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A review by carly23r
First, We Make the Beast Beautiful: A New Journey Through Anxiety by Sarah Wilson
3.0
This was absolutely all over the place.
It’s weird, because I think I would still recommend it to people even though it’s got a ton of flaws - just because you can really tell that she put a bunch of effort into it, and that often there are kernels of really insightful stuff strewn about.
As so many other people have pointed out though, the editing is a goddamn nightmare. There are several pretty basic mistakes (it’s John Stuart Mill, not Mills) and infuriating blanket statements.
Wilson can often be a little bit self-aware but a lot of the time she really does not come across well in this book - some of her takes on medication were a little unbalanced and made me uncomfortable. She also comes across fairly self-aggrandising and unaware of how some of her advice is just unattainable for many people.
I can tell that sometimes she was opting for a “tough love” approach and attempting to use a different/refreshing voice but it often had the affect of making me feel anxious for not trying hard enough.
Also - this book is way too focused on what “successful people” (AKA rich celebrities) do, and some of her comments about how she hates having too much money made me roll my eyes really fucking hard.
Still, I wanted to finish it and I’m glad I did because there are some really sweet, useful bits that popped up, and because I still ended up liking her regardless just for putting herself out there so intensely.
It’s weird, because I think I would still recommend it to people even though it’s got a ton of flaws - just because you can really tell that she put a bunch of effort into it, and that often there are kernels of really insightful stuff strewn about.
As so many other people have pointed out though, the editing is a goddamn nightmare. There are several pretty basic mistakes (it’s John Stuart Mill, not Mills) and infuriating blanket statements.
Wilson can often be a little bit self-aware but a lot of the time she really does not come across well in this book - some of her takes on medication were a little unbalanced and made me uncomfortable. She also comes across fairly self-aggrandising and unaware of how some of her advice is just unattainable for many people.
I can tell that sometimes she was opting for a “tough love” approach and attempting to use a different/refreshing voice but it often had the affect of making me feel anxious for not trying hard enough.
Also - this book is way too focused on what “successful people” (AKA rich celebrities) do, and some of her comments about how she hates having too much money made me roll my eyes really fucking hard.
Still, I wanted to finish it and I’m glad I did because there are some really sweet, useful bits that popped up, and because I still ended up liking her regardless just for putting herself out there so intensely.