Reasons to Stay Alive – Matt Haig

Reasons to Stay Alive book coverReasons to Stay Alive is a short and easy read, part memoir and part self-help book. Matt Haig vividly describes his sudden spiral into depression whilst living in Ibiza in his twenties, his journey through the bad times, and how he made it out the other end.

There is a lot to be taken away from this book, whether you have suffered with depression and anxiety or not. I believe most people will be able to relate to at least parts of Haig’s experiences, and his book can make you feel less alone with your worries.

Reasons to Stay Alive is an excellent place to start if you would like to have a better understanding of depression or anxiety. With Haig’s clear writing style and a balance between his own opinion and fact, this book is easily accessible to everyone. Continue reading

Periplus Bookshop – Ubud, Bali

The Ganesha Bookshop in Ubud is famous, but I hadn’t heard of the Periplus Bookshop. Wandering along aimlessly on my second day (or was it the third day? Life seems to be ticking along at a different pace for me in Ubud) I stumbled across this bookshop at just the right moment. The heat was starting to get to me and the refreshing air-conditioning hit me as soon as I walked in.

image

Continue reading

The Girl from the Coast – Pramoedya Ananta Toer

Girl-from-the-coast
I am writing this on my smart phone (yippee for technology!) which turns out to be quite awkward, so I apologise if this post is not as well edited as usual! I arrived in Ubud, Bali on Tuesday and will be in South East Asia for the next two months. I will try to keep the blog updated, but it may only be short posts.

The Girl from the Coast is set on Java, (on the island next door) and written by celebrated Indonesian writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer.

The nameless main character, simply referred to as ‘the girl’, is a pretty 14 year old who lives with her family in a fishing village. One day an important man, ‘the bendoro’, from the city learns of her beauty and wants to marry her. Continue reading