aged 24, Matt Haig's world caved in. He could see no way to go on living. This is the true story of how he came through crisis, triumphed over an illness that almost destroyed him and learned to live again. A moving, funny and joyous exploration of how to live better, love better and feel more alive, Reasons to Stay Alive is more than a memoir. It is a book about making the most of your time on earth.

     Matt Haig is probably one of my favorite authors, His books have an amazing way of turning a bad day around and making you feel like it might just all be alright. I usually space reading his books for this very reason. Thought this time it's a little shorter, Having read Notes From A Small Planet fairly recently. Last weekend this was on display at the front of the bookstore I go to and just impulse bought it. In the previous aforementioned book he talked about how to cope with living in the modern world here he talks takes us into his own life and all the things that took place leading him up to becoming a writer. 

     As I began to read this book I could feel myself struggling, Not because he is a bad writer or hard to understand. This was because I was starting to see myself refracted back. While the topic of mental health is becoming more of an open thing to talk about it is still hard to do it when you are talking about yourself. When you start to discuss your own problems that small part of your brain starts to scream. No matter how trusting you are of the person you are talking to, it is that feeling of being judge and week that wants you to stop. So For Haig to talk about what he went through in such a public way I can not help but feel admiration for. This for me was a brutally honest look into what it's like to live with depression and anxiety on a daily basis. It is by far the closest I have ever seen in written words to what it feels like to me. There is an overwhelming sense of claustrophobia that I think comes with it. The feeling like you are cut off from the rest of the world and suffering alone.  

     I think It would have been a very difficult book to write had he not lived through it. It is one of those topics that is impossible to see and understand fully from the outside. Which doesn't mean that if you are lucky enough to not have to face such things you should read this. It will give you the best way in if someone you know does. When you read this book it's more like having a conventions over a cup of tea with a friend. It may not make complete sense but it is both soft and brutal at the same time. While I have never gone as far down the rabbit hole as Haig did living with a mental health problem is one of the hardest unseen battles you could ever go through. And this for me is why I am so thankful to him for writing this book. He managed to put into words the things that I could not, in a way that others can understand. In him putting this book out it has given me hope, even when it's the darkest point in the night you need to look for the light. This is also another reason for me to read his books they work as that light. It makes me feel better to know I'm not alone, and that while we may never find cure-all for this you have to look for the good to out way the bad. The book gives you some general advice on point to help you deal on those bad days, think of them as jumping off points, things to take your mind off it when it starts on that feedback loop. 

     As with the previous books, I would, and have recommended it to many other people. It is a book that will make you cry and laugh in equal measures. If you could find a more honest book about the subject I would love to hear about it. I think If you are anything like me I guarantee you will feel better by the end of it. despite all the suffering this man has gone through I believe it is his gift to the world.