This was actually a highly interesting, but yet for me, a calming audiobook at a time when high stress is normally the case .... at Christmas time, when most people are running around I just sat quietly for a change, relaxed and just listened, giggling and laughing at the high wit that needs be, in a book like this. The author does touch briefly on other things, like sugar, and how this effects the body and mind, but the majority was about plain old anxiety. Practical and poetic, wise and funny, this is a small book with a big heart. It will encourage the myriad sufferers of the world’s most common mental illness to feel not just better about their condition, but delighted by the possibilities it offers for a richer, fuller life. Her most recent book, This One Wild and Precious Life , won the US Gold Nautilus Prize, and she has ranked in the top 200 most influential authors in the world (two years in a row). I have read many many books on related subjects the last ten years, and I find most have a tiresome "do these 10 simple things and your anxiety will be gone!!! :D :D :D" tone. That tone pisses me off. Nothing is easy with anxiety; nothing is straightforward or simple. I was worried this book would be more of that. Sarah pulls at the thread of accepted definitions of anxiety, and unravels the notion that it is a difficult, dangerous disease that must be medicated into submission. Ultimately, she re-frames anxiety as a spiritual quest rather than a burdensome affliction, a state of yearning that will lead us closer to what really matters.

First, We Make the Beast Beautiful by Sarah Wilson - Waterstones

I highly recommend you listen to the audiobook of this, or book for that matter, its extremely interesting, facinating, entertaining and it kept me captivated for hours. Read by the author herself. Duration time 9 hrs 7 mins. However, what I loved most about this book were the parts where Wilson tried to approach anxiety in a positive way, in other words - make the beast beautiful. And she’s right! For all the negativity that anxiety can bring to our lives, it also makes us the people we are. If you simply removed my anxiety from my personality, I would be a very different person. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t receive treatment or counselling if it is impacting your life in a hugely negative way, but there’s something to be said for how anxiety can be beneficial in some ways. For me, it means that I am extremely efficient and organised; time management is my jam, even if it also turns me into a little bit of a control freak. As a very long time follower of Sarah Wilson, I so wanted to love this book. She is an inspirational person who has helped me greatly with my health (mental and physical). In first, we make the beast beautiful, Sarah directs her intense focus and fierce investigatory skills onto this lifetime companion of hers, looking at the triggers and treatments, the fashions and fads. She reads widely and interviews fellow sufferers, mental health experts, philosophers, and the Dalai Lama, processing all she learns through the prism of her own experiences.It took almost two years to write this book. During this time I flitted between nine countries and moved house seven times. Anxiety spirals delayed the process regularly. One of the dear, dear things about getting older, is that it does eventually dawn on you that there is no guidebook. One day it suddenly emerges: No one bloody gets it! None of us knows what we're doing. pg 5, ebook

First, We Make the Beast Beautiful by Sarah Wilson - Waterstones First, We Make the Beast Beautiful by Sarah Wilson - Waterstones

An exploration of the chasm between the public persona of a high-functioning media personality and her private struggle with ever-lurking, crippling anxiety. You’ll never read a more searingly honest account of mental illness than this.” There were definitely little moments of inspiration for me in this book, but the majority of the book didn’t feel relatable. The format of the book was confusing and felt extremely scattered most of the time. Anxiety is a very lonely condition but I feel like there’s a yearning out there to connect over it,” Wilson says. During this time, I flitted between nine countries, moved house seven times, attempted suicide twice, restructured my business and fell in love with a man...” loc 4943 I’ve written a full list of science and source endnotes from my book that you might enjoy nerding up on, you can find them here. There’s a book club guide

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On the positive side I loved the name and the concept of 'making the beast beautiful'. A lot of research and therapeutic approaches like positive psychology support this idea of moving from 'diagnosis' to 'compassion and acceptance'. I've found a softening towards myself and in my clients when using this approach. Anxiety is a disconnection with this Something Else. As I say, the doctors and scientists can call it all kinds of things, but I believe it all comes down to this disconnect." pg 44, ebook