Melissa didn’t have to write this book. As the co-founder of Melissa and Doug toys which are family favorites in our home, the reader understands she felt called to write this book. I admire her transparency and generosity of heart. Deeply personal, her story should be treated with care when reviewing. I had never heard of the word existential being paired with anxiety and depression before. I am so thankful we live in a time where people can share their struggles in a continuing effort to lessen the stigma with both and we owe this to authors like Melissa. It’s a big book, but don’t let this overwhelm you. It’s one you can pick up and consume in portions, reflect upon and then pick up again. May we all strengthen our own lifelines.

a very well done book, that is brave and reminds the reader to be the same.
its beautifully made up and has a lot of great quotes.
if you want some inspiration and something beautiful to look at on top of that?
this is a great one.

Not really my cup of tea but not a terrible book. I didn't realize many of the writings (if not all) would be written in a rhyming pattern and I just can't get behind poetry that rhymes the entire work. Just my opinion! The ideas behind the poems were good though.

This is an absolutely beautiful book! It is heartfelt and artfully done. The author details the existential depression and anxiety that she has suffered with her entire life. Anyone who has ever felt that they are drowning in the depths of their depression and wonder if they can carry on will relate to this book. At over 600 pages it is quite long but worth the time!

** Thank you to NetGalley and for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review! **

#PamelaReads2021 #100BooksIn2021 #Lifelines #DepressionAndAnxiety #NetGalley

Melissa and Doug Bernstein were only on my radar for their incredible toy company that I've bought toys from over the years for my children. When I discovered that Melissa wrote a book that was published this month, I was so excited to request it and receive this ARC from Net Galley. This books takes you on an intimate journey as she explored the depths of her path to inner peace and everything that embattled her along the way. It is truly an inspirational story about how you can overcome the demons of mental health by exploring anxiety, depression, and other disparities.

Melissa holds little back as she explains her personal battle with depression, raw and emotional, with a perspective similar to Glennon Doyle- you should never get stuck in one spot or emotion for too long, but you must always allow yourself to feel every single one of those emotions, in the most clear and sober mind.

Bravo Melissa, thank you for being a warrior and setting an example for all of us by telling your truth and normalizing stigmas associated with mental health.

This book was 100% not what I expected! When I received the advanced reader copy from @netgalley, I was expecting it to be simply Melissa’s story. It was that plus gorgeous photographs and beautifully written poems that Melissa wrote about her innermost thoughts, as she struggled with depression and anxiety for her entire life. This book would make an amazing coffee table book, as the poems and nature photos are simply gorgeous. I was very moved by Melissa’s courage to share her story.

Wow, wow. Really brave book, really soul-searching for Melissa. What courage and strength she shows us - as an example - to be honest. To not be afraid. People cannot help address or fix or work on what they don't know. I loved Melissa's honesty and approach to her issues and for knowing she needed help. This is a beautiful book for those of us that need help and healing, those that do help and heal and the rest of the population that just needs to be aware of the human condition.

This book is full of beauty. I loved the nature photos in the background and coupled with the 'LifeLines' makes it a perfect coffee table book. I can't help but feel awful for Melissa because it is apparent that she was surrounded by some pretty heartless people throughout her life. I am grateful for her that she was able to find a way to channel her pain to bring joy to so many through her creations. I had a tough time reading this book especially in the first few volumes because of some clunky writing and odd word choices. Each volume felt a little repetitive but maybe I missed the point there given the title of each of them. The writing smoothed out more towards the end and I appreciate that the author was able to recognize that she needed to find people that were willing to support and not go through life alone - this I feel is very important for those who may read this looking for hope in their own life.

I wasn't able to download this copy.. I have an issue downloading this book. I went ahead an gave a rating. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. Perhaps the chance to receive a kindle version would of been greatly appreciated.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC. I’ll say this, so often we think that we know exactly what someone’s like or glints through based off of what we see. We think that if someone who’s deemed as successful in society’s standards then they must be happy. They must be content in their life, and Melissa is here to remind us that’s not always the case. A memoir of someone who’s deemed successful, who’s happy in their life, who’s not. Who’s struggling with her mental health. Written words and poetry brings the reader into Melissa’s world. It took a bit for me to get into, and mainly because of the layout/format to which I was able to read it (on my phone) so I struggled to follow along; but this is a subject and a topic we all need to read about.

Lifelines really surprised me with its beautiful imagery & honesty. As a mom of two young children, we have had & enjoyed our share of Melissa & Doug toys. But, I never really thought much about the lives beyond the product brand.
Melissa introduces readers to the meaning of existential depression, and how it has affected her along with how it might look in others. I’d never heard of this before, and was interested in finding out more about it. Melissa struggled with this depression for years, and it affected her life in so many aspects.
I love how inspirational the book is in its relatability. You read Melissa’s words, and you feel and better understand her feelings, Her poetry also connects and adds a deeper meaning to the company that she starts and the products she helps create.
So many of the standalone passages and quotes resonated with me, and just made me feel less alone. Melissa has experienced so much in her life that could cause one to stay withdrawn, yet she has turned her depression into action by using it as fuel to create her art & writings.

I’m going to second another feedback commenter. Unfortunately, I struggled to read the PDF of this book on my phone. I’m unsure if it’s due to my phone’s small screen size, or the pdf format in general.
But I’m hoping to reread the book when it comes out in an e-book or hard copy.

I’m going to rate the book with 5-stars because I’m sure it was a great story. I look forward to read about Melissa’s journey to creating Melissa and Doug products.

This book is not meant to be read on a device. I tried to read it on my iPad, but it's incredibly awkward, with the text and art on each page. I found it so frustrating I had to stop. I appreciate the writer's emotional plight, but the language was difficult from the beginning. I'm so sorry - I feel like the reading problem is mine, and my trying to appreciate the book on my iPad. I gave the book 5 stars, because I'm sure it's a beautiful reading experience in a hard back book.

Thank you, NetGalley, for letting me try this one out.

Melissa Bernstein has given a heart gift to everyone who reads this book. The beauty of it is that the journey will be different for each seeker. It will be personal and often familiar. The prose, photographs and poems are thought provoking. They reveal, touch and find the secret compartments of ones soul. The realization that you and I are not alone makes this path we walk with Melissa magical.
A successful wife, mother and founder of toy company Melissa & Doug, she has turned her moments of darkness into life-affirming light. Her mission, her desire to selflessly share her story makes us learn about who we are as we discover our own lifelines.
I know that I will reach for this book often and find warmth, comfort and a positive thought.
I love this book and highly recommend it.
Many thanks to NetGalley, LifeLines, LLC and Melissa Bernstein for an ARC in exchange for an honest book review.

All-in-all, this book was beautifully crafted with a mix of descriptive prose, poetry and photography. Each chapter begins with a prose description of a particular phase in the author's life, followed by "lifelines" -- short poems that capture the author's feelings from that time. Interspersed are lovely photographs of various natural subjects. The author lays bare her innermost thoughts, both through her prose and her poetry. I think the book will certainly appeal to many readers, particularly those who share the over sensitivities that Bernstein so aptly describes. Many people seem to need to find a label to attach to their array of symptoms, proclivities, etc. In Bernstein's case, she latches onto research by Kazimierz Dabrowski into highly creative/gifted people suffering from existential depression. Dabrowski finds these people had excessive levels of reactivity in their central nervous systems -- he called these "over-excitabilities" (OEs). These tendencies put the sufferer at greater risk of developing neuroses and other mental health disorders. Dabrowski, a Polish Catholic, was writing at roughly the same time as Irvin Yalom (American born of immigrant Russian/Polish Jewish parents) wrote extensively about it beginning in the 1970s. Arguably, Yalom is the better known of the two psychiatrists.

There were many times, while reading the book, where I simply felt sad that the author had never sought out a good therapist, but instead stayed buried inside her own negativity and judgment of the world around her. A perfectionist (her attempt to control everything in her life), she was quick to write off any so-called friends who didn't response with the compassion she expected.

She describes her realization "at a very young age" that everyone dies and that "there was no inherent meaning or value to life." In spite of finding no meaning in life, she harshly judged others for failing to understand "the ephemeral nature of existence" and condemned them for "flitting around without a care in the world." If life had no meaning for Bernstein, why would/should it matter how anyone spent their time between birth and death? She hated the human body with its smells and noises. As a result, the author spent endless amounts of time trying to control all aspects of her life, searching for who knows what -- even she had no clue for what she searched.

Eventually, Bernstein realizes that she has a choice regarding the attitude she can adopt towards life. She recognizes that she had a tendency to "over-analyze and intellectualize ... enmeshed in negative thought patterns." She acknowledged that she spent 50 years "wallowing in self-pity." She recognizes that existential depression, as such, cannot be cured but can be managed.

The saddest part about Bernstein's life, as she herself recognizes, is that she spent so much of it (50+ years) suffering. I find it a bit odd that never once does she speak of the benefit of finding a good therapist! Certainly, a book about healing from an orthopedic injury, a chronic physical disease, etc. would entail seeking out professional expertise. Had Bernstein done so, she likely would have discovered viable ways to relieve her suffering.

I'd rate this book a 3.5, but unfortunately that is not an option given the rating system. It's a solid book, well written and unique in its format with prose interspersed with poetry. And the photography is beautiful. It's a bit too "victimy" for me. It doesn't seem like the author's expectations are a two-way street. Bernstein expects sensitivity to her sensitivities, but nowhere does she make allowances for the fact that most people are simply not like her. Frankly, it reminds me a bit of the news stories about college professors who have been required to tell students ahead of time about disturbing material to be presented in class and to set up a special adjoining classroom with teddy bears and hot chocolate. Seriously, life is tough and the sooner people realize that the better off they will be. That said, yes, it's important to be sensitive to the needs of others. But when life happens, don't crucify people.