SOLVING THE ANXIETY EQUATION

Leeds presents a series of strategies for dealing with all kinds of anxiety.

In her nonfiction debut, the author takes readers on a journey to “creating a calmer life,” reminding them that anxiety comes in many shapes and sizes and that any kind of anxiety can do serious long-term damage. “It can limit our lives, keep us from succeeding at work or school,” she writes. “It can drain the love and joy out of our relationships, and it can make us doubt or even hate ourselves.” Leeds herself has dealt with the kind of “hot, sweaty fear of the unknown” that accompanies serious illness, having first been diagnosed with breast cancer and then 15 years later with leukemia, and in these pages she lays out thoughts and strategies for helping readers to become their “true, authentic, very best [selves].” The author urges readers to become the heroes of their own narratives, encouraging them to make and keep a handful of crucial promises to themselves (keep your commitments to yourself; treat yourself kindly; speak up for yourself; set boundaries for other people). The fears that motivate so much anxiety (fear of trying new things, fear of making decisions, fear of the future) are numbered and discussed. A good deal of this material is very familiar territory in self-help books, but Leeds provides value with the straightforward nature of her advice, grounding her insights in her own personal trials. Instead of merely counseling her readers to get comfortable asking for help, for instance, she relates how she herself learned to do this after her first medical crisis and how she was much more comfortable with it when facing her second. This personal element makes the book feel like a coaching session from an old friend.

An empathetic and useful guide to overcoming anxiety.