Written by Sowmya Gopi
“I don’t write about my experience with depression to defend the legitimacy of my pain. My pain is real, it does not come to me because of my lifestyle, and it is not taken away by my lifestyle.”
Mental illness is not typically something we have started taking as seriously in comparison to say, physical illness. Believe it or not, it is still considered a taboo in most parts of the world and often we state a person as mad when instead they feel emotionally disturbed. Depression is a common mental disorder today and knowingly and unknowingly, many of us have faced and gone through it. In this book, Shaheen Bhatt (popularly identified as Alia Bhatt’s sister) is here with her story and the demons she faced in depression.
Her unapologetic language and honesty makes it easier for every reader to relate to this book. She takes us through her childhood, teenage years, and adulthood, and how with each phase the anxiety within her grew. With each page you realise, how depression never had a face. She did her research well, which reflects when certain terms are explained well and in detail.
Each chapter is like a lesson and I personally felt touched with her experience. It is rather brave of her to let us readers into her head for it is easy to talk about your highs, but hard to take one through your lows. The book has one clear message: you are not alone. If you need help ask, if you know someone who does help them. It is never too late and it will be okay.
This book was my last and my best read of 2019 and I would recommend it as a must-read to everyone out there.
I’ve Never Been (Un)Happier is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
I don’t write about my experiences with depression to defend the legitimacy of my pain. My pain is real; it does not come to me because of my lifestyle, and it is not taken away by my lifestyle.
Unwittingly known as Alia Bhatt’s older sister, screenwriter and fame-child Shaheen Bhatt has been a powerhouse of quiet restraint-until recently. In a sweeping act of courage, she now invites you into her head.
Shaheen was diagnosed with depression at eighteen, after five years of already living with it. In this emotionally arresting memoir, she reveals both the daily experiences and big picture of one of the most debilitating and critically misinterpreted mental illnesses in the twenty-first century. Equal parts conundrum and enlightenment, Shaheen takes us through the personal pendulum of understanding and living with depression in her privileged circumstances. With honesty and a profound self-awareness, Shaheen lays claim to her sadness, while locating it in the universal fabric of the human condition.
In this multi-dimensional, philosophical tell-all, Shaheen acknowledges, accepts and overcomes the peculiarities of living with depression. A topic of massive interest to anyone with mental health disorders, I’ve Never Been (Un)Happier stretches out its hand to gently provide solace and solidarity.
She described her room; messy and unoptimized. While reading this book, you will not enjoy it, but you will learn many things.