Anxiously Ever After: An Honest Memoir on Mental Illness, Strained Relationships, and Embracing the Struggle

This memoir had some self-help vibes for me and was definitely a great read for May, considering this is mental health awareness month! Edwards takes us through his childhood, teenage, and adult life and shows us how he has lived with, struggled with, and learned how to cope with his anxiety and mental illness. It was a raw glimpse into his imperfect world. And it hit home in a lot of ways. Everyone's story is different, but I think we can all relate to mental health in some way, whether we struggle with it internally, know someone who struggles, or maybe we have a parent or child who is struggling. Or maybe, like Clint, we are one of the "lucky ones" and are in the "all of the above" category. He takes us through the hard times when he didn't know what he was facing was anxiety. He takes us through the times when all he wanted to do was get rid of his anxiety. He takes us through the bad, the ugly, the embarrassing, and the downright horrible. It was a bit of a slow start for me, getting through his childhood story, but once you see that he really had to set the tone and lay the ground work to his story. It was a really good read all in all. I really enjoyed the whole story- it was rich and raw and full of emotion. Pain and honesty and humility. I learned a lot through his words, from the perspective of a daughter, a mother, a friend, a wife, and simply a human. We are all just trying to work through things- we all may not struggle with the same things. Our anxiety - or any other illness- does not define us. And it's not something that just disappears either. I think understanding yourself and your own ways of coping can really help you to understand and be empathetic toward others. Everyone should read this book. 💕 "In this moment, I knew that the greatest gift I could offer my family was learning to manage my mental illness in a healthy and responsible way, so that I could have enough of myself available to be a nurturing father and husband" -Clint Edwards