Review: The Comfort Book by Matt Haig 💕 “Nothing is stronger than a small hope that doesn’t give up.”

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CW’s: Mentions of depression, anxiety & suicidal thoughts

A small book for anyone in search of hope, looking for a path to a more meaningful life, or in need of encouragement.

Years ago, Matt Haig began writing notes to his future self. These notes were meant as gifts to his future self: offerings of hope to help himself through anything from the darkest periods of his life to a not-so-great day. As time went on, he added new thoughts and stories, and he turned them into The Comfort Book so that everyone could draw on this well of reassurance and encouragement. Each of its short meditations gives a new perspective on life and all of its highs and lows–small islands of hope for anyone looking for a more fulfilling, more uplifting way through life. Incorporating a diverse array of sources from across the world, history, science, and his own experiences, Haig offers warmth and reassurance, reminding us to slow down and appreciate the beauty and unpredictability of existence.

“You have survived everything you have been through, and you will survive this too. Stay for the person you will become. You are more than a bad day, or week, or month, or year, or even a decade. You are a future of multifarious possibility. You are another self at a point in future time looking back in gratitude that this lost and former you held on. Stay.”

This was exactly the book I needed to read! Once again Matt Haig has done it and created an impactful, relatable nonfiction/memoir book that moved me to tears 🥺 I adored his other books Notes on a Nervous Planet, which I read at the end of 2019, right before the pandemic hit. So in a way we’ve come full circle as The Comfort Book just released this July. It’s a book dedicated to giving some comfort and hope in difficult times, which apply now especially, as I feel we’re all struggling with something. I especially needed this book, as I read it right when my new semester of University started and things were getting difficult. That’s why I was so moved by this book as it acknowledges how difficult life can be while also trying to give you hope and strength to deal with what’s coming. The way it’s talking about these topics won’t appeal to everyone, but I have found that I really connect to Matt Haig’s writing and way of talking about Mental Health and reflecting on yourself!

Some of my Favorite Quotes

• “Curiosity and passion are the enemies of anxiety. Even when I fell into anxiety, if I get curious enough about something outside of me it can help pull me out. Music, art, film, nature, conversation, words. Find passion as large as your fear. The way out of your mind is via the world.”
• “Your worth is you. Your worth is your presence. Your worth is right there. Your worth isn’t something you earn. Your worth isn’t something you buy. Your worth isn’t something you gain through status on popularity or stomach crunches or having a really chic kitchen. Your worth is your existence. You were born with worth, as all babies are, and that worth doesn’t disappear simply because you have grown a little older. You are a human, being.”
• “Nothing is stronger than a small hope that doesn’t give up.”
• “Silence is pain. But it is a pain with an exit route. When we can’t speak, we can write. When we can’t write, we can read. When we can’t read, we can listen. Words are seeds. Language is a way back to life. And it is sometimes the most vital comfort we have.”
• “Continually looking for the meaning of life is like looking for the meaning of toast. It is sometimes better just to eat the toast.”

“External events are neutral. They only gain positive or negative value the moment they enter our minds. It is ultimately up to us how we greet these things. It’s not always easy, sure, but there is a comfort in knowing it is possible to view any single thing in multiple ways. It also empowers us, because we aren’t at the mercy of the world we can never control, we are at the mercy of a mind we can, potentially, with effort and determination, begin to alter and expand. Our mind might make prisons, but it also gives us keys.”

I loved the setup and messages of this book! Apart from the emotional connection I felt for this book, it was really well-done. Like his other nonfiction books, the Comfort Book is a mix of self-help, lists and anecdotes of the author talking about his experience with Mental Health. True to its name, the book talks a lot about how to find comfort when things are difficult and you don’t know how to ever get out of this situation. There were so many parts of this book that made me feel seen and I definitely need to read this book again to fully grasp all the important messages it tried to convey. I love how this book emphasised it’s core themes of hope, forgiveness and going forward in the face of change without diminishing the struggles that we all go through. You can feel that the author knows how challenging it can be to deal with hopelessness and change when you’re mentally ill, so the book also felt authentic and real ❤

IN CONCLUSION. ➽ The Comfort Book perfectly managed to embody its name and was a big source of comfort for me. It’s a mix of nonfiction, self-help and memoir that comes together to create a book that emphasises hope and going forward in the uncertain times we live in.

Have you read The Comfort Book or any other book by Matt Haig? What is a book that brings you comfort? 💕