''You need to feel life's terror to feel its wonder,'' British author Matt Haig writes in Reasons To Stay Alive.
Haig was 24, avoiding the responsibilities of adulthood post-tertiary study and supposedly having the time of his life on the Spanish Island of Ibiza, when he was hit by debilitating depression.
A hellish few days later, and only after reaching rock bottom, with the help of his girlfriend Andrea he made it on to a plane and home to his parents in the UK and a long, slow, agonising road to recovery.
The very fact this book exists is ''proof that depression lies'', he writes, as someone in the depths of despair can't even begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
When he was at his worst - regularly reduced to tears, unable to get out of bed, and when he did unable to walk to the shop by himself or without having a panic attack - he certainly couldn't imagine going on to marry his girlfriend, have children and write several novels and books for children and young adults.
It was his desire to help others that led him to pen this very personal account of his experience.
There are several excellent memoirs on depression written by other established authors; the likes of Andrew Solomon's The Noonday Demon and William Styron's Darkness Visible spring most readily to mind.
This book is an important addition to the canon as it is highly accessible to the average reader. In this way it is perhaps closest to John Kirwan's books on the subject, All Blacks Don't Cry and Stand By Me.
It is designed to be a short, snappy, helpful guide, rather than provide any in-depth medical, social or historical analysis of depression or its treatment.
There is nothing trite about Haig's approach, however, nor is he preachy. His writing is beautiful, honest and simple and contains much humour, too.
The structure and his sage observations allow readers to dip into the book and find meaningful tips or thoughts that might give them something to hold on to.
This is an essential handbook for modern living, for anyone with doubt, anxiety or depression, their friends, family and carers, and anyone who thinks about the complexities of being human.
• Helen Speirs is ODT books editor.
Depression Helpline (8am-midnight): 0800 111-757
Lifeline: 0800 543-354
