I had heard about Matt Haig in the Bookstagram world for quite some time before finally getting round to reading this little book. When I say little, I mean in terms of its compact dimensions which felt comforting somehow as I read it.

With the changes in society taking its toll, I decided it was time to see what the hype was about. I’m glad I did. Haig takes the reader through his experiences of living with severe depression and anxiety through memories, facts, statistics, statements and imagined conversations with his younger self. To anyone who has never experienced depression or anxiety, it must seem to difficult to understand when a loved one goes through it; the book managed to provide suggestions on ways to provide support whilst acknowledging that everyone experiences such conditions in different ways.

This book isn’t going to magically heal someone suffering with anxiety and / or depression. It isn’t going to bestow the powers of complete understanding and empathy upon those who pick it up. However I believe it can help start a conversation and sometimes that’s the hardest part.

I would recommend this book for anyone whose lives are affected in some way by anxiety or depression. I also hope that anyone in a job involving managing people or human resources reads this book thoroughly; in my opinion it may go some way towards helping them understand how they can provide support for mental health issues in an empathetic way and make it easier for people to speak up when they are affected.