Review by Booklist Review
This encouraging memoir from an elementary school librarian is sure to provide inspiration and support to mothers everywhere who, in spite of solid support systems and many of life's advantages, may find themselves struggling with anxiety and depression. The author outlines how, even with a loving marriage, healthy children, financial security, and a job she loves, her life became unmanageable, beginning with panic attacks and eventually leading to being diagnosed with depression. Perhaps the most valuable part of Chavez's story is her detailed account of navigating the mental health system for therapy and treatment. She might not get it right on the first try, but she keeps on trying, all in baby steps (some forward, some back) that ultimately lead to recovery. Her realization that in order to take care of others, she must first make the choice to care for herself will strike a chord with mothers--and all parents and caregivers--who may be feeling overwhelmed as the demands of family life pull them in many different directions.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Elementary school librarian Chavez recounts in her inspiring debut how a mental health crisis upended her busy life, and charts the subsequent journey to reclaim her peace of mind. As a frequent volunteer and mother of two boys, with a husband who frequently traveled for work, Chavez's mantra was, "I do, therefore I am." During a week when her husband was away and her sons were in middle school, however, the 38-year-old's stresses came to a head and she suffered a debilitating panic attack. The incident threw her into a tailspin, leading to weeks of disrupted sleep, little appetite, and constant anxiety about whether "in the end, everything would be fine." With her father facing a high-risk surgery, her husband grieving the loss of his sister, and Chavez desperate to show up for her family, she sought out the aid of therapy, antidepressants, and close friends. This support network gradually taught her to say "no," ask for help, and prioritize her own happiness, whether it came from assembling a jigsaw puzzle, riding a bike, or reading a book. In elegant, straightforward prose, Chavez speaks with compassion and candor to overextended women everywhere. There's plenty of wisdom in these pages. Agent: Naomi Eisenbeiss, InkWell Management. (Jan.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A librarian and mother describes her recovery from anxiety and depression. After Chavez, a librarian at an elementary school, and her children received routine allergy shots, she found herself a few hours later in a hospital room, reeling from an anaphylactic reaction to the injection. This marked the beginning of a period of intense anxiety that escalated to the point that, while her husband was traveling, she experienced a panic attack that made it impossibly frightening to turn off the lights before bed. "In the moment it's happening, a panic attack can convince you of nearly anything," she writes. "That night, I believed there was a very real possibility I would die." The author's sense of being overwhelmed led her to seek medical attention, but she initially got nothing but runarounds and unhelpful advice like, "You need to quit your job." She finally visited the physician's assistant in her primary care doctor's office, who prescribed an antidepressant that had helped her in high school, and she started seeing a therapist. In therapy, she realized, "I've neglected myself, but it's been convenient for everyone else, so no one has thought to stop me." Unfortunately, just as she began to make progress in setting boundaries and intensifying self-care, her husband's sister passed away, and doctors botched her father's heart surgery. These traumatic events required an incredible amount of emotional energy that put her coping strategies to the test. Chavez's frank, conversational voice infuses the text with a welcome layer of humor and intimacy. Despite referencing structural reasons for women's--and especially mothers'--mental health issues, the author focuses mostly on her specific experiences. For example, she leaves out details about her identity that might have affected her treatment in the medical systems that she critiques only in passing. Engaging and compassionate, but Chavez could have gone deeper in her analysis. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
