Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig

This book on the topic of author's breakdown in his 20s, and his experience of depression and panic attacks, is compelling reading. It's written in short, easy to digest, chunks and I was drawn into the autobiographical story from the outset.

Haig's easy-to-follow style and descriptive narrative will help anyone to understand the nature of depression, and the author discloses how depression made him feel, how it affected him physically, and how it was accompanied by suicidal thoughts and fears.

He looks at the statistics on depression and suicide around the world, highlighting how serious and deadly this invisible illness really is. He also discusses his own inner conflicts around his depression, because on the face of it, he had little reason to feel so gloomy, with a nice life and a girlfriend who loved him.

The wide diversity of different treatments he tried, from medicine to yoga, are described. Some made him feel worse, while others helped. He discusses the conflicting science around mind-altering medicine and our understanding of depression.

Some people have described this book as funny. Perhaps it's me, but depite some quirky self-confessions, I didn't find the book funny. But I did find it interesting, insightful, honest, and brave. A worthwhile read.