DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE SUICIDAL

Book is not for those going through intense depression. All it makes you realize is that not only do you feel hopeless, the whole field of psychology/psychiatry will have nothing to offer you. Also can give you ideas of how better to make attempts more fatal.

26 people found this helpful

A rollercoaster

I was looking for a more personal experience. Not that there wasn't any, just there was a lot of clinical blah blah. The narrator was a little monotonous and made it difficult to stick with the book.

3 people found this helpful

Thank you for sharing

As a suicide survivor I could relate to your experience. I've been in St. Joe's as well, I could visualize you going through the different units and imagined being there with you. I tend to isolate a lot but this book felt like I was not alone for a while and replay often it to escape to pain. Thank you. (((((((Hugs))))))) Stefonknee

2 people found this helpful

Important read

I laughed at the title the very first time I saw the book because I assumed that it was sarcastic, but I very quickly found out that it wasn’t and there was very little to laugh about within the pages of this book.

Hello I Want To Die Please Fix Me is a combination of Anna Mehler’s deeply intimate and transparent first person account, of her ongoing struggle with suicide, and an in-depth and brutally honest critique of the mental health sector in North America.

I found the book highly informative and educational, from the need for emphatic physicians who are culturally conscious amongst other things, to the ways in which capitalism directly impacts the likelihood of progress being made in terms of research and medication for any particular mental illness.

I found the writing style a bit difficult, only in that while it was clear and comprehensible, the drastic difference between how emotive and descriptive the language was when Mehler wrote about the lives of those who had been impacted by suicide, and the way she wrote quite matter if factly about the health care system was sometimes jarring. It sometimes felt like I was reading both a memoir and an academic journal.

All in all it was a very difficult book to read simply because of the subject matter, but I would say It is entirely necessary. It will leave you with conflicted thoughts on when and how a persons right to things like privacy, autonomy and self determination can or should be limited.

1 person found this helpful

trigger warning

good book. It was informative and she'd light on many issues. it. should come with huge trigger warning for those with past or depression and suicidality

1 person found this helpful

Heavy... yet poignant.

This book took me a while to get through, having lost a dear friend to suicide shortly before starting... it struck a cord or two. However, it is a really fantastic and informative book, through and through. The fact that the entirety of the book is based on findings within Canada - from personal accounts of trauma and triumph as well as clinical studies - just makes the book all the more better. It was tough to listen to at times but I am so happy I finished it.

1 person found this helpful

Courageous, Thoughtful, and Inspiring

Am so impressed with the breadth and depth of research that's gone into this book. And the courage, oh my. For someone who hasn't personally experienced depression or suicidal ideation but tries to be a helpful friend to those who do, I found this incredibly informative and helpful. A real gift. Thank you! Loved Tess' reading as well.

1 person found this helpful

Pleasantly Surprised !!

This book has been fantastic. True, honest, raw. Loved the research, and studies, and interviews. So great to have a journalist as the author !! This book does not disappoint !

1 person found this helpful

A necessary read for anyone interested in mental health

Extraordinarily written and narrated. Thank you to the author for sharing her personal experience,and for conducting so much worthwhile research.

1 person found this helpful

hard to listen to

please, don't listen to this book if you are suicidal. it is triggering. I learned a lot on what's going on with the reserches in the field of depression around the world.