To\u00a0feel happy, human and whole in this century sounds like a tall order, beyond the limits of even the most insightful self help guru. But Haig isn’t out to preach or instruct. Instead, he chooses to share his own thoughts and internal struggles, resulting in a book so deeply personal and utterly relatable\u00a0that readers will feel as though they are not alone in their fears and insecurities.\u00a0Haig’s honesty and bravery comes across on every page as he delves into what gets under his skin in this Netflix-obsessed, social-media-addicted world.<\/p>\n “I hate the idea of writing self-help books, even though I\u2019ve been told that\u2019s what I\u2019m writing,” says Haig. “I think self-help has the connotation of you having all the answers and you speaking from a mountain top. I\u2019m definitely not doing that. Reasons To Stay Alive<\/em> was me having an experience of being in a suicidal place and being out of that place but not being in a state of 100% perfect health.”<\/span><\/p>\n Haig assures us that, as an obsessed Twitter user, he is most certainly writing from “inside the cyclone”.\u00a0<\/em>He\u00a0wants to assure people that they’re not alone on this nervous planet. He\u00a0hopes to do his little bit in reaching out to those who\u00a0feel\u00a0the same way.<\/p>\n “We\u00a0all feel obliged to be up to date with the news every hour,” says Haig. “Consuming more information doesn’t make you more proactive … sometimes we get paralysed by the overload of options.”<\/p>\n It makes sense in this age of TV and social media and multiple screens delivering multiple forms of news and entertainment. We are constantly surrounded by information. How do we possibly process it all?<\/p>\n In this follow-up to his number one bestseller\u00a0Reasons to Stay Alive<\/em><\/a>, Haig delves into how this tech-savvy, social media world is messing with our minds. Rates of stress and anxiety are on the rise and, despite being more connected than ever, many of us feel isolated and alone.<\/p>\n How could we possibly hope to remain sane in today’s day and age? How do we hold onto our humanity as technology quite literally becomes part of us? How do we find that ever-illusive thing called happiness?<\/p>\n We can’t tell you, but perhaps Matt Haig can?<\/p>\n Despite his success, however, Haig feels as if he’s constantly in a race to capture his ideas before they slip away. “I have a lot of ideas and I get bored quite quickly,” he explains. “I\u2019m thinking of all the things I haven\u2019t done, all the ideas I haven\u2019t turned into novels.”<\/span><\/p>\n This explains why Haig is able to write so\u00a0many different kinds of books, making the jump from non-fiction to fiction (How to Stop Time<\/em><\/a>,\u00a0The Humans<\/a>)\u00a0<\/em>and children’s fiction (The Girl Who Saved Christmas<\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\n Booktopia’s\u00a0own John Purcell became is quite infatuated with\u00a0Notes on a Nervous Planet<\/em>.<\/p>\n “Matt Haig offers no silver bullets to defeat anxiety. If you follow him on social media you\u2019ll know that the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune still assail him every day,” says John. “This book is funny, heart-breaking, heart-mending, warm, insightful, intelligent and full of useful tips on how to navigate our way through life in the 21st century.”<\/p>\n Read John’s full review here<\/a>.<\/p>\n We discuss all of this and more in our podcast interview with Matt Haig. Listen to the full interview below:<\/p>\n![\"matt](\"https:\/\/blog.booktopia.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/665matt.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"matt](\"https:\/\/blog.booktopia.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/in-post-matt.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n