Book Recommendation: laughing with mental health

Corinne Albrecht

Hey AFS Family!

I wanted to send out a humorous book recommendation, partly because we could all use a little humor in our day-to-day but also because this book contains one of the most enjoyable explorations on depression! Yeah, you read that correctly 😅 Author Allie Brosh tells stories in this book, Hyperbole and a Half, about her life. It's written like a blog (which is how it began), with little comics she's drawn to accompany the story-telling. Some of them are straight humor, like her sweet-but-dumb dog, but there's a section in the book where she really opens herself up to some personal vulnerabilities. You can find it on Amazon here, your local library, potentially your local bookstore, or I'm happy to lend my copy :)

I read this book years ago and to date have not read something that describes the ridiculousness that is depression quite so well, and some psychologists agree! As seriously as I take mental health, I think we also need to be able to look at it with a degree of humor. If we forever see it as this monster we must overcome, it will always seem a little bit stronger than us, a little bit more clever, a little (or a lot) intimidating. Allie perfectly characterizes the apathetic source-less sadness that accompanies depression, the inspiring-and-then-very-quickly-frustrating lack of emotions, and then the sudden surge of feelings that overwhelm. I laughed, and then cried, and then laughed again like Allie was an old friend. If you have depression, this will resonate with you in an "ah, finally, someone gave it words" kind of way. If you don't have depression, but know someone who does, I'd argue that is an even bigger reason to read! You'll come to see that person in a new light with new understanding.

Here's a small excerpt from the beginning of her depression chapter (this section is less funny, but I promise you it quickly gets hilarious):

It's disappointing to feel sad for no reason. Sadness can be almost pleasantly indulgent when you have a way to justify it - you can listen to sad music and imagine yourself as the protagonist in a dramatic movie. You can gaze out the window while you're crying and think "This is so sad. I can't even believe how sad this whole situation is. I bet even a reenactment of my sadness could bring an entire theater audience to tears." But my sadness didn't have a purpose. Listening to sad music and imagining that my life was a movie just made me feel kind of weird because I couldn't really get behind the idea of a movie where the character is sad for no reason.

And here's a review from one of those psychologists I mentioned earlier:

"I know of no better depiction of the guts of what it's like to be severely depressed: Clutching your blanket, you are born into the baffling, boring, disorienting state that is depression – radically out of phase with the rest of humanity, unable to understand the concerns of other people, nor able to communicate yours to them."

Anytime someone close to me wants to learn more about the wildness inside my brain, I go to this book. The depression section is two chapters out of the whole, but genuinely the whole is so enjoyable that I actually read the whole thing at least once a year. If you're really only into the two chapters of depression, the blog doesn't exist anymore and the old links have been replaced by malware, so I'll see if I can find an old internet copy of the page and comment them below. It won't be quite the same, but you'll still get the picture!

content warning: there's strong language and mention of self-harm in the book, but not explicit or NSFW--it is by way of asking for help

Heather Quinlan

I have suffered with depression before and have lived with an anxiety disorder for more years than I can count. I am definitely going to check this book out sometime! I'm am always open for book suggestions. Thank you, @Corinne Albrecht ! 😊

Eileen McNally

Thank you for the share! I am going to get this book for my sister for Christmas. <3

Robert Sarna

Thanks for the book suggestion @Corinne Albrecht. I'm battling some depression now. I go to the gym about 5 days a week, I started going back to therapy, and I have the great AFS family to converse with. I'm going to look into purchasing this book now too.

Corinne Albrecht

Thank you for sharing, @Robert Sarna ! Therapy is a huge asset and can also be a scary step, so very proud of you for that :) I hope the book makes you feel a little more understood, a little less lonely, and brings you some joy in the midst of this frustrating illness. I'm always around via this forum, and like you said, the AFS Fam in general is always there for you too :)