A review by orestesfasting
Notes on a Nervous Planet by Matt Haig

hopeful mysterious fast-paced

2.0

This is a book which really tells us what we already know. There’s something to be said for telling us about the world’s mental health crisis in an accessible way, but this is so colloquial that we get very little information that could actually help us. Certainly nothing more than log off. I like Matt Haig as a writer! But this repeats its singular point so many times and in such short chapters with spaces filled by headings and single sentences that I wind up thinking in my more cynical moments that it’s a con of a book.

With that said, the two stars are there because I know how bad most self help books are. This one doesn’t blame the sufferer, is broadly empathetic, and offers practical tips without offering a miracle cure. The minimum, really, but most feel this. I’m not sure how long the vaguely cosy feeling stays with you in the throes of anxiety, though.