This year so far I've read more semi-autobiographical/non-fiction/self-help books than I have done in the rest of my life put together, and I'm kind of digging it. I've always found mental health based books a bit too tricky to handle: often they go in too deep, making them triggering, and then they 'resolve' it by telling you how to fix things (which never actually works).
I knew from the offset that Grace's book wouldn't be one of those. Grace Victory is a blogger and Youtuber from the UK who absolutely spends her time lifting people up. She's endlessly supporting the body positivity movement, crying out against racism, and genuinely making the world a better place. The idea of buying a Youtuber's autobiography had never appealed to me until Grace brought one out, because I knew it'd be different.
No Filter is a mixture between a look back on Grace's younger years and her growth from them, as well as an amazing resource for all kinds of issues. Grace tackles domestic abuse, PTSD, sexual abuse, self harm, depression, anxiety, loneliness, body image and just about everything a teenage girl could deal with. And not only does she talk about them in a non-judgemental way, she offers a whole variety of different websites you can get help from, phone numbers you can call and places to find information about what you're struggling with. There's no 'one size fits all' approach; as someone who's struggled in the past, Grace has clearly thought about the contents of this in a lot of detail and really considered all the different ways in which people might need to be helped.
I really think the consideration that she's put into this book is what makes it a winner. It's clear that Grace has put her absolute heart and soul into this book without making it a thing that's just nice for her to reflect on. She's hit the nail on the head with finding the thin line between giving details about your issues, and triggering people, or allowing them to go away with ideas about ways they can self-sabotage. And this isn't something that comes easy: so much care has been put into it, and this is why I think it's an incredible read.
This is a must-read for teen girls, and those in their early twenties, especially if you're going through a bit of a rough patch!
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