Author: Matt Haig
Genre: Self-Help
Reviewed by: Stephen Kelly
Branch: Newbridge Library
Age Range: Adults
Looking at sleep, news, social media, addiction, work and play, Matt Haig invites us to feel calmer, happier and to question the habits of the digital age. This book might even change the way you spend your precious time on earth. After experiencing years of anxiety and panic attacks, these questions became urgent matters of life and death for Matt Haig. And he began to look for the link between what he felt and the world around him. Notes on a Nervous Planet is a personal and vital look at how to feel happy, human and whole in the twenty-first century.
What I particularly liked about this book was Haig’s no-nonsense analysis of modern times, and how society is over dependent on technology. My favourite character was the narrator Matt who guides us in his story and whose voice is so important in a society that has lost touch with its self. The story always kept me guessing, for example, Matt’s advice is to switch off from the technological world and don’t try too hard to be accepted in society, and do your own thing. My favourite part of the book was actually every chapter in the book, as I think everything the author talks about is very important, for anybody who suffers with anxiety and depression. The book is full of tense scenes, as Matt explains what makes him anxious and what his tips are on how we are to keep mentally fit, and how to become the best version of yourself. The story constantly gripped me, and I found it hard to put down as I was always eager to read onto each page, and see what words of wisdom that Matt would say next, to help the readers manage anxiety and depression to best effect.
Notes On a Nervous Planet is available to borrow from Bolinda Borrowbox in both e-book and audiobook format.
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