Monkey Mind: A Memoir of Anxiety

There are some books that really resonate with you, that are exactly what you need to be reading at the moment you are turning those pages.

This is one of those books for me.

Some personal information is important here. I have an anxiety disorder, and reading is something that helps to relax me. So when I can find a book that speaks truth about what I feel, it's really special for me.

Smith is someone who has been there, and continues to be there, and on top of that, he writes really well. I found myself nodding as I turned pages, feeling understood and inspired. He writes about his life and experiences, but he expands on his personal stories to make them universal truths.

Smith is honest, and heartfelt, and true. He has written the kind of show more book I want to give to people to help them understand what it feels like to live with anxiety, and that I want to keep on my shelf to revisit whenever it is needed. show less

As someone who doesn't suffer from anxiety, but who loves people who do, I found this book to be very enlightening. Sometimes, it's hard for me to understand this from others' points of view because it gets frustrating. Like when he explains the trip to Italy with Joanna--she didn't just want him to not hate it or to silently endure it, but she couldn't understand what was so awful about such a fun trip. When you're not in that head, it's hard to understand what the problem is. The author's descriptions of exactly what it's like for him helped me get some insight into what must be going on with the people in my life who have anxiety.

I think it's also helpful to me that this is a memoir, not a psychology textbook. It's not here to help show more you diagnose and treat yourself or others, it's just explaining one person's experiences very intimately and honestly. It gives us a chance to laugh along with the author instead of pitying him or shrinking back in terror. After reading Monkey Mind, I realized that what I've referred to as anxiety is a completely different emotion and experience than what truly anxious people are going through.

Also, I think calling a memoir "self-indulgent" is like calling a sci-fi story "unrealistic." If detachment is what you're looking for, then memoirs are not the best choice for you, which is fine. And I'm not really sure why other reviewers would post a review after only reading a couple pages. I mean, if you can't be thoughtful about your review, just assign it some stars and move on, right? I found the opening scene completely necessary and simultaneously horrifying. The author clearly believes that this was a major contributor to his anxiety for years afterward; it is important for him to explain it from his point of view the way he remembers it, even though it's traumatic. I much prefer that to glossing it over with a clinical or intellectual glaze--show me why this was so horrible to you specifically, and then I'll understand why it affected your life so dramatically.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has ever wanted to tell their anxious loved one to lighten up or chill out and who has struggled to understand why that's not really possible. show less

It begins with sex. Like all things -- good or bad, big and small -- it begins with sex. How very Freudian.

No but seriously, it does begin with sex, not intended as the fulcrum of anxiety, but definitely a crux.

Smith's memoir on anxiety argues that all people are sufferer's of varying degrees who handle their anxieties in a variety of ways. It's humanizing, honest, heartwarming, and surprisingly comic. I adored every word, and having been a sufferer of anxiety as well found this memoir to be therapeutic.

I recommend this novel to anyone, but especially those who silently suffer.

The author did a wonderful job of talking about the roots of anxiety -- the discussions of Philip Roth were particularly insightful. Certainly its no revelation that Jews corner the market on anxiety. Neurotic Jewish men have not been the kings of navel gazing literature and stand up comedy for no reason. Smith though goes farther with the analysis, and as someone who has read a lot of Roth, and loves his work, I learned a couple things. So I learned a bit about Roth and a bit about anxiety, and I was entertained. Definitely worthwhile.

This amusing audiobook was the author's life journey told with self-deprecating humor. It kept my interest throughout. And it had me chuckling at times and, on occasion, laughing out loud.

Recommended for some light (dark) humor.

Read from September 12 to 16, 2012

Reading someone else's account of life with their anxiety definitely helped me feel better about my own. I enjoyed that Smith really brought out how absurd some things are surrounding anxiety -- and how crazy it can make you feel -- but still manages to convey how debating it can be. I definitely think this is a great book to pass out to family and friends that don't understand anxiety...especially to those that tell you to 'calm down'.

One thing though...it came across in the book that he has to hide this side of himself to his wife and that is really sad to me. I would hope a spouse is the one person you can go to about any worry or illness. And they should definitely know about something like anxiety show more that has such an impact on one's life. show less

After hearing an interview with the author on NPR, I bought two copies--one for myself and one for a friend. When I started to read it, I was mildly horrified that I had given it to someone without reading it first. It wasn't what I was expecting. Then a third of a way into the book, the writing opened up and it became funny and touching. Ultimately, the way he learns to live with his anxiety makes the book worthwhile even if the early parts seem forced.