Title: So-Called Normal: A Memoir of Family, Depression and Resilience
Author: Mark Henick
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 4.25
Pub Date: January 12, 2021

Thanks to HarperCollins Canada for sending me a DRC of this book in exchange for an honest review. #gifted

T H R E E • W O R D S

Unflinching • Essential • Insightful

📖 S Y N O P S I S

So-Called Normal is Mark Henick's story of growing up overwhelmed by depression and anxiety that led to a series of increasingly dangerous suicide attempts. It details his time in a broken home and the events that led to a fateful night that would change his life forever. It is a vivid and personal account of the mental health challenges he experienced in childhood and his subsequent journey toward healing and recovery.

💭 T H O U G H T S

As someone who has dealt with mental health challenges my entire adult-life, I was eager to pick up Mark Henick's memoir of his own personal journey of living in a toxic environment, dealing with depression and suicidal ideation, and making it through.

Mark offers a gift of hope by exposing the depth of his pain. It offers insight into the stigmas and struggles he faced navigating the world around him. So-Called Normal is raw. It explores the nature of the disease. Mark does not preach or advise, yet he opens eyes to a path of healing and/or recovery. This book is a reminder that we are surrounded by people who struggle each and every day but 'who keep on keeping on'. It's a triumphant story of perseverance that I'd recommend to everyone in order to learn more about mental illness.

Please proceed with caution if you are picking up So-Called Normal. The content can be extremely difficult to read and may be trigger to some. And if it gets to be too much, set it aside and take care of yourself.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• anyone struggling with mental illness
• anyone caring for or trying to understand mental illness more
• health professionals

⚠️ CW: mental illness, depression, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempt, self-harm, alcohol, drug misuse, bullying, harassment, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, chemical and mechanical restraint, domestic violence

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Life is hard but I kept choosing to do it anyways."

"I just wanted to be a person living with a mental illness. I didn't want to be defined by my worst moments, I wanted to define myself."

Mark does a good job of sharing his struggles with mental health, accessing appropriate care and resources, and sharing how his home and school life affected the outcomes of his ability to deal with his depression.