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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
So I thought about taking another star off this book because of some of the jokes, which lean strongly towards racist and homophobic, but I want to give Wax the benefit of the doubt by saying that it’s because this book is a few years old and we’ve progressed a lot socially in the past five years or so.
Adding to that: this book really helped me and I’m learning to be kinder to myself as a result of listening to it. It has been a great comfort to me to listen to Wax’s experiences, advice, and the knowledge she has on the subject of mindfulness and the human brain.
Adding to that: this book really helped me and I’m learning to be kinder to myself as a result of listening to it. It has been a great comfort to me to listen to Wax’s experiences, advice, and the knowledge she has on the subject of mindfulness and the human brain.
Don't judge a book by it's author - or best, don't judge period. This book is *BRILLIANT* for those wanting to understand mindfulness, CBT and how to use this incredible tool to combat depression, OCD, anxiety or just merely be more "in the moment" more often.
Ruby Wax is hilarious as well as vulnerable and open with stories to highlight how she uses the tools mentioned in the book. I also really loved how she tackled the science behind it all. This isn't all airy fairy and nor is it a neuro text book - she balances it *perfectly*.
The book is also packed with heaps of exercises to try - and on that point, Ruby has been fantastic at including so many different exercises to suit your mood, situation and personality - with none of that "you must complete this before we can move on" which always drives me a bit bonkers.
This book was SO good that only as I neared the end I realised I was mindfully reading. Completely in the moment, absorbing the words, noticing when my mind wandered and bringing it gently, and without judgement, back to the moment.
I cannot recommend this enough. I loved it and I loved her!
Ruby Wax is hilarious as well as vulnerable and open with stories to highlight how she uses the tools mentioned in the book. I also really loved how she tackled the science behind it all. This isn't all airy fairy and nor is it a neuro text book - she balances it *perfectly*.
The book is also packed with heaps of exercises to try - and on that point, Ruby has been fantastic at including so many different exercises to suit your mood, situation and personality - with none of that "you must complete this before we can move on" which always drives me a bit bonkers.
This book was SO good that only as I neared the end I realised I was mindfully reading. Completely in the moment, absorbing the words, noticing when my mind wandered and bringing it gently, and without judgement, back to the moment.
I cannot recommend this enough. I loved it and I loved her!
Very easy to read, chatty style interspersed with lots of jokes (hardly surprising). Enjoyed the parts on brain function. The mindfulness exercises were a bit light on I thought, and I think there are better sources of these exercises eg CDs which I've found more helpful.
2.5. It wasn't bad but also not great. I actually don't really know what to think about it.
The book: Sane New World: Taming the Mind
The author: Ruby Wax, comedian, writer and "poster girl for mental illness in the UK", according to her author blurb. She also has a Masters degree in Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy.
The subject: A combination of Wax's personal experiences, information about mental illness and the brain more generally and mindfulness/CBT exercises, with a heavy dose of humour.
Why I chose it: I like hearing different people's perspectives on mental illness, particularly when they have experienced it themselves.
The rating: Two and a half out of five stars
What I thought of it: This book was a bit disappointing. I'm a big believer in both using humour to talk about mental illness and looking at the biology behind it, but I'm not sure if Ruby Wax did how I think it should be done. All the different elements just add up to a weird mix of potentially interesting things.
First, the humour. I found some of it to be quite mean-spirited, which I don't think is the point of using humour to deal with things at all. I'm not sure I'd want Wax to be my therapist. (I do have to credit her, though, for the term "musturbation", meaning must/should/ought statements.) Second, the "science bit", and something a bit less subjective. One thing that really stood out to me was the complete lack of a references section or even a list of recommended books. On page 59 she gives a whole list of facts, which is fine, except there are no citations whatsoever. This would be fine if she were just writing her story and opinions, but a selling point of the book is her qualification and resulting expertise, so it just seems a bit off.
About discrimination against people with mental health conditions in the workplace she says, "it should be against the law, just as it is with someone physically disabled". Apparently she didn't get taught the Disability Discrimination Act at Oxford, which is rather worrying if that course is all you need to become a therapist. I know it's harder to make claims for mental rather than physical impairments, but that's not the same as not being protected by the law.
There are a ton of exercises in the final part of the book, which I think could be useful, though I still feel they've been done better elsewhere, in the Overcoming series for example. Wax's book is aiming for something very different to that series, of course, but again, her expertise is meant to be a key part of this book.
I have another gripe with this book, or more accurately famous people talking about medical intervention in general. Often they talk about therapy as something you can just go and do, without considering the fact that the majority of people reading will be relying on the NHS to put them on a waiting list for months resulting in a short course of therapy, and that staying in a hospital isn't necessarily going to result in comfortable recuperation. It really annoys me because these are the people in more of a position to change things, but they just ignore so many people's experiences.
I would recommend this book if you're interested in mental health or are a fan of Ruby Wax, but I definitely wouldn't make it your first or only port of call for information. It's a moderately enjoyable read, but not quite good enough at any of the individual parts to be a must.
Just one more thing: Here is Wax's TED talk, "What's so funny about mental illness?", which is quite interesting. She suits this format more, I think.
The author: Ruby Wax, comedian, writer and "poster girl for mental illness in the UK", according to her author blurb. She also has a Masters degree in Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy.
The subject: A combination of Wax's personal experiences, information about mental illness and the brain more generally and mindfulness/CBT exercises, with a heavy dose of humour.
Why I chose it: I like hearing different people's perspectives on mental illness, particularly when they have experienced it themselves.
The rating: Two and a half out of five stars
What I thought of it: This book was a bit disappointing. I'm a big believer in both using humour to talk about mental illness and looking at the biology behind it, but I'm not sure if Ruby Wax did how I think it should be done. All the different elements just add up to a weird mix of potentially interesting things.
First, the humour. I found some of it to be quite mean-spirited, which I don't think is the point of using humour to deal with things at all. I'm not sure I'd want Wax to be my therapist. (I do have to credit her, though, for the term "musturbation", meaning must/should/ought statements.) Second, the "science bit", and something a bit less subjective. One thing that really stood out to me was the complete lack of a references section or even a list of recommended books. On page 59 she gives a whole list of facts, which is fine, except there are no citations whatsoever. This would be fine if she were just writing her story and opinions, but a selling point of the book is her qualification and resulting expertise, so it just seems a bit off.
About discrimination against people with mental health conditions in the workplace she says, "it should be against the law, just as it is with someone physically disabled". Apparently she didn't get taught the Disability Discrimination Act at Oxford, which is rather worrying if that course is all you need to become a therapist. I know it's harder to make claims for mental rather than physical impairments, but that's not the same as not being protected by the law.
There are a ton of exercises in the final part of the book, which I think could be useful, though I still feel they've been done better elsewhere, in the Overcoming series for example. Wax's book is aiming for something very different to that series, of course, but again, her expertise is meant to be a key part of this book.
I have another gripe with this book, or more accurately famous people talking about medical intervention in general. Often they talk about therapy as something you can just go and do, without considering the fact that the majority of people reading will be relying on the NHS to put them on a waiting list for months resulting in a short course of therapy, and that staying in a hospital isn't necessarily going to result in comfortable recuperation. It really annoys me because these are the people in more of a position to change things, but they just ignore so many people's experiences.
I would recommend this book if you're interested in mental health or are a fan of Ruby Wax, but I definitely wouldn't make it your first or only port of call for information. It's a moderately enjoyable read, but not quite good enough at any of the individual parts to be a must.
Just one more thing: Here is Wax's TED talk, "What's so funny about mental illness?", which is quite interesting. She suits this format more, I think.
Love, love, love the way Ruby Wax thinks and writes about depression and anxiety. The way she describes internal struggles and the ways to tame them, really speaks to me in a way I can relate. Extremely funny and helpful!
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Ruby Wax is sowieso een heldin! Ze is grappig en herkenbaar. Een boek dat zij heeft geschreven lezen is dus altijd een feestje. Dit boek geeft nuttige uitleg over hoe de hersenen werken en legt uit waarom mindfullness een belangrijke helper kan zijn. Ruby geeft tussendoor vele tips en persoonlijke anekdotes en verhalen. Als je al veel over mindfullness weet zul je misschien niks nieuws leren in dit boek, maar toch is het leuk om te lezen!
I didn’t know who Ruby Wax was but it was made clear in the text early on that she was a comic writer, actress, stand-up comedian of some fame in the UK. I didn’t expect this book to be so sciencey. It is about mindfulness, based on thorough research. Very scientific, and highly entertaining at the same time. Recommended to everyone with an interest in psychology, neurology, mindfulness and great humour. I think this could be the mindfulness book for men, as it rejects every new-agey blah blah and insists on looking at the scientific evidence instead.
Read more: https://blueisthenewpink.wordpress.com/2016/07/12/lets-read-about-taming-your-mind/
Read more: https://blueisthenewpink.wordpress.com/2016/07/12/lets-read-about-taming-your-mind/