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A review by beateisabella
First, We Make the Beast Beautiful: A New Journey Through Anxiety by Sarah Wilson
2.0
oef, where do i even start..
first of all, this book got me in a reading slump >twice<
the first time after about 50-ish pages, the second time probably around half way.
second, i thought this was a self help book, but it was more written like a memoir and that was really confusing to me. especially in the first part of the book Wilson completely lost me. the timeline did not make any sense and things kept going from worse to worst and her coping suggestions were largely based around spirituality. this left me unable to relate to her struggles and solutions.
which leads me to my third point, the privilege. at some point in the book Wilson literally said she fixed one of her worst breakdowns by disappearing for eight months in a cabin in the woods. at another point she fixed her problems by going to her personal meditation guru. massages, spa days, choosing to care about the things you want to care about etc. for a book that is supposed to be a self help book this is an incredibly privileged point of view which she did not address ones. it made me feel super irritated and even more closed off to any of the other things she had to say. to be honest there was this overall insensitivity in her writing that i did not really appreciate.
lastly i felt overwhelmed by all the namedropping and vague research references. it is impossible to fact-check all of the things she referenced and because i read in another review that some of the numbers where intensified i felt like i wasn’t always in the position to trust Wilson’s vagueness. but the namedropping also got a bit out of hand in my opinion. she writes roughly 3 paragraphs about her meeting up with Oprah’s meditation coach or something and this whole section, i felt like, did not add anything to the book other that yet another name to be thrown around.
overall i felt very frustrated with it all, the only reason i gave it two stars is because there were about ten things in there which i thought were helpful tips, inspiring quotes or uplifting messages. i bought this book in 2018 because zoe sugg (also known as zoella) recommended it in one of her videos. after reading the book i can see why she, as an upper-class woman, would do so. no shade to her, but i would not consider recommending this book to any of my anxious friends, because i know, being in the position they are in, this book will not help them in the slightest. an assumption, but i reckon it won’t help many people in the slightest, because disappearing for an x amount of months is not a regular persons way of trying to fix the overwhelming aspects of life.
first of all, this book got me in a reading slump >twice<
the first time after about 50-ish pages, the second time probably around half way.
second, i thought this was a self help book, but it was more written like a memoir and that was really confusing to me. especially in the first part of the book Wilson completely lost me. the timeline did not make any sense and things kept going from worse to worst and her coping suggestions were largely based around spirituality. this left me unable to relate to her struggles and solutions.
which leads me to my third point, the privilege. at some point in the book Wilson literally said she fixed one of her worst breakdowns by disappearing for eight months in a cabin in the woods. at another point she fixed her problems by going to her personal meditation guru. massages, spa days, choosing to care about the things you want to care about etc. for a book that is supposed to be a self help book this is an incredibly privileged point of view which she did not address ones. it made me feel super irritated and even more closed off to any of the other things she had to say. to be honest there was this overall insensitivity in her writing that i did not really appreciate.
lastly i felt overwhelmed by all the namedropping and vague research references. it is impossible to fact-check all of the things she referenced and because i read in another review that some of the numbers where intensified i felt like i wasn’t always in the position to trust Wilson’s vagueness. but the namedropping also got a bit out of hand in my opinion. she writes roughly 3 paragraphs about her meeting up with Oprah’s meditation coach or something and this whole section, i felt like, did not add anything to the book other that yet another name to be thrown around.
overall i felt very frustrated with it all, the only reason i gave it two stars is because there were about ten things in there which i thought were helpful tips, inspiring quotes or uplifting messages. i bought this book in 2018 because zoe sugg (also known as zoella) recommended it in one of her videos. after reading the book i can see why she, as an upper-class woman, would do so. no shade to her, but i would not consider recommending this book to any of my anxious friends, because i know, being in the position they are in, this book will not help them in the slightest. an assumption, but i reckon it won’t help many people in the slightest, because disappearing for an x amount of months is not a regular persons way of trying to fix the overwhelming aspects of life.