This week is Londons Big Read, something I’m very excited to be a part of. What’s not to love? Great books, supporting charities, and loads of events taking place to help celebrate. How am I taking part? Great question, I get to read and review books! So, as part of London’s Big Read, I’ve been asked to review Remember This When You Are Sad by Maggy Van Eijk.
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The Book
Have you ever been sad? Maggy has been sad a lot during her life. And depressed. And anxious. And a bit bi-polar. In fact, Maggy has suffered a lot with her mental health over the years. When she turned 27, she suffered from one of the worst years of her life. She ended a relationship, was having job problems, got 3 different diagnoses from 3 different therapists, and went to A&E over 12 times. But she didn’t let this stop her. She began making lists to help her make sense of the jumble of emotions and thoughts within her head.
Thoughts on the Book
When it comes to dealing with mental illness, it is hard to know what to say. I’ve had some low points in my life so I like to think that I know what to say to people when they are suffering. Maggy’s book shines a light on what it is like to battle the demons in your head every day. And if I’m completely honest, I didn’t want to review this book, but I’m so glad that I did. Maggy gives an incredibly raw account of what it is to suffer from a mixed bag of mental issues that will provoke emotions that you didn’t know that you could feel for a stranger.
Thoughts on the Author
Maggy is originally from The Netherlands and moved to London to complete her MA in Writing For Stage and Broadcast Media at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. She spent a few years freelancing and selling Häagen-Dazs in West End theatres until she became the Social Media Editor for BuzzFeed. She now works as a Social Media Manager for BBC Studios. Maggy has been writing about mental health for five years, and helped the BBC launch their 1in4 campaign during their mental health season. Maggy is based in London.
Fin
I would love to share my favourite parts of the book with you but they are best read first hand. It has been touted as a must-read book and as you turn the pages it becomes clear why you need to read it. Rather than a manifesto of “poor me”, it is an enlightening story of going from self-harm to self-care with all of the gritty bits in-between. In a society where we are trying to make sense of mental illness and how to cope with it, this is a book to read to help get us all through those jumbled ideas and thoughts.
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This definitely sounds like an interesting read! I love stories that are ‘gritty’ and ‘raw’. It’s a better representation of life and more relatable.
Here are the readings to have, in my opinion, always at home. I’m really inspirational!
This sounds like an interesting and eye-opening read, thank you for the tip, I’ve been looking for some books to read this summer!
This sounds like a good resource for dealing with mental health issues, as well as understanding better those who are suffering around us. Based on my personal experience, even with a lot of awareness sometimes it’s very hard to understand and be empathetic when we don’t understand what exactly someone is going through.
It is interesting to read this kind of book. It opens one’s eyes to the world of other people and helps to learn important lessons. Thanks for sharing.
This seems like a great book to read. This is so thought-provokingxoxoLovelyhttp://mynameislovely.com