It’s SUPER accessible, easy to read and requires little concentration – something that can often be difficult for someone with depression. The short chapters and light-hearted language were just a few of my favourite things about the book. You are just a bit trapped inside a moment. Matt Haig includes regular “conversations across time”, in which “then” Matt speaks with “now” Matt, giving him a little glance into the future and allowing him to see that, despite what his depression tells him, everything is going to be ok eventually. It is a way of saying “you are not alone in this” and gives you a reason to keep going through the dark times. Reasons to Stay Alive is like a warm and comforting hug from someone who knows you better than anyone else. It tries day-in and day-out to make you feel like you are the only person in the world who is experiencing these thoughts and feelings, creating a barrier between you and the rest of the world. If you have experienced depression, you will know all too well that one of its biggest objectives is to isolate you.

Matt Haig brings it to light by talking openly about his experience, intertwining his personal journey through depression and recovery with advice and facts about the illness, in a very honest attempt to raise awareness of the condition. What I didn’t realise, however, was just HOW much I was going to love it.ĭespite the prevalence of depression in today’s society, it is a subject that remains very much in the dark.

It had been recommended to me on a number of occasions by friends who know me extremely well, so I had no doubt in my mind that I was going to love this one. This year for World Mental Health Day, I wanted to read Matt Haig’s Reasons to Stay Alive. Not only does this book recount Matt Haig’s experience with depression, it is also a wonderful companion for anyone struggling with the illness themselves, providing comfort and reassurance that it is possible to come out on the other side. It is a story about how, despite the voices inside his head telling him that he would never make it, time was his biggest healer. Reasons to Stay Alive is a brave, honest and touching memoir of Matt Haig’s battle with depression.

He was living in Ibiza with his girlfriend at the time when, all of a sudden, his whole world was overcome with darkness and he saw no way he could continue living. At the age of 24, Matt Haig stood at the edge of a cliff and very nearly took his own life.

Reasons to stay alive review