Book Review: Reasons to Stay Alive

Matt Haig, author of The Midnight Library and How to Stop Time, has written an intimate book about his experience with anxiety and depression. I'm confused because it is billed as both a novel and a memoir. What parts are true? What parts fabricated? Regardless, I wanted to read this book. 

How I wish this subject didn't interest me! How I wish it was something completely foreign! I have battled clinical depression ever since my miscarriage, prior to my oldest son's birth. When we discovered Bryce's unexpected pregnancy, I had to stop taking the depression meds. It wasn't long before I was on them again, though, due to postpartum blues. For some reason, I didn't sink low after Trevor's birth. But, I suffered the worst bout of depression after my final childbirth. 

I'm familiar with the depths Haig is outlining and dissecting in Reasons to Stay Alive. I know the suicidal thoughts, the panic attacks, and the encompassing emptiness. Going off the medicine never works for me. I cannot battle this monster without it, much to my dismay. Those who have struggled with true depression (not just a blue day or two) will relate to Haig's descriptive analysis. His honesty and vulnerability are refreshing. Too often, we shy away from sharing our struggles. He has bared his soul (or created a soul similar to his own) and readers will benefit and find hope and solace in his words. There are, indeed, many reasons to stay alive.