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A review by jsnow
Pocket Therapy: Mental Notes for Everyday Happiness, Confidence, and Calm by Sarah Crosby
5.0
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing an advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review.
Happy Publication Day!
Three words that describe this lovely little book in a nutshell: practical, helpful, realistic. Crosby uses comfortable language and strikes the perfect balance between professionalism and accessibility. Self-help/self-development/psychology books can easily come off as preachy, pushy or overly intellectual, but this book is written in such a digestible way that I would find myself excited to carve out even a few minutes to read a section here and there. However when I say the book is digestible, I don’t mean it is light reading; it is overflowing with both wisdom and science that take root in you as you move through the chapters. At the author's suggestion, I made a point to read it slowly to fully process the content and reflect on the action items/prompts, which I think enhanced my experience and made it so that what I learned will stick with me. As Crosby states at the end of chapter 1, “Hopefully, this chapter has provided moments of insight. You don’t have to remember them all. They’re in there somewhere, distilling and processing, resting and realigning”.
As other reviewers (and the author herself) have mentioned, it is clear that this book is not meant to be a substitute for professional one-on-one help for those struggling with mental health issues, but it makes a great addition and reference item, and would be just as useful to people who aren’t seeking professional help for their mental health. There are even some concepts she specifically recommends tackling with a therapist. However, the author’s examples and guides helped me place myself and apply the guidance to my own life. It was full of practical, easy-to-apply, step-by-step tips (see chapter 5: self-regulation for a great example of this), explained in easy-to-understand ways (I love the “securing your front door” metaphor in the boundaries chapter and the fishbowl analogy in the reparenting chapter as examples of this). Regardless of where you are when you start the book, the lessons will meet you where you are now, and there is no one who wouldn’t benefit from some self-discovery and more self-care tools in their toolbox. This is a book that will stay in my mind for a long time and I am glad I read it.
I followed the author’s Instagram account that was mentioned in the book, and have loved seeing more of her on my social media feed. If you are a fan of her social media posts you must get this book!
Happy Publication Day!
Three words that describe this lovely little book in a nutshell: practical, helpful, realistic. Crosby uses comfortable language and strikes the perfect balance between professionalism and accessibility. Self-help/self-development/psychology books can easily come off as preachy, pushy or overly intellectual, but this book is written in such a digestible way that I would find myself excited to carve out even a few minutes to read a section here and there. However when I say the book is digestible, I don’t mean it is light reading; it is overflowing with both wisdom and science that take root in you as you move through the chapters. At the author's suggestion, I made a point to read it slowly to fully process the content and reflect on the action items/prompts, which I think enhanced my experience and made it so that what I learned will stick with me. As Crosby states at the end of chapter 1, “Hopefully, this chapter has provided moments of insight. You don’t have to remember them all. They’re in there somewhere, distilling and processing, resting and realigning”.
As other reviewers (and the author herself) have mentioned, it is clear that this book is not meant to be a substitute for professional one-on-one help for those struggling with mental health issues, but it makes a great addition and reference item, and would be just as useful to people who aren’t seeking professional help for their mental health. There are even some concepts she specifically recommends tackling with a therapist. However, the author’s examples and guides helped me place myself and apply the guidance to my own life. It was full of practical, easy-to-apply, step-by-step tips (see chapter 5: self-regulation for a great example of this), explained in easy-to-understand ways (I love the “securing your front door” metaphor in the boundaries chapter and the fishbowl analogy in the reparenting chapter as examples of this). Regardless of where you are when you start the book, the lessons will meet you where you are now, and there is no one who wouldn’t benefit from some self-discovery and more self-care tools in their toolbox. This is a book that will stay in my mind for a long time and I am glad I read it.
I followed the author’s Instagram account that was mentioned in the book, and have loved seeing more of her on my social media feed. If you are a fan of her social media posts you must get this book!