First, We Make the Beast Beautiful audiobook

“The Chinese believe that before you can conquer a beast, you must first make it beautiful”This is the author’s honest and vibrant account of her struggle with anxiety and what she has done to cope or manage it throughout her life. I consider it part-memoir and part self-help book.I found the book interesting and helpful. In it, Sarah Wilson references books and quotes from other authors such as Matt Haig, Glennon Doyle, Louise Hay , and Eckhart Tolle whose book The Power of Now I’ve read at least three times. She also mentions research and studies about the subject, this I found fascinating, give me interesting facts and figures and I’m hooked.The author describes the positive effects that meditation, hiking, decluttering, and quitting sugar (among other changes) have had in her life. We’ve heard about these steps from other sources about a thousand times, but when Sarah describes it she does it in a sincere and candid voice which I found compelling.Overall, I recommend this book.

“Purposeful, creative, bold, rich, deep things are always beautiful.”I feel like books covering mental health topics are quite personal - what works for you may not work for another. Luckily this one really worked for me! Wilson is funny and relatable, and she describes anxiety in a way that I truly understood. It’s unapologetically raw and personal, and I was sad to finish it.It’s written in a very conversational style, the structure is a tad chaotic and repeatedly jumps around to different things but that does appeal to me - as my brain is very much like this! It means that I never got bored. She covers triggers and treatments, as well as her own personal anecdotes and little quotes and tidbits from fellow anxiety sufferers.However, what I loved most about this book were the parts where Wilson tried to approach anxiety in a positive way, in other words - make the beast beautiful. And she’s right! For all the negativity that anxiety can bring to our lives, it also makes us the people we are. If you simply removed my anxiety from my personality, I would be a very different person. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t receive treatment or counselling if it is impacting your life in a hugely negative way, but there’s something to be said for how anxiety can be beneficial in some ways. For me, it means that I am extremely efficient and organised; time management is my jam, even if it also turns me into a little bit of a control freak.Near the beginning of the book, Wilson states that this isn’t a self-help book, it’s more an account of her experiences with anxiety. But I would disagree. I found so many tips in here and just being able to relate and agree with her about so many things provided some help in itself.It’s an awkward one to recommend because reviews seem to be quite mixed. Like a lot of things targeted towards mental health, I think it’s really down to personal preference. And hey, even if you hated it, the book itself is GORGEOUS. 4 stars!

Author Sarah Wilson shares anecdotes and anxiety-busting methods from her life experience."One of the dear, dear things about getting older, is that it does eventually dawn on you that there is no guidebook. One day it suddenly emerges: No one bloody gets it! None of us knows what we're doing. pg 5, ebookThrough her research and personal experiences, Wilson shares the best, and the worst, of the treatments and latest scientific advances. Even though we don't have the treatments for anxiety nailed down yet, it helps to know that sufferers are not alone in their struggles."We're told that globally one in thirteen people suffer an anxiety-related illness. Some studies tell us that one in six of us in the West will be afflicted with an anxiety disorder at some stage in our lives, making it the most common officially classified mental illness." pg 14, ebookI liked Wilson's definition of anxiety: she sees it as a separation of self from something larger and more meaningful. The anxiety makes us reach for this something, but we don't know what we're reaching for and it hurts."Anxiety is a disconnection with this Something Else. As I say, the doctors and scientists can call it all kinds of things, but I believe it all comes down to this disconnect." pg 44, ebookWilson excels at the physical descriptions of anxiety and bipolar disorder. She captures the raw edges of the experience and how life can feel painful because all the stimulation coming in when you're having a panic attack or a manic episode.She includes a couple exercises to help bring yourself down when you're experiencing anxiety. But not too many, because: "I don't plan on filling this book with too many exercises that people like me skim over to get to the meaty theory. I'll just include the ones that suit people like you and me." pg 57, ebookHighly recommended for anxiety sufferers or their loved ones who want to know what it's like to be inside the experience.

I loved this book. The inconsistency, the raw honesty and the unapologetic nakedness of the author was beautiful. It reads much like an anxious persons mind - some facts may not add up, backtracking, random side notes popped in. It felt like much being in my own brain, as if sometimes I was reading my own thoughts. I would not say this is a self help book, just a recap of the struggles of one person who recalls their own attempts to calm their life, and bring meaning.

You know how you book into a hotel and that night you can't sleep, because of the hum of the air conditioning, or maybe it's the loud construction noise coming right through the window? what do you do? Change rooms? Well author, Sarah Wilson has techniques that helps us with certain anxiety, how to cope with it, how to "sit with it".... what is anxiety? It something that drives people, that highly intelligent people suffer from, like Einstein and even there are different types of anxiety. A spiral anxiety and even anxiety that goes full blown out and beyond panic attacks and then there are the milder types with the OCD..I have listened to a few audio books, but none that really had grabbed my attention as much, or for as long as this one. The more I kept going deeper into this audio, the more interesting it became. This author, who "takes off her mask" is a total wreck. I questioned halfway through, how 🤷‍♀️ how did she get through all these life incidents and still remain in one piece? ..... the answer is clear, and stated above ... anxious people drives themselves "get things done" "organise things".This was actually a highly interesting, but yet for me, a calming audiobook at a time when high stress is normally the case .... at Christmas time, when most people are running around I just sat quietly for a change, relaxed and just listened, giggling and laughing at the high wit that needs be, in a book like this. The author does touch briefly on other things, like sugar, and how this effects the body and mind, but the majority was about plain old anxiety.I highly recommend you listen to the audiobook of this, or book for that matter, its extremely interesting, facinating, entertaining and it kept me captivated for hours. Read by the author herself. Duration time 9 hrs 7 mins..This was free through my library and listened by Bolinda Borrow Box, my libraries recommended listening app..5 star rating.Genre - Non-fiction - Wellbeing - Self Help - Autobiography - Australian - Health

An amazing book for people who struggle with anxiety, confusion, and existential curiosity (and pretty much as an inevitable consequence, existential angst). We all struggle in these ways. If we don’t, we aren’t listening. I love how Sarah views anxiety in this way. I love how Sarah normalises anxious feelings and is brave enough to shine a light on her struggles in order to help us feel like we are not alone. What an amazing human. In this book, Sarah suggests that perhaps anxiety is not something to be gotten rid of or destroyed, but rather something which acts as a personal compass or traffic-light system warning us when we’re acting in a way unaligned with our values. She suggests that if we pay attention and listen to its pleas, our anxiety may be the very thing which brings us closer to finding meaning and fulfilment and in our lives. Perhaps it’s not about striving to free ourselves from anxiety, it’s learning to stop ourselves from fleeing from it: learning to stop ourselves from distractions and constantly searching outside of ourselves on a never-ending quest for something to fulfil us or make our restlessness go away. Perhaps, instead, we should just sit still, resist the urge to flee, and listen. Only then can we get closer to ourselves. I feel blessed to have encountered such a life-changing book on the library shelves by chance and would recommend this book to everyone going through similar struggles of anxiety, indecisiveness and perfectionism. It feels like falling into a beanbag and receiving a big bear hug from a friend to finally hear someone who gets it, and who can honestly, without shame, say “I know...” and truly mean it.

This was an insightful and moving account about anxiety from a woman whose mental health she has to fight for every single day. I'm in awe of Sarah Wilson and her life-affirming journey and honest portrayal of what it is like to have a panoply of illnesses to deal with. The author points out that her book does not provide solutions nor clear remedies for anxiety - however - through her open minded and passionate account of her search for one, she has opened my eyes to what it is like to be brave as well as make use of whatever tools there are to make the most of life despite the fact that her anxiety will always be there - a beast made beautiful thanks to her courage and determination.

Both intoxicatingly relatable and completely foreign. A must read.

parts of this book i really didn’t like: talking about no sugar, writing about anxiety as though it’s a blessing and the pros of having it when really - no i don’t want my anxiety thanks very much parts of the book that i did like: really resonated with me and gave me the feeling and gratefulness of knowing that i am not alone in dealing with my anxiety even though my anxiety always tells me i am i gave it four stars because of this. sarah wilson wrote a candid book about her anxiety and i have to give her props for that

This was interesting. I haven't read any books on anxiety before, so I don't have anything to compare this to, but as far as I could tell this was a good and interesting new perspective on anxiety. Wilson encourages her readers not to run from their anxiety, but to sit in it and accept it, encourages them to recognize what they are experiencing as their brain trying to protect them. Essentially, Wilson reframes anxiety as something positive (even necessary) for those who have it. It's an interesting take, and I'm not sure how to feel about it. There is a big emphasis on meditation and some interesting points from Buddhism and Hinduism. The places where Wilson shares her own journey with anxiety are honest and raw. I especially like her emphasis on grace. I do think some of the thought exercises/patterns she suggests could be destructive for some people, but overall this book helped me to understand my friends and loved ones who struggle with anxiety, which was my hope in reading it.

I pre-ordered this book and read it quickly once I received it. I didn't read any reviews before I read it and I just let it be what it was without preconceived notions (I just read some reviews so that's top of mind as I write my own). I liked the rambling style of this book. I liked the storytelling aspect. I liked simply reading about someone else who lives with anxiety and how it manifests in their own life and the ways she has found to keep moving forward in her own life. I underlined a bunch of things that made me questions assumptions I have made about myself and the ways I've approached my own journey with anxiety + depression. I have been recommending it to friends who I think would benefit from simply reading her story.

Poetic, chaotic , poignant and thought provoking. I found myself pausing mid chapter to scribble down some thoughts in my journal on several occasions. Reading this on a peaceful and soulful road trip at various beautiful locations was interesting- I found the book confronting and triggering at times. It reminded me of myself sometimes, and contradicted my beliefs and thoughts at other times. A powerful memoir- I felt like I really got inside Sarah's head and rode the wave of her anxiety with her. The book felt at times organised and anxious like her described OCD , and at other times, spacious and gracious. I loved this variation of tone. I also loved the injection of so many other thinkers with quotes and theories and therapies.

I was apprehensive at first when Sarah Wilson said "read by Sarah Wilson" as the audiobook started ("oh dear, the author reading their own book? this could be very awkward") but I am so pleased to say I fretted for nothing and if anything, it's so much better hearing her own words in her own words. I admire her carving out space for fellow travellers to be uncomfortable, where we are encouraged to sit with our discomfort and listen and learn from it, to take heart and flow through to the other side of the experience, rather than doing everything in our power from avoiding entering into it in the first place.

This was recommended to me by my therapist. A refreshing perspective on anxiety, including the wisdom of a range of people who 'live well' (or try very earnestly) and comprehensive strategies for coping. My only critique pertains to the seemingly unavoidable lapses into the realm of 'woo-woo' which the author seemed to be at pains to avoid (and yet! Maybe necessary in providing a fuller picture of anxiety?). Also: beautiful cover.

First, we Make the Beast Beautiful was an interesting memoir with some self-help mixed in. The author is very honest about her own struggles and journey with anxiety - not a book for everyone but I enjoyed it enough to keep reading.