I found this a very I ntersting book and I in parts relatable. I felt the author was very honest and gave an understanding to how she felt. Well worth a read.

Hands: An Anxious Mind Unpicked by Lauren Brown is a memoir about experiencing mental health struggles.

Such a fascinating read - it was really well-written and I loved the descriptions Lauren weaved together!

This was an interesting read. It was quite triggering for me in some ways, so be careful of them. It's a very honest look into Lauren Brown's life and dealings with anxiety and skin picking. Would also reccomend the audiobook, narrated by the author.

Raw, intense and absorbing. Laura's memoir delves deep into the psyche of mental health, OCD and dermatillomania. It's an incredibly honest and frank book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

An honest and raw memoir that made me feel validated. I loved the 00's references and all of the nostalgia.

‘Hands’ is the perfect portrayal of what it is like to live with anxiety that manifests itself in dermotillomania. It is at times funny and heartbreaking but throughout feels like a warm hug to those who can relate. Lauren perfectly articulates the inner monologue of someone at war with their own hands and reading this book made me feel less alone,

As a person with anxiety, I always seek out books on this topic. I have subsequently read a lot of books on depression and anxiety.
I like that this book focusses on skin picking -something that I have been doing since a child, but up until recently I didn't realise was a symptom of my anxiety. I like that this book looks at this.

However, overall I really didn't enjoy this book. The book felt very unstructured, and felt like a generic memoir rather than something focussing on anxiety like the title promises. When Lauren Brown was talking about her holidays, or other things about her life I did switch off - but when the anxiety came to focus again, that is when I was interested. Although I'm clearly a similar age to Brown (because I could relate to a lot of the pop culture references) I just didn't care about these parts of the book- they felt irrelevant.

I wish the book spoke more about anxiety and treatment, and had less of the waffle about childhood etc. I feel my view is harsh, and knowing the author has anxiety, I don't want to upset. However, I do feel that I have to be honest to my own opinion.

Hands is a very personal memoir on the lived experience of anxiety and in particular skin picking or dermatillomania. Beautifully written, it was reflective account of the author's history from childhood. At times funny, it sometimes reads like a narrative stream of consciousness. It will probably be of interest and comfort to others with similar experiences.

Laura's memoir delves deep into the psyche of mental health, OCD and dermatillomania. It's an incredibly honest and frank book - Laura never shys away from sharing some of her lowest moments, but also intersperses them with little spots of joy. For me, growing up in Billingham, it was wonderful to see someone else's perspective of the area and I could vivdly recall every location Laura describes and feel my own sense of nostalgia. My son even goes to the same secondary school, and I drive past her old primary school every day.

Laura is also a truly beautiful writer, weaving lyrical sentences with an emotional punch that really struck a personal cord with me and allowed me to connect with her story. If anything I think I would have liked a bit more structure to the overall story. Laura tends to flit from one memory to the next, which isn't necessarily my preferred structural style - however overall I think it fits well with the narrative. A very talented writer.

Hands is the debut memoir by Lauren Brown in which she explores the causes and triggers of her anxiety which manifests itself in skin picking. I feel this is a condition which we hear little about, for Brown it is a way of dealing with her negative emotions like anxiety and agitation, but which leads to a vicious circle of dealing with the shame and anxiety of skin picking by more skin picking in order to soothe her emotional pain. Brown writes in a warm, open and honest way, interspersing her experience and exploration of her anxiety with her memories of childhood and family members. An essential memoir which I feel will be helpful to so many in voicing their experience in a down to earth way.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Hands is an accomplished debut by Brown, part-memoir and part-informational, delving into her past to discover the triggers and turning points of her illness. Her narrative voice is warm and confessional, like a good friend, which perhaps hides the stark facts of her tale - including that our over-stretched mental health services mean waits of months or years for help, Her perspective, bringing the Northern working class experience to the fore, is fresh and necessary. I laughed, shed a few tears, and learned a lot.

Hands is a non fiction book about one woman's mental health difficulties. What I really enjoyed about this is that its not a clinical experience, its personal and I think there's a lot in it that people will relate to and don't read about often. While depression and anxiety is discussed a lot things like OCD are misinterpreted and skin picking is rarely talked about. I thought it was an excellent narrative and a very worthy read.