Loved this book. It will stay with me for a long time

I have read this book slowly, one chapter per day. I like it !
I will post my review sooon !!!

The title is kind of misleading, but I still find myself absorbed with the book. Short but intense it is.
The author had to deal with depression, family issues (parents with possible mental illnesses and siblings with Asperger) and also his sexuality. 
I find myself in the author's constant questions about his psychological problems and orientation: these are not things that are within our control and can change in a blink of an eye. I am glad he has found happiness.

*I got a free copy in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley

I really don't know how I feel about this. It started out great but lacked and dragged toward the end. Personally, I think that's because it became too preachy and jumped all over the place.

I have to say I actually wasn't sure what this book was about, I thought it was a guide to how to be happy and actually got something entirely different. It was someone's journey through life and a reminder of what goes on in our own head can been quite a minefield in itself. How we are led to believe there is only one what we should be, how we should act etc. What it points out is, that growing up we aren't always taught these things, it's simply just expected.

This book is quite a roller-coaster of emotions.  From growing up and not knowing who he was or should be, to his friends, some of which were troubled, to his parents and their problems, David had quite a lot to deal with while growing up. And as with any child, school was one of the biggest problems.

'There are a lot of ideas out there what a man should be, 'Dad wrote, 'and most of them are bullsh#*t. What counts is character. And by God you've got a lot of that.'

Like other reviewers, there have been parts in the book difficult to read, but I think that's what is so brilliant about this book. It doesn't shy away from anything and digs deep into the emotions of a troubled teenager, showing the high's and low's and that in life it's not always a bed of roses. I believe so much more should be taught to our youngsters on how to cope with feelings and how to ask for help. As adults we learn to cope with things, but as teenagers we have so much going on, not just in our bodies with hormones etc, but our young minds need to be able to find a way fo coping to all the changes to. Especially the cross over from school/university to adulthood. This book is a must read for everyone.

'I realised I had grossly underestimated the kindness of the people around me, and their interest in my wellbeing. The world was a nicer place than I made it out to be.'

And I leave you on this note, it appears everything with in self help always points back to one thing.....
'You see young padawan, true happiness is only ever found within yourself. Yuck.Lame But True.'

A really good read about being a young adult in today's Australia.

Told in an easy to read first hand narrative this book got me from the first couple of pages and I loved it. Teenage angst and issues are all through the book - drugs, suicide, sexuality, love, depression, friendships etc. but the story is told in such an engaging way and voice that it is not depressing, and does have a feel good vibe to it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

I did not enjoy it as much as i thought i will..
There is a lot of pages on his anxiety and depression,

I love this book so much, David's journey through life is so interesting to read and the mix of storytelling and advice mixed in is perfect. I can't wait to have this book on the shelves in my store. We need more diversity in YA literature and David's explanations of exploring sexuality are a perfect fit for that genre.

When I saw this book I instantly compared it to Matt Haig's "Reasons to Stay Alive" but in reality I felt it simply a biography of someones struggles with life. I myself have Borderline Personality Disorder and Bipolar but felt in impossible to connect with the author.

This book turned out to be too heavy and triggering to me. The writing is nice, but simply not made for me.

Taken from an upcoming review.

What is it? A nonfiction book by David Burton that we received free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What’s it about? Burton starts off his book with the title concept, and reveals that he has no idea how to actually be happy, but he’s going to try to help you anyway.

Who’s represented? David Burton is depressed gay, and his younger brothers are autistic.

How’s that representation? You can’t really call a gay man bad gay rep. I can say that I didn’t relate to him as a gay person, but that in no way discounts his experiences and life, and he’s not a character we can examine to see if he’s being gay the “right” way. His depression is more “relatable” but is told in such an incomplete way. He has every right to reserve some things for just himself, and he’s under no obligation to tell us everything about his mental illness, but something just felt flat. The entire novel feels like a white bread version of things, and the ableism surrounding his younger brothers isn’t fun to read through.

Aside from that, how is it? I honestly can’t think of a single thing in the book that was worth remembering. It seemed bizarrely short, although as I check the numbers, it’s a very respectable 288 pages. It seems like it can be summed up better by bullet points: there’s a portion on childhood depression, one on coping in his family, one on the “Crazy Dave” image he presents, one on “Gay Dave”, one on his relationships with girls, one on his feelings about being gay, one about him being gay, just those kind of things. A list of his life.

The ending: The book brings us right up to the point of David now, at the end of his 20s, a part of life where few things have actually happened. He’s not famous, and his accomplishments are all minor; not that he shouldn’t be proud of what he’s done for himself, just that it’s strange for us to be reading about a random guy who grew up sad and gay and is now okay and gay. This could be anyone, and he doesn’t have the talent to set him apart from everyone.

If you liked it: Running With Scissors takes a closer look about chaos and growing up gay and mentally ill.

How to be Happy is an amazingly honest book.  It describes a young mans life along with the confusion and questions he faces.  Mainly who am I? A question that I'm sure we've all had to think about at least once.
Life doesn't come easy for some and for David who suffered depression and anxiety his journey hasn't been easy, because of this and it's honesty I got a lot from this book and feel others will also.

The thing that a lot of memoirs lack is purpose. There is no reason for a lot of memoirs to exist. Sure, its people sharing their interesting lives or experiences, but in the end, they are, to put it bluntly, pointless. 

One of the main reasons I enjoyed this book was that it WASN'T pointless. The experiences that David Burton had are extremely relatable to me, and I see myself in a lot of the book. I liked the fact that, throughout the book, there were messages that people need to hear. Talking about how you feel is one of these messages, and I think reading from a first hand experience can show you that that is the truth. It's not just an overused saying that adults like to spew. It's actual advice that actually helps. 

Another thing I liked was that the memoir didn't read like a memoir. It read more like a contemporary, and I think, because of the content, that was a good thing. It helped keep my attention and made me want to read more. 

The reason I'm not giving this book a higher rating is that the last chunk (100-ish pages) were slightly boring. Not boring enough to completely put down the book (I did finish it in two days after all) but boring enough for me to want to stop reading. 

Compared to the first two-thirds, the last part wasn't written in a way that held my attention. I felt like it was slightly dragged out longer than it should be. It got slightly redundant as well. 

Overall, I'm sticking with my 3.5 rating, but I will say that I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I don't read many memoirs, so when I decided to pick this one up, it was different from what I expected, and better as well.

Had this been a story as told to me from a good friend, a confession, a thing that they shared with me for the reasons one person would share it with another, I would be grateful they did so. This is the realm in which the telling of the story is both honest and brave. From one person to another: I did this. This was my life. These were the people I hurt. I don't feel good about it. I've learned something since then. And the tone of the book is just like this. In fact, I felt that this was being written for a good friend and that I, as the reader, might be the good friend the author needed to hear.
But, as the story went on (and it was written well), I started feeling the burden of the witness - in the sense that time after time the author would list out the injuries he's given to those closest to him. It made me angry. Not for myself but for the victims he's laid waste.
Now.
Before I go further with this.
The author was depressed. Clinically depressed. He needed to be treated. And at the end of the book, he finally gets this. This is the section that provided the book's redemption. An understanding (of sorts) of the damage that depression could do and what was involved in treatment.
And I would agree that the book was an honest accounting of what happened to him and of where he was at mentally.
So, for all of these things, it very likely took a decent about of courage for David to tell his story.
However, I'm not his friend (not that I wouldn't want to be) -- I'm a reader. I'm someone with my own friends and family. I might (or might not) have my own relationship with mental health disorders. Just like I might (or might not) have my own history with sexual and gender identity.
The reason this makes a difference is because the way in which this story is told while highlighting the author's experience, also shows what I would call a callous disregard for others. More than that, to focus so heavily on the experience of it without delving back in to see how his depression made these decisions for him, how he would do things differently, how wrong he was at the time....it all felt rather indulgent.
And I am sorry to say that because I think it is quite important to talk about mental illness, to take the stigma away, to take some of the (no pun intended) drama away. 
I have ended this book wondering what I should have gained from reading it. I don't feel wiser about anxiety or depression or of the treatment options available. I don't feel wiser about helping a friend who might be experiencing anxiety or depression.  I don't feel wiser about how to navigate an exploration of sexual identity. I don't feel inspired to take on a career choice that is high-risk.
All in all, I felt this was a book written to be cathartic for the author but not for an audience. That said, if the book were reworked, I think it could have some potential.
Note: I am not submitting this to the blog for posting since I wouldn't recommend it. Two stars given for the writing style and for some clarity at the end.

Depressing but real life stories so do with that what you will

“How to be Happy” by Davis Burton is a memoir about his life experiences through high school and college. 
Despite the  title, this book isn’t a happy story of overcoming depression, it is bad and it is sad.
As a warning for all of you who might think that this book is a how-to for learning how to be happy, this is not. The author highlight the very essence of the book since the first line.

“I’ve lied to you already.
I don’t know how to be happy.
Yeah, sorry. Awkward.
Okay, let me rephrase. I don’t know how to make you happy. But I have a pretty good idea what would help. “

Anyway his purpose becomes clear at the end of the book.

"Sometimes, unhappiness is near impossible to avoid. Bad things happen. And it’s important to be sad. It doesn’t make you weak.”

Through the book we follow David that, while growing up, has to deal with several issues.
Themes like sexual orientation, depression, mental health, self harm, family problems are brought up.

David is, of course, the main character. He is a teenager and, at the beginning, he lives with parents who have to deal with depression and twins with Aspergers. So since the very start the reader comes to realise how his life must to be difficult.
Actually David was a nice voice and I particularly appreciated his irony and sarcasm.
The only problem about him, which make me feel a little bit awkward, was his habit to put on a mask on his face to hide his real personality. During the read we see “Crazy Drama Dave” or “Gay Dave”, while the “Real David” is hidden in a lonely space somewhere behind this exuberant characters. I wish I could shout at him that being himself was the real way to be happy but probably he came to realise it just at the very end. I found frustrating that he has needed so many years, and bad experiences, to realise such a thing, as if the answer to all the book was too clear since the beginning but the main character couldn’t see it.

The book was brutally honest, but also depressing. Furthermore I didn’t feel a lot of empathy for some of the characters, I wish they were a little bit more characterised. I felt like this book was too self-centred on David and his problems, while others’ were not considered, if not as part of David’s problems.

Otherwise the topics discussed are really important, if you are interested in reading a story from someone who has gone through a very hard time, I would definitely recommend this book. I also think that it is a must-read for those who are struggling with depression or are going through a bad time, even just to compare our life experience to David’s or to learn that you are not alone in your depression or anxiety. Being witness of somebody’s else sorrow can be a very important part of the healing process.

I’ve mentioned before that nonfiction is a genre I don’t reach for nearly as I should be. As a writer, I want to be read about anything and everything. 2017 has been my year of finally tackling things I’ve been wanting to for ages without stressing myself out about it.

So as 2016 was coming to a close, I finally went back onto Netgalley.com and scrolled through the list of ARCs that were available to read now. The cover of How to Be Happy instantly grabbed my attention. After reading the synopsis and newly jumping into adulthood, I thought this would be a perfect read for the new year.

And it was.

Burton was brutally honest throughout his novel, and I cannot describe my admiration for that enough. I write fiction novels, but all of my books are based off of deep emotions and struggles of my own, and that can be quite taxing. But to write exactly what you’ve been through in great detail? That’s a lot.

Burton suffered from paranoia, anxiety, and panic attacks, which is something I (and many others) can relate to. I’ve never gotten into depth about it, but I do have issues with anxiety and have experienced a panic attack in the past (and been on the brink of a few attacks). And oh my, when I was a kid, I was weirdly paranoid about the most obscure things. I was convinced someone would break into our house or we would be struck with a disease. I was deathly afraid of losing my family and death. Luckily, I’ve grown out of this, but I shouldn’t have been a child who was constantly stressed out by outlandish things.

When I read that Burton has these same thoughts as a child, I almost felt like I could have cried knowing that I wasn’t alone. Anxiety, along with many other mental illnesses, aren’t taken seriously. If you haven’t experienced it, you don’t understand the panic and the pain. The feeling like your next breath might be your last. It’s a taxing thing to be through both mentally and physically, but Burton didn’t hesitate in describing those details.

I always admire and appreciate anyone who chooses to write about difficult topics like this because it helps me and hundreds (or maybe even thousands) of others that we aren’t alone. And if we haven’t suffered from said illness, it helps us learn and understand it, which is so very important.

But Burton doesn’t just touch upon the importance of understanding anxiety. He also describes his various confusions through his teenage years and all the way into his young-adulthood. He discusses his sexual confusion and his panic at how others would react. Confusion at what he wanted out of life and what he wanted to do.

Again, topics like these are so important for our society. People need to know that they’re not alone. That they should never feel odd or alien for experiencing different thoughts or opinions. We are all people. We are all humans made up of atoms and neurons. No two people are the same, and that’s beautiful.

How to Be Happy is such an inspirational read that I believe everyone—especially us young people—should read. It can be quite sad and emotional at times, but that’s life. This novel is very real to life and the perfect beginning to my first year of adulthood.