This was such a wonderful collection of poems on mental health and being neurodivergent. I related to so many parts of it. Excellent.

Your Therapist Says It's Magical Thinking is a collection of poems that explores mental health and ideas of reality, moving through three sections: "Coping Strategies", "Surrey Girls", and "Alternate Timelines". The first part explores a lot of the bad advice people give about mental health (the titles are all suggested coping strategies", and the poems are written in a way that is readable and full of wit, satirising what people say about mental health whilst delving into some of the realities of their bad advice.

The second part, "Surrey Girls", is based on historical photographs that were taken as part of the treatment of mental illness, written in the voice of different girls with multiple short poems for each. These poems really created different voices for these women and though I wouldn't usually choose to read poems based around historical material like this, I really liked them. The third part, "Alternate Timelines", worked less well for me, as I found it hard to engage with some of the poems, though I really loved 'Fast Food Breakfast', a poem about an everything bagel that truly has everything, and I appreciated the surreal nature of many of these poems.

The collection is varied, with each section feeling like a discrete part, and there's a lot inside to think about on the treatment of mental illness and ways of seeing the world. Plus, the book has a truly hilarious cover which feels like a great representation of the title and the first section of the collection.

I read Your Therapist Says It's Magical Thinking and enjoyed most of the poems. I appreciated the author's discussion of mental health. My favorite poems were from the perspectives of women in an asylum, based on historical photographs of them. I liked this perspective. I would read more from McCarney.

First of all, I am so thankful to both NetGalley and ECW Press for granting me Advanced E-Access to this book of poems before its publication date of April 18, 2023. Your Therapist Says It is Magical Thinking is a witty slice of pie that educates and slaps you directly in the face. We get an unfiltered view into the world as it's thrown at us, while also adding a touch of humor to each passing page.

Don't sleep on this one; plus, look at the beautiful chaos that is on the cover.