I'd describe this as a flimsy read - there's no real substance to it. It feels like it's been rushed to market and the lack of stats or expert comment to back up uninteresting anecdotes had me sighing in frustration. Not for me, and probably not for many other people.

I did not enjoy this book as much as I had hoped, although it is written in an engaging and easy to read manner, it did not really help me as I had hoped, I suffer badly with anxiety and had hoped to find out about some better coping strategies, but there was not really much to help me. I prefer more stats based self help books but this may work for you, just not for me.

When I first heard about Fear Less, I was so excited – psychology has always been fascinating to me (more on that over the next few months) and popular psychology books written by actual psychologists are the most fascinating. Fear Less promises to look at why and how fear impacts our lives, and provide a long term roadmap for improving our relationship to fear.

I was, unfortunately, pretty quickly let down. There is no starting definition for fear to ground the book within a defined context. Grange also calls out in the introduction that there will be no data and statistics mentioned – always a warning sign for me in popular psychology. One reason I enjoy popular psychology written by psychologists is the chance to see their, and others, research used on a more accessible scale. To not have that research and evidence reduces the legitimacy of the many claims that Grange makes in this book; they become statements that anyone could have made with no clarifiers or proof. Yes, too much data will disengage your readers but without it, I struggle to believe in the writers mission. Grange states that she will instead back up her methods with anecdotes – which, in the first half of the book, turn out to be celebrity rags to riches stories that you could find with a two minute google. When Grange does give her own real-world examples, they suffer from being almost exclusively from the sports industry or the army. This makes sense given Grange’s background, but meant I really had to focus to stay interested in the book given I have no interest in either.

I also have a serious problem with any book that tries to explain why we feel fear, or shame, or anxiety, without even mentioning capitalism. Grange makes a sweeping statement early on that it is ‘just human nature’ to be competitive. This statement is backed up by no further reading or studies – it sets a tone for the book that felt wrong to me given its proclaimed mission. At one point in Part 1, Grange states ‘The British class system is a masterclass in tribalism’ without giving any context as to what she means by that statement, or indeed what backs it up. That lack of engagement with wider issues that will be impacting her readers takes away significantly from Grange’s aims.

Despite all of that, Fear Less did redeem itself slightly the further in I got. Grange does quote actual science in the second part of the book when addressing how our bodies and minds respond to fear, in one of the books most interesting sections. Part 3 also features stories from those who have conquered fear, and these would have been so well used throughout rather than just at the end (for the examples of those who have overcome fear in Part 1, Grange lists a celebrity who ‘had to’ go to free yoga classes while auditioning…)

The Fear Less manifesto, the final chapter of the book, is actually fantastic and I will return to that again. It has actionable points and is empathetic and useful, with no sweeping statements without evidence or strange celebrity stories to patronise you. I’d like to see that published or available as its own standalone essay, and I’d easily recommend it.

For the book as a whole though, I’d not recommend without also letting people know the drawbacks – Fear Less won’t be budging Brene Brown or Dave Aldred from the top of my list of support for those who want to learn more about anxiety and fear.