Probably generally a good book, but it just didn't work for me. Some of the hints I had worked out by myself years ago; some are common Buddhist principles retold for Western audience; but mostly it's about being compassionate towards oneself, and my problem has always been the exact opposite: forever making excuses, and blaming anybody and anything other than myself for the things which depress me. ( )

Read this as part of the 'books on prescription' scheme in my area.

It's taken me nearly three months to work my way through all the exercises in the book and I feel like its been a long haul.

When my GP asked me to read this, I was quite adamant that I wasn't depressed. I now realise that I was just pretening that I wasn't depressed and trying to soldier on and prove that I could cope.

I will be returning the book to the library today and feel a bit vague about what to do next, the book does recommend some possible next steps but I don't really feel that any of them are for me but no doubt my GP will want to discuss things with me in the near future.

Overall this book has been very helpful but part of the reason its taken me so long to get through it is because you need to be in the right frame of mind to pick it up in the first place, if you're not and you try anyway it might as well just say "blah blah blah blah" on every page. The exercises at the end of each chapter are not easy, although I believe they are helpful if you can commit the time and energy to it (most of the time I couldn't)

I suspect everybody who begins to read this will soon identify with a great deal, and if they don't the chances are that it will help them to understand someone close to them, if and when the need arises. ( )