How Not to Fall Apart

Lessons Learned on the Road from Self-Harm to Self-Care

By: Maggy van Eijk

Narrated by: Nicola Barber

What no one tells you about living with anxiety and depression—learned the hard way

Maggy van Eijk knows the best place to cry in public. She also knows that eating super salty licorice or swimming in icy cold water are things that make you feel alive but, unlike self-harm, aren't bad for you.

These are the things to remember when you're sad.

Turning 27, Maggy had the worst mental health experience of her life so far. She ended a three-year relationship. She lost friends and made bad decisions. She drank too much and went to ER over twelve times. She saw three different therapists and had three different diagnoses. She went to two burn units for self-inflicted wounds and was escorted in an ambulance to a mental health crisis center. But that's not the end of her story.

How Not to Fall Apart shares the author's hard-won lessons about what helps and what hurts on the road to self-awareness and better mental health. This is an audiobook about what it's like to live with anxiety and depression, panic attacks, self-harm and self-loathing--and it's also a hopeful roadmap written by someone who's been there and is still finding her way.

Excellent book about mental health

Maggy’s first person point of view about her experiences with mental health (specifically Borderline Personality Disorder) is a refreshing perspective. In a world of books dictating the mentally unwell to “wash their face” and “stop giving an eff,” Maggy fully embraces her struggles and eloquently describes them so others struggling with the same things can identify without judgment.

Maggy doesn’t sugarcoat anything either - she explicitly details her experiences with self-harm and sexual assault. If those subjects make you uncomfortable, you’re welcome to skip those chapters, but I found a lot of relief knowing someone else had experienced some of the things that I have as well.

On top of it all, Maggy is hilarious and the comedic relief makes this a fun listenable audiobook.

The reader was great and no issues with the audio at all. Very professionally narrated, recorded, and produced. I find that to be somewhat rare with audiobooks, so I’m extra appreciative of the efforts with this recording and narration.

Amazing!

It had a lot of similarity to my struggle with mental illness. It is definitely a great read.

You get me and I love you

I will hold this book close to my heart. Thank you your story makes me feel less alone and so understood and that things can get better