For all of us,sharing the same nervous planet

I have wanted to explore Matt Haig’s books for quite a while now. One in particular which intrigued me was his book Notes on a Nervous Planet. I figured this crazy year is the best time to begin a book like this, I began reading it a few weeks ago.

In a book like this, I quite appreciate the fact that the book is broken up into several chapters, with several small subsections within them. Some are longer than others; some have more statistics and some personal anecdotes. The book can sometimes feel a bit messy and all over the place, so if you prefer books that follow a more linear structure, this one probably isn’t for you.

I find the messiness adds a certain something to the book, given the subject matter it seeks to discuss. If you asked me to depict anxiety or even general worry in a drawing, I’d imagine it will be a whole lot of scribbles, spirals, and it would indeed be, very much all over the place. This messiness is intentional on the part of the author; he writes, “Mess is actually okay. As you will be aware by now, I am trying to write about the messiness of the world and the messiness of the minds by writing a deliberately messy book.”

Overall I found it an interesting and somewhat reassuring read. There were bits I enjoyed more than others, probably because I related to them more, but that’s the best part about a book that dives into so many topics, there is bound to be something for everyone.

If you suffer or have ever suffered from Anxiety you will undoubtedly find something you relate to here, but even if you don’t, and you find yourself becoming more anxious, worried or stressed these days, given the challenges our world is facing today, this book will stand to prove to you that you are, in no way, alone.