This is a collection of cartoons and personal observations by someone dealing with mental illness. It's at times funny, sad and heart wrenching, but completely relatable. It will definitely hit home for anyone who is depressed, bipolar or even an introvert. It's not a self-help book, it won't solve any problems. But it will let you know there are people out there facing similar struggles... and sometimes that's what you need.

(Complimentary copy received in exchange for honest review.)

A series of comics and essays by Ruby Elliot (better known as RubyEtc). Many of the chapters were familiar, stories or ideas that she included in her blogspot (that's no longer up). There also was some of favourite comics from her tumblr like the "jazzy little lizard steps". An excellent compilation, my favourite chapter being "I've Got a Lot on My Plate".

TK

A memoir and comic collection by a 20-something woman figuring out how to live life as an adult with mental illness. Chapter divisions give the book structure, but grouping the comics makes most of them feel repetitive while leaving a handful of outliers--themselves quite cute!--to stick out sorely. I feel like the comics would be more successful viewed individually, and my experiencing seeing the author's work online supports this. The text sections are honest and have a distinctive informal and self-deprecatory tone. It's all quite relatable, but I'm not sure who the intended audience is meant to be: not an outsider, as everything hinges on relatability; but the lack of detail or productive payoff make it feel too shallow for a fellow sufferer.

I'll be honest: I am the exact wrong audience for this. I find memoirs of this tone wallowy and vaguely triggering; they evoke all the frustrations of female bodies and mental illness, but don't do anything with that except provide sympathy and platitudes. Readers that benefit from a sense of kinship and loving self-mockery will probably have a far better experience.

as i read through this book i felt vaguely like someone had been spying on me and my coping mechanisms. .... *whispers* get out of my head.

I was not feeling this book at all.

Filled with Elliot's slice of life illustrations and surprising insights, It's All Absolutely Fine gives a humorous but honest portrayal on mental health and life in general. This book comes more from the experience of mental illness rather than advice on it, and I'm sure many people will empathise with this. It covers depression, bipolar disorder, body image, eating disorders, anxiety and self-esteem from the author's POV and anyone can easily identify with her as she describes not just mental health but problems everybody faces in life, especially when they feel down. I can definitely see the humor and the accuracy in the drawings but would have liked to see more worded responses from Elliot. I did feel that the book ran a little long with all the illustrations and some of them could have been more relevant. It's honestly a little depressing as well, but I think that's the whole point, what with it being honest and all. It does end off with a positive note though and I'm glad Elliot has found help and is in a better place than she used to be.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A wonderful collection of art and musings and autobiographical snippets and personal thoughts on what it is like to live with mental health problems

I should have known better than to equate drawn art = lighthearted book, but I have learned and have thoroughly enjoyed the lesson. This book is excellent.

Ruby has been a favorite artist of mine for a long time, and I jumped at the chance to get a book of hers when I saw it; as is all of her work, it is great. She is such a master of distilling feelings and thoughts into their essential, rock-you-to-your-core relatable bits. It's equal parts funny and heartbreaking, both because I understand her pain and because I'm sad she has had it, too. I love that she's paired personal essays with drawings of multiple lengths; it all hits in particular ways and gives a nice pacing to the book. It's like looking into someone else's brain and seeing that you are not alone.

I have no bad things to say, so my summary is this: if you'd enjoy a humorous and relatable but very real and harrowing book about mental health, depression, anxiety, body image, and disordered eating, then this book gets a strong recommendation from me.

P.S. The mental health bits are strewn throughout (it is the whole point, after all), but the body and food parts are kept to their contained chapters.