How to Be Happy: A Memoir of Love, Sex and Teenage Confusion - Softcover

Burton, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1925240347 ISBN 13: 9781925240344

Publisher: Text Publishing Company, 2017

Synopsis

'Burton's descriptions of his anxiety and depression are tangibly poignant, giving authentic voice to those struggling with similar issues. His tone morphs fluidly from compulsively funny to devastating from one moment to the next, and his uproarious wit shines throughout. A heartfelt, accessible book that strives to break down the stigmas surrounding mental illness with remarkable humor and honesty.' Kirkus

Winner of the 2014 Text Prize for Young Adult and Children's Writing

Delivers some devastating truth bombs. Sexuality is hard. Identity is hard. Love is hard. School is hard This book shines a much-needed light back through the tunnel. It is a call-out to teenagers still struggling to find their way.’ Books + Publishing

A funny, sad and serious memoir, this is David Burton’s story of his turbulent life at high school and beyond. Feeling out of place and convinced he’s not normal, David has a rocky start. He longs to have a girlfriend, but his first date’ is a disaster. The same debilitating anxiety cripples his encounters with boys.

He carefully constructs an outgoing identity an extroverted, adventurous character, for whom everything is fine. But everything is not fine. At the center of it all, trying desperately to work it all out, is the real David.

How to Be Happy tackles depression, friendship, sexual identity, suicide, academic pressure, love and adolescent confusion. It’s a brave and honest account of one young man’s search for a happy, true and meaningful life.

David Burton is a writer from Brisbane, now based in Sydney, best known for his theatre work. A speaker and presenter in school across Queensland, David is passionate about finding ways to open dialogue about the challenges faced by teens including sexual identity, depression and family life.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Gr 9 Up—To know that one can help ease symptoms of clinical depression by eating healthy foods, exercising, getting enough sun and fresh air, and being more social is of very little use. Like most who have depression, Burton's adolescent self was unable to take the first steps toward these beneficial habits. He couldn't work out how to be comfortable just letting things come to him over time and through experience. Through the course of this memoir, Burton retraces the myriad identities he assumed over his teen years: nerdy Dave, crazy drama Dave, gay Dave, relationship-obsessed Dave, and full-blown dysfunctional depressed Dave. Life experience, as for most teens, brought awkwardness and heartache. Luckily, Burton was not one to hide from the world. His willingness to take chances awakened his interest in the theater, taught him the value of friendship, and gave him an appreciation for the difficult task his parents had raising him and his younger twin brothers, both of whom have Asperger's syndrome. True to the subtitle, Burton is frank but sensitive about how he came to understand sex and his sexuality. VERDICT Recommended for libraries where fans of Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower are looking for more stories about teenage angst.—Denise Kim, Bronx High School of Science, NY

Review:

'Burton's descriptions of his anxiety and depression are tangibly poignant, giving authentic voice to those struggling with similar issues. His tone morphs fluidly from compulsively funny to devastating from one moment to the next, and his uproarious wit shines throughout. A heartfelt, accessible book that strives to break down the stigmas surrounding mental illness with remarkable humor and honesty. (Memoir. 15-adult)—Kirkus

About this edition

• Publisher: Text Publishing Company
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1925240347
• ISBN 13: 9781925240344
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 268