Matt Haig

The Comfort Book

Reflections on hope, survival and the messy miracle of being alive. Nothing is stronger than a small hope that doesn't give up. The Comfort Book is a collection of little islands of hope. It gathers consolations and stories that give new ways of seeing ourselves and the world. Matt Haig's mix of philosophy, memoir and self-reflection builds on the wisdom of philosophers and survivors through the ages, from Marcus Aurelius to Nellie Bly, Emily Dickinson to James Baldwin. This is the book to pick up when you need the wisdom of a friend, the comfort of a hug or a reminder that hope comes from unexpected places.

Cecilie Spangsberg

Of course, I love the pleasurable distractions of modern life. I like that our world is one with podcasts and movies and video calls. But when I am in that state of deep fragility, where I am stripped of my shell, I find the shortest path back seems to be the timeless one. The natural one. The one to do with reconnection to our natural world and our natural selves

Other people can be wrong, and we can be wrong, and that is another thing we have in common. The capacity for fucking up. And for forgiving.

All great stuff, and I am not about to start a fight with Plato, as he was a wrestler as well as a philosopher appar- ently, but the problems start when we are told we can reach perfection(…)

I hope this email finds you eating some blisstully sweet grapes. I hope this email finds you well but, you know what, it is okay if it doesn't because we all have bad days.

I love stillness. Slowness. When nothing is happening. The blueness of the sky. Inhaling clear air. Birdsong over traffic. Lone footsteps. Spring flowers blooming with defiance. I used to think the quiet patches felt dead. Now they feel more alive. Like leaning over and listening to the earth's heartbeat.

An instant New York Times Bestseller!

The new uplifting book from Matt Haig, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Midnight Library, for anyone in search of hope, looking for a path to a more meaningful life, or in need of a little encouragement.

Named by The Washington Post as one of the best feel-good books of 2021.

“It is a strange paradox, that many of the clearest, most comforting life lessons are learnt while we are at our lowest. But then we never think about food more than when we are hungry and we never think about life rafts more than when we are thrown overboard.”

THE COMFORT BOOK is Haig’s life raft: it’s a collection of notes, lists, and stories written over a span of several years that originally served as gentle reminders to Haig’s future self that things are not always as dark as they may seem. Incorporating a diverse array of sources from across the world, history, science, and his own experiences, Haig offers warmth and reassurance, reminding us to slow down and appreciate the beauty and unpredictability of existence.

Emily Blackburn

Reflections on hope, survival and the messy miracle of being alive It is a strange paradox, that many of the clearest, most comforting life lessons are learned while we are at our lowest. But then we never think about food more than when we are hungry and we never think about life rafts more than when we are thrown overboard. The Comfort Book is a collection of consolations learned in hard times and suggestions for making the bad days better. Drawing on maxims, memoir and the inspirational lives of others, these meditations celebrate the ever-changing wonder of living. This is for when we need the wisdom of a friend or a reminder we can always nurture inner strength and hope, even in our busy world. A book of timeless comfort for modern minds.

Heather Harrington

Bria

Matt Haig always make me feel better (view spoiler)[temporarily (hide spoiler)]

ella

4.5/5

i can relate so well mostlyyyy.
reading this book also made me realize some things.
I'm so happy that i decided to read this book.

allison chen

i would put this book on my coffee table! (if i had one)
honestly, parts of it were cliche and repetitive, but i think there are parts of it that would be nice to read after a bad day... it's like a collection of gentle reminders that are not uncommon, but would still be comforting if you heard it when you really needed it,, it felt genuine/honest...
i enjoyed the parts with references to different poets and philosophers~

“Silence is pain. But it is a pain with an exit route. When we can’t speak, we can write. When we can’t write, we can read. When we can’t read, we can listen. Words are seeds. Language is a way back to life. And it is sometimes the most vital comfort we have.”

An instant New York Times Bestseller! The new uplifting book from Matt Haig, the New York Times bestselling author of The Midnight Library, for anyone in search of hope, looking for a path to a more meaningful life, or in need of a little encouragement. “It is a strange paradox, that many of the clearest, most comforting life lessons are learnt while we are at our lowest. But then we never think about food more than when we are hungry and we never think about life rafts more than when we are thrown overboard.” THE COMFORT BOOK is Haig’s life raft: it’s a collection of notes, lists, and stories written over a span of several years that originally served as gentle reminders to Haig’s future self that things are not always as dark as they may seem. Incorporating a diverse array of sources from across the world, history, science, and his own experiences, Haig offers warmth and reassurance, reminding us to slow down and appreciate the beauty and unpredictability of existence.

Melissa Palmer

Decent

Decent read about finding comfort in the person you are and with your life. Quick read. Author was very honest about his struggles.

The writing is really good, a lot of things touched me and related to my experience’s :)

Angelina

A manual of reflections for an increasingly stressful world Nothing is stronger than a small hope that doesn’t give up. The Comfort Book is a collection of little islands of hope, a gathering of consolations and stories that give us new ways of seeing ourselves and the world. Matt Haig’s mix of philosophy, memoir and self-reflection builds on the wisdom of philosophers and survivors through the ages, from Marcus Aurelius to Nellie Bly, from Emily Dickinson to James Baldwin. This is the book to pick up when you need the wisdom of a friend or the comfort of a hug, or just want to celebrate the messy miracle of being alive.

Joy Bush

Meh, it didn't do anything for me but maybe it would really help someone else.

It was only 3 hrs listen, the author is real, authentic and very likeable.

E J Doble

Sweet, simple and very relaxing, Haig has written yet another wonderful little book to soothe the soul - although sometimes repetitive, it provides a wide array of quotes and thoughts to dip in and out of as the mood takes you. Highly recommend

The Comfort Book was one of those I had seen around but always thought “Nah, that can’t be for me” – well, I stand corrected. Picked it up, got lost in the first part and devoured the others, too. This might have been my fault already, because I don’t think this book is best enjoyed in a rush to get all the words into your brain as fast as possible. I can’t help it, though, if I find something that resonates with me, I will tear through the pages like a little monster that shreds books to add them to their little shrine of trinkets and collections and pieces and tidbits.

Being the bookmonster I am, it took me two sittings to read this and as I said, I would have wished to take more time. But also I still think that there are just parts of this book that will resonate more with every reader than others – those parts being subjective and different for everyone. I found a lot of comfort and highlighted passages in the first part, less in the second, and a few more again in the final part of the book.

I don’t think you can inherently rate or review this book because it’s so different what you can take away from it depending on how your life currently treats you, what kind of comfort you’d need and if some random author telling you it’s enough to still be here is agitating or comforting for you.

I ended up thinking about who I would like to gift this book to and that’s a pretty big compliment, because I don’t give books away as presents easily. But there are people I think could benefit from it and that is a pretty cool thing.

I’ll stop rambling now. I didn’t expect to, but I liked this very much.

Leonie

The Comfort Book was one of those I had seen around but always thought “Nah, that can’t be for me” – well, I stand corrected. Picked it up, got lost in the first part and devoured the others, too. This might have been my fault already, because I don’t think this book is best enjoyed in a rush to get all the words into your brain as fast as possible. I can’t help it, though, if I find something that resonates with me, I will tear through the pages like a little monster that shreds books to add them to their little shrine of trinkets and collections and pieces and tidbits.

Being the bookmonster I am, it took me two sittings to read this and as I said, I would have wished to take more time. But also I still think that there are just parts of this book that will resonate more with every reader than others – those parts being subjective and different for everyone. I found a lot of comfort and highlighted passages in the first part, less in the second, and a few more again in the final part of the book.

I don’t think you can inherently rate or review this book because it’s so different what you can take away from it depending on how your life currently treats you, what kind of comfort you’d need and if some random author telling you it’s enough to still be here is agitating or comforting for you.

I ended up thinking about who I would like to gift this book to and that’s a pretty big compliment, because I don’t give books away as presents easily. But there are people I think could benefit from it and that is a pretty cool thing.

 

I’ll stop rambling now. I didn’t expect to, but I liked this very much.

Anyaconda

I'm amazed how many people rated this really high.
I'm amazed that this collection of stuff (half of it is quotes or other people's content) is being sold by the author as book and I'm amazed that people pay money for this.

This should have been just on a blog.

Thank God I read a library copy.

Abdullah

Truly the book I needed right now. I didn't intend to buy this but my sister bought a copy and I ended up reading it in two days and felt very comforted, happy, and just better. October was a very hard month for me and I feel like this helped me understand some things I didn't know of and some things I just needed a reminder to remember. Though it does read like an Instagram infographic sometimes, I still liked it a lot and I'm very grateful for it. Some things are repeated but there's a lot of new stuff I learned and it was written in a very approachable way. I felt very relaxed. It's a very easy read and if you're feeling lost and just need to relax, it's a good read.

Rachel O.

You don’t really notice how quickly you’re getting through it until you’re suddenly at the end. Picked this up as I was going through a couple of life transitions that had me oscillating between victory and defeat.

Reading this felt like a long, comforting hug that I desperately needed. The timing is appropriate, I suppose.

Pooja Mahesh

Not done with the book by any means but, I love books of this nature - grab, open to any page, read a spiel or four, feel good and walk away. This has been really lovely and contains the sweetest little gems!

Savannah Garrit

I would recommend you grab a snack and some coffee. This is going to take a while. ☕️☕️🍪🍿

Now i'm not much of a nonfiction reader typically. But seeing as my favorite book was written by Matt Haig, I am giving all of his books a read, and i'm super glad that I read this book because it had some of my favorite quotes in it, as well as some new quotes that really hit home for me. This books was so amazing and I really loved the way it was written, so now i'm going to show you my favorite quotes/parts of this book. 

- "Love is not something you deserve only if you reach a goal.... You were born worthy of love and remain worthy of love."
- "Walking one foot in front of the other, in the same direction, will always get you further than running around in circles."
- "To feel hope you don't need to be in a great situation. You just need to understand that things will change... you don't need to deny the reality of the present in order to have hope, you just need to know the future is uncertain, and that life contains light as well as dark."
- "You can't climb a mountain that you pretend isn't there."
- "But it is important to remember the bottom of the valley never has the clearest view. And that sometimes all you need to do in order to rise up again is to keep moving forward."
- "Because that is what happens, whether we try for it or not, we move forward, through time, simply by staying alive."
- "We are life itself. We aren't the narrow band of feelings in a single moment. We are the vessel that could contain any feeling. We are the subject in a sentence. We are more than the sum of our achievements. We are more than the feelings we witness. We are the infinity that remains when you subtract them."
- "Be curious. Go outside. Go to bed on time. Hydrate. Breathe from the diaphragm. Eat happy. Get a routine baggy enough to live in. Be kind. Accept that not everyone will like you. Appreciate those who do. Don't be defined. Allow fuck-ups. Want what you already have. Learn to say no to things that get int he way of life. And say yes to the things that help you live."
- "Life is understood backward; but must be lived forward." - Søren Kierkegaard
- "A mind is real as a mind in the same way a window is real as a window. But that doesn't mean the view you see through the window is the full view. Sometimes the glass is dirty, or clouded, or rain-specked, and sometimes the view is obscured by a big lorry that has parked right in front of it. The window could also be entirely misleading. For instance, if your only view was through a red stained-glass window you might perceive the world to be as red and forbidding as a Martian desert."
- "Happiness occurs when you forget who you're expected to be. And what you're expect to do. Happiness is an accident of self-acceptance. It's the warm breeze you feel when you open the door to. who you are."
- "No physical appearance is worth no eating pasta for."
- "forever is composed of nows." - Emily Dickinson 
- "Ruining the present by worrying about the future is like burning your most treasured possession simply because you might none day lose other possessions that you don't own yet."
- "We need a way to see the difference between who people are and what they sometimes do."
- "I sued to worry about fitting in until I realized the reason I didn't fit in was because I didn't want to."
- "Find a passion as large as your fear. They way out of your ming is via the world."
- "I realized it is better to let people down than to blow yourself up."
- "You have no control over who people think you are. If they want to hate a fictional version of you that lives in their minds, let them. Don't drain yourself trying to be understood by people who insist on not understanding you."
- "Beauty is any moment that makes us gasp with hope and wonder of life, and the world is full of such moments. 'Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.' -Marcus Aurelius"
- "What we see beyond the discomfort zone is in fact a deeper comfort. The comfort of being the best possible version of us. Beyond the pattern or code of established behavior. Less code, more human"
- "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." -Ferris Bueller. 
- "You don't have to handle everything... You can't go against the grain without getting splinters."
- "A hope that doesn't wish for bad things not to happen- because they sometimes do- but rather one that enables us to see the bad things are never the whole story. They are filled with uncertain outcomes as everything else... the only certainty is uncertainty... Because while things are uncertain, they are never closed. We can exist in hope, in the infinite, in the unanswered and open question of life itself."
- "The most powerful moment in life is when you decide not to be scared anymore."
- "There comes a point where you have to stop trying to escape yourself or improve yourself and just allow yourself." 
- "We always have the possibility to be more. To be bigger than any current crisis or worry. To discover something new about the landscape of our mind, not by adding to its but by realizing it was there all along. The way a page in a book is there even if we haven't read it yet. We always have more inside than we realize. More strength, more warmth, more compassion, more resilience. The world can surprise us, sure, but we can surprise ourselves too."
- "Nothing truly ends. It changes."

Cristina

No creo que haya elegido el mejor momento para esta lectura, pero me quedo con esta frase: “If you’ve decided your healing is dependent on other people acknowledging their faults you’ll still be waiting in your grave.”

Julia

A book which has brought me much comfort, helped me accept certain things and has gotten me to think. 
Also a great book to annotate or journal in. 


Inga Kühn 

Hochgradig persönlich. Die zentralen Themen sind Ruhe, Zufriedenheit und Achtsamkeit, wie der Klappentext auch vermuten lässt. Sehr gut, wenn man mal eine Auszeit vom Sein braucht, wobei mir dieses Buch dafür noch zu sehr in der Realität verankert ist. Manche Meinungen sind diskutabel aber hey, es sind halt Meinungen und jeder hat das Privileg seine eigenen zu haben, also ist es nicht so dramatisch.
Einer der schöneren Sätze war meiner Meinung nach dieser: "Angst hat zwei Feinde: Neugierde und Leidenschaft."

Charlie Semaan 

I found this book thought-provoking, inspiring, interesting and comforting. TW: mention of depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts.  

Astha Prakash

“Curiosity and passion are the enemies of anxiety. Even when I fell into anxiety, if I get curious enough about something outside of me it can help pull me out. Music, art, film, nature, conversation, words. Find passion as large as your fear. The way out of your mind is via the world.”

This book is a warm, bear hug at the end of a long day.

Harriet Moar-Smith

Really lovely to just read a couple of entries of this book before bed every night. Now I've read it cover to cover it can stay next to my bed to be randomly flicked through. Is it anything groundbreaking? no, but it very much is comforting to sometimes be reminded of things you already know

Cerys

I don't think in my eyes Matt Haig can do any wrong. I read this book from cover to cover however it is (as titled) a book of comfort that you can dip into when your feeling low. Some chapters a short and sweet, some are long and meaningful, some are funny and others make you think. This collection of comforts shows you the simple joys in life that you may just skip across. It's a joy and I love it!

Jennifer

  Gânduri despre speranță, supraviețuire și miracolele vieții de zi cu zi.
În întuneric, chiar și cele mai mici raze de speranță ne pot conduce acasă. Iată o carte despre lucrurile care ne pot aduce mai aproape de noi înșine și despre frumusețea răpitoare a unei vieți obișnuite.
O carte pentru oricine caută speranță, calea spre o viață mai bună sau doar un dram de încurajare.

  Cartea alinării e pluta de salvare a lui Matt Haig: o colecție de note, liste, povești scrise de-a lungul anilor, cu scopul de a-i reaminti sinelui din viitor că lucrurile nu sunt mereu așa cum par. Surse literare sau filozofice din întreaga lume, istorie, știință, multe experiențe personale sau povești inspiraționale – toate amestecate cu căldura și calmul scriitorului care ne reamintește mereu că e bine să încetinim și să apreciem frumusețea și hazardul existenței noastre.

  Iată cartea de care să te apuci atunci când ai nevoie de înțelepciunea unui prieten, de alinarea unei îmbrățișări sau de reamintirea faptului că speranța izvorăște din locurile cele mai neobișnuite.

Cartea alinării

Larisa Maria 

I definitely picked up this book when I needed it most. 
This book made me feel so incredibly comfortable, it genuinely felt like a big hug to me.

antonia maria wagner she/they

a very heartwarming and indeed comforting book. i deeply enjoyed reading and browsing through it

The Comfort Book

Reviews

Highlights