In her memoir, Emily Rey­nolds manages to accomplish what few writers can: she delivers a personable and raw account of her struggles with mental illness while also giving the reader a guide to navigate it themselves. 

A Beginners Guide to Losing Your Mind is filled with black humour and disarming recollections of what Reynold’s life was like before, during and since her diagnosis with bipolar disorder and bouts of mania, psychotic episodes and depression. Blatantly calling herself ‘mad,’ she is self-deprecating to a fault. 

This is difficult to read—mainly due to the gut-wrenching detail she goes into about dramatic episodes, self-injury and suicide. However, it is essential reading if you’re navigating life with a mental illness or know someone who is—as long as this is done with caution.