If you have a book you've read and think it would be useful and interesting for others to know about, send us your review and we will publish it.

If you are an author or publisher and would like us to review a book about acne please contact us

Reviewed by Samantha Cook
Web Site Manager

I will be honest and say that I had never read a self-help book before I was given Free Yourself From Anxiety to review.  I really didn’t know what to expect when I picked it up but I ended up reading it from cover to cover.

This book is designed to help everybody who suffers from anxiety for whatever reason.  It seeks to reassure readers that anxiety is something that people do not choose to suffer from and goes on to explain what can cause an individual’s anxiety and the steps that can be taken to deal with it and generally improve life for sufferers.

The book is split into four parts and then laid out in clear concise chapters.  There are a lot of chapters – 52 in total plus extra chapters that cover relaxation techniques, organisations that people might want to contact for further information and additional information.  It could be quite daunting to be faced with so many chapters but each one is short and to the point and does not bog the reader down in unnecessary detail.  This makes the sections very easy to read and refer back to.

There are lots of handy hints and tips given in each chapter.  There are also “real-life” examples given at the end of each chapter by people who are in the process of recovering from anxiety.  These people are known as “the group” and this is a really nice feature.  The same group appear throughout the book so readers can relate to their experiences and follow their individual recovery stories too.

The book is written in a very sensible and practical way.  It is not patronising and offers a real understanding of what, for some sufferers, can be an extremely debilitating condition.  The chapters feature handy checklists to help readers pinpoint their symptoms and habits. 

Often anxiety has an underlying cause which could, in some cases, be another illness.  It is, therefore, essential for people to get in control of their anxiety so that the root cause is not made worse.  I firmly believe that this book could help sufferers take control of their anxiety and be a useful reference tool once they are on that road.

FREE YOURSELF FROM ANXIETY by Emma Fletcher and Martha Langley is available to buy in our Book Shop opposite.