I could not get into this book, and did not finish it. Not to say it was bad, but it was not for me.

After enduring an 18 month long bout of severe depression in which she wished to be dead in a daily basis, Heather B Armstrong decided to fight back. She signed up to be a participant in an experimental treatment procedure, as only the third participant, to try and treat the depression. This treatment consisted of 10 sessions of what basically amounted to being placed into a medically supervised brain dead state, in the hopes that it would “reset” her brain, similar to the way that electroshock therapy does, without so many of the side effects. With her usual cantor, Heather takes the reader into the heart of her depression, allowing us to feel her pain and her longing for everything to just be done. She ushers us into her treatment sessions, from the start of each procedure to waking up in a drunken state in recovery. She dives deep into her relationships with her family and how those relationships have shaped the way she sees things.

For anyone who has suffered from depression, or has loved someone who has, this book is a painful, but real, look into the belly of the beast, in a no holds barred way. Heather’s writing is compelling, and heartbreaking, and even, at times, full of hope and longing. This wasn’t an easy book to read, but it was an important one for anyone who has faced mental illness. Heather writes with honesty and candor on such an important topic, but does so in a way that is also painfully relatable and also peppered with dark humour. This is a book about not only surviving, but learning to live, and love, and thrive in the face of mental illness.

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon&Shuster Canada for a digital galley in exchange for an honest review.

Well, I never stray away from a tough subject in my reading material. I was seduced by the title and I stayed for the compelling and raw account of a woman's struggle to overcome the painful depression that enveloped her every moment. Heather B. Armstrong goes to a place that I never could have believed possible. In 2017 , the single mother of two and popular blogger, became the third participant in a scientific study in which the subject is given a huge dosage through anesthesia which would leave her nearly brain dead for 15 minutes. All done in an effort to quiet the electrical activity in her brain. She would go through this process TEN times.

Heather shares her family story and treatments in such a conversational manner that I felt I was talking with a friend over a cup of coffee. As I came to the end of Heather's story, I couldn't help but allow the tears to fall freely. As much pain as there is in this book, there lies within a message of hope. The Valedictorian of Being Dead: The True Story of Dying Ten Times to Live is one of my most memorable reads of 2019

Goodreads Review 19/04/ 19
Publication Date 23/04/19

Having followed Heather for years online, when the opportunity came up to review this book, I jumped on it. What I found was an achingly honest account of what she went through to get back to the living. She doesn’t hold back from her divorce, single parenting, depression, why she eased back on blogging, family and more.
Thank you Heather for inspiring others to own their truth like you did.
My mom died at a young age. Because of my personal history and having daughters as well, I felt connected with every page.
If you have a loved one who is struggling or you are feeling alone, this is a book for you.

This is a fascinating memoir of a very popular 'mommy blogger' who undergoes experimental treatment while suffering from depression. This is a great read for fans of medical memoirs.

I have to say i had mixed feelings about this book before picking it up. I follow this authors blog and while i love the "mommy blogger" posts i have, over the last few years found myself not following due to so many "Preach" type posts ( Eat Paleo its the best, Support this cause its the best, the world is ending because of this, etc etc) Lately however i have found less of this and more of the posts where Heather allows us into her family not her politics. I am so glad i gave it a chance. It was a phenomenal book, powerful and so well written. A definite opportunity to see the world through the eyes of someone in a hopeless place, then to see the world again with hope and joy. I think at some point nearly everyone has struggled with depression, though likely not to this severity. Reading this i found myself relating to a few of the things she struggled with and not even realizing they were symptoms/manifestations of being down, this allowed me to process and adjust. This book made me laugh and cry, it gave me a new outlook on life in general and overall it gave me hope that if i ever find myself down again that there is always an up no matter how bad it gets. Kudos for writing about this personal experience so others may see the light at the end of the tunnel. Im glad you are ok now.

I am shocked and amazed by this story. I almost don’t have words for this book yet somehow I find myself talking to everyone about it. Our local library likely has a long waiting list for it because I have recommended it so much. You can’t help but be intrigued by the summary and as soon as I heard about it I was dying to get my hands on it. I was not disappointed because it absolutely blew my mind! I had been woefully ignorant about treatments for depression and I honestly didn’t even know that Electroconvulsive Therapy was something that was still used today, much less the even more terrifying new treatment that the author undergoes. It makes sense in a way because pretty well every piece of technology can be fixed by unplugging it and then plugging it in again. I never imagined that rebooting would do the same for the brain!

I’ve never suffered from depression but with what seems like the recent rash of celebrity suicides I am very aware of just how deadly this disease can be. Heather does an amazing job of describing her disease and her mindset during this time. She is brutally honest and remarkably open about her experiences. I think we can all relate to how hard it is to ask for help, and to do it when in the depths of despair is quite remarkable. To what lengths would you go to save your own life and to feel joy again? In Heather’s case dying ten times then being brought back seemed like a reasonable if last resort option.

At first I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy Heather’s voice. It took me a bit to get her sense of humour, and there are many parts that are very funny. I could completely relate to her perfectionism and need to be the best at everything. No one can be the best at everything but for perfectionists anything less feels like total failure. One of the hardest lessons I had to learn was to let go of “being the valedictorian.” It’s okay to not do everything perfectly. Sometimes it is enough to just get the things done! This aspect of Heather’s stress was 100% my stress. Thankfully I’m fine now and I think she is too. This story is such an inspiration to everyone who thinks that things will never get better. You will have to ask for help and you might have to go to extremes but things will get better. No low is ever permanent. If it takes dying ten times to get out of it then go for it! I’m such a nerd for this but I have to quote John Lennon: “Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end.”

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada and Gallery Books for providing an Electronic Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley for review.

The Valedictorian of Being Dead is Heather B. Armstrong's recollections of her experience of undergoing an experimental treatment to attempt to lessen her depression symptoms. She is put into a state of brain death ten times over the course of a 3 week period, and has not had a relapse since.
The best part of this book was the afterword, written by the primary doctor leading the study, reiterating that this study is early days and that more money and eyes are required to holistically improve the lives of depressed patients.
I did not enjoy my time reading this book - not because it was triggering or anything like that, but for writing related reasons. Armstrong's voice, on paper, agitates me - I care for neither her style nor her "humour (Her "humour" isn't too dry or subversive for me; it's just absent, but she talks about it like it is a thing that exists).
The word valedictorian is used constantly, a weird tick coupled with the idea that being the valedictorian is somehow life's sole aspirational goal. I don't remember who was valedictorian at my graduation and I can't think of the last time I've even heard the word; maybe it's an American thing - like yearbook superlatives - to give a s*** about the role? I started feeling like Peter in that Family Guy episode wherein he draws attention to movies that mention the film title in dialogue, although he finds it enchanting.
Lastly, because Armstrong's life is so known to her fans, as someone new to her I was left feeling like I needed an in-book primer - I couldn't summon up the revulsion I think I was supposed to feel toward her father, ex-husband, or ex-boyfriends, creating an emotional gulf I couldn't cross, further compounding how little I was otherwise connecting with the memoir.
However, I think this book could be helpful to other people. The struggles of depression, single parenting, and dating are struggles that many people can relate to - even if Armstrong admittedly comes to these struggles with a moderate amount of privilege. There is value in showing that while privilege mitigates struggles, money and post-secondary education don't resolve everything on their own.
I hope the right audience finds this book and benefits from the anecdotes Armstrong has to impart.