September 7, 2022 by Arielle Joy

Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig

Publisher: Penguin Life | Pub Date: March 5, 2015

Format: Audiobook on Scribd | Rating: 5.0

Believe it or not, Reasons to Stay Alive is the first Matt Haig book I’ve read. This was a five star listen and I need to buy a physical copy for my bookshelf because I really enjoyed it! I really connected with his idea that well-known great intellects and talents that were depressed didn’t necessarily create great work despite their depression but in strong likelihood because of their depression. Their great works come out as a way to tell their story and find purpose and reasons to stay alive. This was a wonderful read and I highly recommend it – for both those that battle mental health such as depression and anxiety, and those that do not but want to gain more insight from someone that does.

This book was eye opening; I had no idea there were so many famous people that have depression and his idea about creating great work because of depression is a beautiful concept in my mind. I really enjoyed reading about his perspective and his experiences – having both depression and anxiety sounds absolutely maddening and my heart goes out to anyone that battles this on a daily basis. Even the wonderful things that have happened in his life – like becoming a published author – may somewhat temporarily alleviate some symptoms but it’s just that, a temporary fix. It’s like someone having cancer, you don’t just tell them to keep trucking on and pretend that they don’t have an illness. Invisible illness sounds like a true nightmare, especially with all of the judgement that comes from people that have disbelief in the things that they can’t see physical proof.