Amazing book! Made me smile & really think about the world/our technology usage/mental health. Everyone should read this.

Matt Haig writes another five star book. He share down a lot of notes ... notes on his personal philosophy. He writes with a quiet strength and honesty that is rare to find in the world.

Matt Haig did it again.

Everyone who knows me is aware that I read A LOT of fantasy, a bit of sci-fi, so few contemporary, and I rarely read non-fiction. I read to escape but non-fiction books are just too close to reality for my liking. Despite that, I devour Matt Haig's non-fiction books. Notes from a Nervous Planet is a sort of follow up to Reasons To Stay Alive—a book that means so much to me.

Reasons to Stay Alive made me love Matt Haig so much. It is the second non-fiction book I honestly loved (the first is Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom) and when I found out about Notes on a Nervous Planet, I was so excited for it. Matt Haig gives honest insight on mental health and he talks about the negative things in this planet with raw emotion on this book. He also talks about his own experiences and gives profound advice that I often think he can read my mind. Once again, I found myself highlighting almost every line of a Matt Haig book because his words are just SO BEAUTIFUL and my heart becomes so full when I read them.

I also love that this book contains a lot of lists and chapters that are short but meaningful. There are a lot of problems addressed in this book too and I relate to most of them, especially when Matt talks about the effects of social media (particularly Twitter).

Notes on a Nervous Planet made me think, sob and laugh. I know non-fiction isn't a genre for everyone but I hope you would all give Matt Haig's books a chance because they're thought-provoking and incredibly TRUE.

Notes on a Nervous Planet is a follow-up to Haig's memoir of his mental health journey, Reasons to Stay Alive. It is a look at the way our world is currently set up, and how that can affect our mental health. It isn't a scholarly book; it is easy to read (and listen to, read by the author) and more the result of personal research and experience, but Haig's experience is significant, and there are many useful suggestions for living in such a way that you maximise the positive effects of nature, and minimise the negative effects of technology. Haig recognises this as an ongoing struggle, and isn't radical, or unsustainable in his suggested approach, but brings together affirming truths to help navigate a smoother path.

3.5 - 4 stars-ish.

“Reading isn’t important because it helps to get you a job. It’s important because it gives you room to exist beyond the reality you’re given. It is how humans merge. How minds connect. Dreams. Empathy. Understanding. Escape. Reading is love in action.”

I always enjoyed Matt's writing style and this was something new and different from what he was/is usually writing.
It felt a bit a messy and more like snippets from a blog. However, that doesn't mean that he didn't deliver a message with that. He did. I enjoyed reading it but at times I had to put it down because some topics hit me quite a bit.

Overall, I'm glad someone is writing and talking about mental health as much as Matt is. You should check out his other books, too.

"Breathe. Breathe deep and pure and smooth. Concentrate on it. Breathing is the pace you set your life at. It’s the rhythm of the song of you. It’s how to get back to the center of things. The center of yourself. When the world wants to take you in every other direction. It was the first thing you learned to do. The most essential and simple thing you do. To be aware of breath is to remember you are alive."

This is a companion to Reasons to Stay Alive and The Humans. Read all 3.

Matt Haig, in Notes on a Nervous Planet, once again fearlessly gives us essays, lists, memories, advice, imaginary interviews, wishes, fears, thoughts, poetry, ideas, as well as notes, in an honest, straightforward way.

He makes me think -- about love, about peace, about slowing down -- to just be. He reminds me to breathe. He reminds me that I am human, with all the faults that word conveys, and that I am enough. What a gift!