LoveReading Says
This accessible and life-affirming memoir of Haig's struggle with depression and how his triumph over the illness taught him to live is a must-read for anyone battling with the disease. Like nearly one in five of us, Haig suffers from depression. Reasons to Stay Alive is his inspiring account of how, minute by minute and day by day, he overcame the disease with the help of reading, writing, and the love of his parents and his girlfriend now-wife Andrea. It's an inspiring, honest, hopeful and vivid read.
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About Reasons To Stay Alive
A Sunday Times bestseller, Reasons to Stay Alive is both a wonderfully moving and upbeat account of how Matt Haig survived depression and anxiety, and an accessible, life-affirming guide to helping yourself-and others-through mental illness.In the western world the suicide rate is highest amongst men under the age of 35. Matt Haig could have added to that statistic when, aged 24, he found himself staring at a cliff-edge about to jump off.
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Reasons To Stay Alive Synopsis
A Sunday Times bestseller, Reasons to Stay Alive is both a wonderfully moving and upbeat account of how Matt Haig survived depression and anxiety, and an accessible, life-affirming guide to helping yourself-and others-through mental illness.In the western world the suicide rate is highest amongst men under the age of 35. Matt Haig could have added to that statistic when, aged 24, he found himself staring at a cliff-edge about to jump off.
This is the story of why he didn't, and how he recovered and learned to live with anxiety and depression. It's also an optimistic, joyous and often funny exploration of how to live better, love better, read better and feel more. A wonderful mix of memoir and hard-won wisdom, Reasons to Stay Alive is, at heart, about making the most of your time on earth.
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Matt Haig Press Reviews
'Maybe the most important book I've read this year' -- SIMON MAYO
'A life-saving book' -- AMANDA CRAIG
'Warm and engaging, and shot through with humour ... a valuable contribution to the conversation' SUNDAY TIMES
'Brings a difficult and sensitive subject out of the darkness and into the light' -- MICHAEL PALIN
'Full of wisdoms and warmth' -- NATHAN FILER
'A tender, candid, inspiring book about depression' SUNDAY EXPRESS
'Matt Haig is astounding' -- STEPHEN FRY
'Reasons to Stay Alive is wonderful. I read it in one sitting. Touching, funny, thought-provoking, with a huge heart. It should be read by anyone who has suffered, or known someone who has suffered (i.e. everyone)' -- S J WATSON
'Fascinating and beautifully written' -- IAN RANKIN
'Matt Haig uses words like a tin-opener. We are the tin' -- JEANETTE WINTERSON
'Matt Haig is a marvellous writer: limpid; tender; passionate. In this memoir (and it's short, barely 200 pages long), he manages to articulate, both the bleakness of depression and the means of dealing with it, little by little, day by day, without ever sounding maudlin, or self-indulgent, or preachy. For everyone who has ever felt the snap of the black dog's teeth, this book is wise, funny, affirming and redemptive. Sometimes depression can be like falling into a wordless pit. Matt Haig finds the words. And he says them for all of us' -- JOANNE HARRIS
'Thoughtful, honest and incredibly insightful' -- JENNY COLGAN
'Brilliant and salutary ... should be on prescription' -- REV. RICHARD COLES
About Matt Haig
Matt Haig is an author for children and adults. His memoir Reasons to Stay Alive was a number one bestseller, staying in the British top ten for 46 weeks. His children’s book A Boy Called Christmas was a runaway hit and is translated in over 40 languages. It is being made into a film starring Maggie Smith, Sally Hawkins and Jim Broadbent and The Guardian called it an ‘instant classic’. His novels for adults include the award-winning How To Stop Time, The Radleys, The Humans and the number one bestseller The Midnight Library.
He has sold over three million books worldwide.
Matt Haig on his teen novel, The Radleys:
"This is a story about growing up, first and foremost. About how we learn to come to terms with who we are, independent of the ideas our parents had for us. About how we decide our own identities. As well as what shapes those identities - who we choose to love, and hate, admire and fear. It is about how denying ourselves can sometimes be more dangerous than succumbing to tempation. This is the story I wanted to tell. I never set out to write a vampire story, but vampires were the obvious choice. After all, as family secrets go, you can't get much bigger than finding out you are actually a full-blown creature of the night. And hopefully it fits as a metaphor for teenage life. A life full of physical changes, forbidden cravings, and feelings of being an outsider. In that sense, we've probably all been vampires at some stage."
Author photo © Clive Doyle
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