Niall Breslin - Me And My Mate Jeffrey

A week or so ago I got Niall Breslin's new book "Me and My Mate Jeffrey" to read from Hachette Ireland.

I've met Niall / Bressie a good few times over the past few years. I interviewed the Blizzards in 2009 before they were in the first Arthurs Day. "Why Do You Fancy Scumbags" is still one of my favourite Irish songs. I've seen him at events. I follow him on twitter. Love his My1000Hours project.

This book is a tough read.

Whatever about the autobiographical "these are the people I know and these are the things I've done" bit of the book (and there's a good bit) there's also descriptions of panic attacks, of anxiety, of self-loathing and of self harm in here. There's a lot of "here's the problem I had and here's how badly it affected me and here's how I dealt with it."

It's not a self-help book as much as it's a "I needed help and here's what I did" book, but it helps to know that sometimes people are going through things like you are. I found his writing about mental health and anxiety to be strong, emotive and insightful. I have to admire his dedication to fitness too. I certainly wouldn't be able for it.

I wouldn't have picked up this book if it hadn't been recommended / sent to me - I'd have just assumed it was the usual "yer man of the telly wrote a buke" fluff, but I'm extremely glad I read it. It gave me new insights into coping mechanisms, into looking at ways to deal with problems and to the problems that men face and have no one to talk to about.

Recommended for people who want to know if it's just them, or if other people have similar problems to them, especially around anxiety and panic attacks.

More on the book on https://www.my1000hours.com/bressie-i-cultivated-a-deeply-ne…

I'm hoping to do a bit with Niall online about this book and if we do, I'll let you know about it.