One of my Favourite Audiobooks this Year!

This was such a good book and so helpful, and so very personal. I'd been feeling sad for years and didn't really know why, until I was diagnosed with mild depression a few months before Covid happened.
This book is part memoir, part self-help and it worked so well for me, I love Helen Russell’s style of writing anyway and I loved her narration too, it made the book even better that she was reading it, as it made her life experiences all the more poignant.
I learnt so much about sadness and emotions from this book, particularly how society has suppressed emotions for a long time, particularly sadness and it’s not doing us any good. Along with the author’s personal story, there’s lots of very interesting and helpful facts and resources about sadness, depression, and mental health in general. It really is a cornucopia of a book and one I highly recommend and will be returning to regularly.

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2 people found this helpful

Brilliantly written.

It is amusing, interesting, educational and with a great ending. It is really well worth reading.

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just brilliant!

more brilliant writing, fascinating concepts to learn about and everything in between! just fab, after having only just read twice through the other 2 (Danishly /Leap Year), pleased to say you'll enjoy this!! Helen also narrates very well!

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Interesting and fascinatingly soothing!

I’ve really enjoyed it, learning a thing or two along the way as well as having a few chuckles and cries!

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Highly recommended

Honest, heartfelt, helpful and brilliantly witty. Would highly recommend to anyone wanting to understand how to deal with life’s emotional challenges and stare sadness in the eye without fear.

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1 person found this helpful

One of my favourite audiobooks!

I listen to a lot of audiobooks and this one was a joy despite the subject matter. It made me laugh too, a lot. The author herself, Helen Russel, narrates the book exceptionally well, and as it’s her book, she knows how to deliver the text (and some of it is comedy gold. I often laughed out loud).

One ungenerous reviewer of this book gave it 3 stars and said “there is nothing new” in it. This is not true. There is a lot of new research and ideas and interesting twists on some existing concepts.

I recommend this SO highly. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

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1 person found this helpful

A brilliant listen.

Very true and honest accounts of the authors life. I could resonate a lot with it. It helped me realise that sadness is not something to be pushed away. Rather, sadness needs be felt to give us a deeper understanding of ourselves.

Highly recommend.

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Brilliant, as always

I cried quite a few times listening to this thought provoking and, at times, heartbreaking journey.
Helen has a brilliant way of making you feel like a friend, in all of her books - which I absolutely love and recommend to anyone who will listen - but this one really got me, I didn’t want it to end. I hope I can start to be better at being sad.

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A useful guide to navigating life's downs.

I've read Helen Russell's other books on happiness but this is the first one I've listened to. I was hooked from the start.
I really liked the autobiographical detail throughout, where without revealing personal information about others she talks through her story and maps this to the work of academics and others working in the field of mental health. The combination works really well and gave the content a lot more authenticity than other books on the subject of depression and mental health.
The narration is first-class- highly engaging, personable and moving.
A recommended listen for anyone who has suffered from loss or a sense of self-worth and needs help navigating back to a healthier state of mind.

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Not what you might expect -

Better by far than you could have imagined, I was really impressed with the writing style and content. Heartfelt in the best possible way.

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