On Edge: A Journey Through Anxiety by Andrea Petersen

More info*

Blogger's note: I recently started grad school, which means that I can't read as much as I used to. For the foreseeable future, reviews will no longer be every Monday, but will be posted when they are written. Thank you.

Publication date: 2017
Publisher: Crown Publishers
Pages: 320
My rating: 3 stars
Ages: 18+

During her first year of college, Andrea experienced symptoms of breathlessness and racing heart. After months of going to doctors and having tests done, she learns that she has an anxiety disorder. For the next two decades, Andrea tries different ways to reduce and control her anxiety. This includes looking into medication, behavioral therapy, and the history of mental illnesses.

What was nice about this book was that, while Petersen does include factual data from experiments, it never feels too hard to swallow. Part of that is because she includes her own experiences with her anxiety. Petersen also talked to mental health experts around the world, which was interesting.

There were times when I couldn't read it because reading about someone else's anxiety can peak anxiety. Also, there were times when I read it and thought, "Well crap," based on findings of certain experiments, but there were also some really good things I learned from it too.

I put the age up so high because of the reading level, but not because of any sort of content. That being said, there is mention of sex and recreational drug use.

*I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.