It starts a bit pessimistic, with a man describing about his suicidal thoughts. As a person slowly figuring out how to live my own life, it did startle me. Every thought he put forward made me sink with worry for a person I have never met. To that extent, he has described the gruesome side of depression and anxiety through his personal experiences. But, yes it was just the beginning, as slowly page after page you could witness all the reasons to stay alive starts to unfold and gives hope for a better today.

Depression and anxiety are highly misused in the world we live in. Every day, I could see tons of people using these terms to label their feelings that rose out of slight inconveniences. Movies casually using the term depression for fun, and even makes fun of the struggle of a depressed person. It made me feel angry at times, by the way when these words get misused. The intensity that a person suffering from mental illness is misused to greater extent than it is imagined. And no wonder there are too many lights that goes off in this world without even having a chance to fight back. While people always comes right at the end saying nothing but “If only I could have known he/she was suffering, I could have lent my shoulder and listened to him/her or I would have called his/her often, or I would have stayed by his/her side”.

The longest battle happens inside one’s own mind. Not every battle necessarily has a reason, to begin with. And Matt Haig with his real-life experience reached out to people who are confused, tormented and shrunk by living the life altogether. Reading the book made me realise how much having that one-person can save one’s life. Andrea! Such a powerful woman that I got to know through Matt Haig words. She reminded my family alot.

The book not only takes us into the darkest sides but Matt also put in lots of effort by filling the gaps with humor that gives a cathartic relief now and then. As a literature student, Matt talking about Keats and Graham Green’s Power and Glory gave me more than enough comfort and connection with Matt. “This person spoke my language.”

When he talked about how he cried and his family comforted him, and when he spoke about how travel played an immense role in overcoming his anxiety, and when he described the suffocation he felt when things collapse right in front of him, it resonated beyond anything else. A comfortable hug it was. And it reminded me how far he has come and how far I have come. I did gave huge sigh of relief when I done reading it. Ofcouse, I did shed some tears of relief. The book did help me to count my blessings and measure my strength.

This book is not just for the people who are still looking out for a reason to stay alive, it is also a book for those who want to understand depression, who wants to support their loved one who is battling depression and for those who unknowingly judge a person who is suffering from depression and anxiety. There is still a lot of stigma around mental health in this world. Still, a lot of them tend to ignore the topic and still, many families fail to have a real talk on mental health. If you know someone who denies the severity of mental health issues, I just want you guys to give this book to them and make them read it.

It is a book that is one dose of the remedy, resilience and a big pile of awareness.