In high school, during what I believed to be the height of my depression, I read It's Kind of a Funny Story. I had never felt so seen. It made what I was going through feel less bizarre and more normalized and it also gave me hope for what was to come. Little did I know that depression would follow me into adulthood and suicide would be something I wouldn't just contemplate but would also attempt more than once.  

I'm nearing 30, crazy in love with a woman who makes my waking hours better than my dreams, and the founder of my own business. I could continue to list all the good in my life, but what I'm working towards saying is that, despite all of the incredible things that I get to experience daily, I still struggle with depression. It hangs like a cloud above me and sometimes the littlest things gather up and begin to feel like the worst things. I promise... this is leading up to something great!  

I sobbed my way through The Midnight Library because it was like I was seen all over again but from a new perspective. I had read a few negative reviews of this book before getting it for myself, but after reading it, I began to feel as though the negative reviewers must have never experienced a lick of depression in their life, because this book hit all of it right on the nose. It depicted the hopeless feelings and general lack of desire to continue on that many depressed individuals experience.  

However, it also did a phenomenal job walking the reader through just why it's so important to continue actively working to live! My gosh, the redemption alone made me grateful that I read this book. I've never been so thankful for the way a book highlighted WHY and HOW living is the best choice.  

This book can be incredibly triggering, especially if you're currently in a low state or have walked through similar circumstances. Please approach this with caution and be gentle with yourself. At the same time, I also want to shove it in the face of every person who has experienced these things because it truly made me cherish my life all over again and I think it can do the same for so many others.  

This isn't a self-help book, but it will help. It will help those who have walked under this dark cloud and it will help those who need to know how to walk through it with others 

Thank you, Matt Haig, for writing this book.