Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig

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Reasons to stay alive by Matt Haig
Reasons to stay alive is a book that deals
with depression , a book that can save lives 

Title – Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig

 Price  – INR 599/- for paperback , INR 266.95 for kindle version

Pages – 268

Genre –  Motivational , Autobiographical, Mental Health , Self Help

Published in 2015

About the Author Matt Haig

Born in Sheffield, England , Matt Haig has been a celebrated writer both for adults and children. His literary works have been translated into many languages including Malayalam.

The Midnight Library, A Boy called Christmas, The Girl who saved Christmas, are among his most acclaimed works . His book “Father Christmas and Me “is now being produced as a film.

“Reasons to stay alive” was in UK’s top bestselling books for 46 straight weeks.

About ” Reasons to Stay Alive “

This book came highly recommended by a colleague and that prompted me to get a copy.
The book is divided into 4 main parts and further each part is divided into small chapters.
The 4 main parts are –
1.Falling
2.Landing
3.Rising
4.Living
I think the titles are self explanatory enough about the content in each of them.
Matt Haig’s book “Reasons to stay alive” is written from the heart and narrates his account of undergoing panic attacks and depression  in painful detail. No wonder he waited two years before coming out with this book.
Suffering from a mental illness in itself is painful enough but to confess that you have a mental disorder translates into exposing yourself as a weakling , or to be judged for what you are feeling or even worse not being taken seriously. People often brush off depression as something that will just pass off if we put a brave face !
Matt Haig has been brave enough to admit to the world that he suffered from depression , that it ran in the family, that he kept avoiding treatment because he thought “pills ” could make him addicted or make him worse. He finally over came both the extreme anxiety and the depressive episodes , one step at a time ,and this book is his way of dealing with and documenting his struggle with Mental Health issues.

Reading about others people’s struggles and how they successfully overcome them , gives us hope and strength to move on in life. Matt says this is the reason he wrote this book , to share his story and hopefully give someone else a ray of hope.

What makes “Reasons to Stay Alive ” special ?

The  chapter – How to liveForty pieces of advice, a set of 40 practical tips that worked for Matt, is quite interesting.

He helpfully adds another Chapter that tells us how to be there for some one with depression or anxiety.

But Matt Haig does not preach, he says it all in a sincere and engaging manner with a dash of humor, just like a good friend would.

Matt Haig opens up his heart in this book, so much so that you can almost feel the deluge of  hopelessness, the  desire to escape from the agony even it means killing yourself !

The negatives

The narration is haltering and sometime one misses a proper thread and continuity. Maybe that happens because of the amount of personal emotion invested within.

This book opens your eyes and sensitizes you towards the unspoken misery – unspoken because no one will understand the depth of it.

Final verdict on “Reasons to Stay Alive”

Matt Haig in his book “Reasons to stay alive ” makes for a compelling case to hang in there and not give up on life and living.

I recommend “Reasons to stay alive ” to anyone who feels the darkness of self doubt. It is a book for all ages young or old, male or female. Read it to understand what it actually means when someone says he or she is depressed !

This post is apart of Blogchatter’s  #CauseAChatter Initiative to raise awareness about mental health.

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