This really has been a year for mental health reading for me, and I've loved delving into non-fiction for pleasure for the first time in my life. Sex, Suicide and Serotonin has been one of the most eye-opening books of 2018 for me. It's filled with a whole plethora of information on how the brain functions, as well as an insight into what it's like to be someone who has survived a suicide attempt.
The book starts with Debbie's attempted suicide. After swallowing a concoction of alcohol and pills, Debbie was found by her teenage son and brought to the hospital. Unable to ascertain exactly what had been consumed, the doctors were unable to pump Debbie's stomach and she experienced severe brain injury as a result of her actions, but survived. The story tells the tale of Debbie's recovery from someone who is unable to speak, walk or eat without assistance, to someone who's written her own book and leads an independent life.
The thing that most interested me was the sheer range of techniques that Debbie tried to help her in her recovery, both mentally and physically. Not satisfied with traditional medicine, Debbie finds additional therapies to help nudge her along to health.
This book was such a powerful read for me, especially as you really don't hear much about adult suicide attempts in the media. As someone with a parent who's struggled with this, I found it an incredibly insightful read, and one that I would recommend.
Have you read it, or anything similar?
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