I went into this collection of poetry, expecting themes of depression and possible mental health to be tackled, instead it was mostly post-breakup poetry, which is fine but it wasn’t what I was expecting based on the title. 

The formatting was a bit disjointed and overall it was hard to connect to the poetry. Usually with a poetry review, I tend to pull out a line that I felt deeply. But although there were a few lines i really enjoyed, overall there wasn’t one I that I fell I will take with me beyond this reading.

The low rating is because of two things:
1. Nothing in this collection was exceptional, probably the strongest poem was the poet's most famous one "Explaining My Depression to My Mother" and that's that.
2. I went in expecting poetry focused on mental health as the title suggests as well as the book's description when in actuality, the book themes were heavy on romance themes - heartbreak, loneliness, missing a partner which was quite disappointing.

This book was wonderfully relatable and explains mental health in a beautiful and poetic way that anyone could understand and relate to. We would all be better for having read a book like this.

Poetry is many different things to many different people, and does something different to each and everyone one of us.  One thing I have found to be true with poetry is that it can be profoundly healing, especially in times of distress.  2020 has certainly been a time of great distress, to say the least, and both my depression and anxiety levels have been through the roof more often than not this past year.  I picked this book up, as if it had been calling to me, and as soon as I began reading through it, it was like it was meant to be.

I need beautiful, empathizing words to help me process my moods and feelings when i'm having a hard time dealing with life, and I found those healing and helpful words within this collection.  So many things written in this book spoke to me on a deep, emotional level, and reading through the poems was soothing to my inner core and being.

This collection discusses themes related to mood, mental health, family, relationships, and self-care.  There is a little bit of everything in here for anyone seeking guidance and help through a tough time.

If you are in need of some healing, do yourself a favor and pick up this collection.  I'm glad that I did.

I loved reading through this collection and I ended up purchasing a final copy for myself! I relate to many of these poems as I have struggled with depression for many years myself. I recommended to my school that they have several copies on hand in the library for students who would relate as well.

My favourite line from this poetry collection is: "i am sleepwalking on an ocean of happiness
i cannot baptize myself in."

Overall, the poems were alright. They weren't really great and they weren't absolutely terrible either. That's why I ended up giving this 2.5 out of 5 stars.

As one of Canada’s up-and-coming poets, you may have already heard of Sabrina Benaim. She is the spoken-word superstar of five-million-view viral video hits like “Explaining Depression to My Mother” and the poetic voice behind the third installment in Sport Chek’s 2016 #WhatItTakes Olympic Manifesto video series. Now, in her first collection of poetry, Benaim is in top stylistic form as she walks her readers through an unflinchingly brutal yet beautiful portrayal of mental illness. With gut-punch imagery worthy of Sylvia Plath and a conversational lyricism reminiscent of Rupi Kaur, Depression & Other Magic Tricks is a wonder.

I really enjoyed Sabrina Benaim's collection, Depression & Other Magic Tricks. It was my first time reading Benaim's work and will eagerly read it again (both Benaim's book and future works). The collection really spoke to me and though I read it some time about by now, I still remember the emotion the book evoked.

The title says it all--this book was pretty depressing.  I could relate to some of the poems--particularly the one where she is trying to explain depression to her mom but her mom has no clue.   Some of the poems, however, were completely off the wall which I guess is to be expected from someone who is depressed.  My absolute favorite poem was "seven small ways in which i loved myself this week".   That poem was just genius.

Amaaaaazing!!! I really love Sabrina Benaim so much. But seriously her book is incredible. I wish there were a way to have her perform and read at the same time to get the feeling of both.

Sometimes I need beautiful, empathizing words to help me process my mood when life goes a bit haywire.This poetry book of Sabrian Benaim should be included in the list of bestsellers!

This was a quick but enjoyable read. The poetry was fresh and the subject matter is something near to my heart. Definitely worth the read!

Poetry can be difficult to review. Connection depends so much on your mood and current place in life. Unfortunately, this came to me at the wrong time but I can still see the value it had for others.

You may have seen Sabrina Benaim's spoken word performance of Explaining My Depression to My Mother which at the time of writing this review has 6.9 million views on youtube. Her collection of poetry further explores mental health, love, and family and is full of similarly sharp and passionate poems. 

I really adore Sabrina Benaim's voice. I like the way that she repeats phrases and words throughout her poems, and how this reflects the way that anxious thoughts can swim around in your head, brewing and evolving as you mull them over, so that one simple thought can become, over a few lines, a complex metaphor to explain her feelings. I liked how you can't always tell if she's talking to herself, or to someone else, and how striking her voice is, so that you can almost hear how she would read it out loud as you read it. 

Of course, Explaining My Depression To My Mother is a fantastic poem, but there were others that really stood out to me as well. The line "my heart has developed a kind of amnesia, where it remembers everything but itself" in What I Told The Doctor is beautiful, and The Loneliest Sweet Potato is a beautiful exploration of feeling lonely even though you are not, to the naked eye, 'alone'. I loved how the poems (i) and (ii) are blended together in the later poem Avowal so that I was flicking back and forth to see how the words are intertwined to give them a whole new meaning.

I don't read a lot of poetry, but Sabrina Benaim's collection blew me away. I loved the simplicity of her words, the intricacy of the imagery, the strength and passion of her voice. The poems had me blinking back tears, and then chuckling moments later. I also had the great luck to be able to see Sabrina Benaim perform during her UK tour, and it is another experience I could not recommend more. She is full of emotion, and captures your attention with ease.

As a person who loves reading poetry, and has read a lot of online poetry, books I can tell you this one is special because its not a mere repetition of whats already been said. It has original poems although the poems in the middle felt a bit dragged but the subtle imagery and lovely metaphors in the beginning & end of the book makes up for it.  Also the accurate representation of depression, anxiety and problem dealing with mental health oh my good! This book is a winner because the author does a fantastic job in breaking the wall and just laid it out bare. So raw and real!

I absolutely loved Sabrina's writing!! I felt every raw and real.emotion she wrote. Her rythmn, rhyme and tempo of your words just flowed of my tongue. This is one poetry and short story book I will read over again!!

This is a beautiful collection of poetry!  A great collection of poems about depression and anxiety. I think everyone at some point in their life can relate to these emotions. Would recommend this!

This was one of my first poetry books but unfortunately i think its fair to say poetry is not for me as i couldn't understand most of the poems.

This collection was all right, but I found it to be just a bit disappointing. I had heard a little bit about Sabrina Benaim prior to picking this up, so I was quite eager to experience her work. However, though I did enjoy it to some extent, this collection wasn’t quite as good I was expecting it to be. The poems themselves were quality—Benaim has quite a talent for expressing herself in a vivid way, and speaks intelligently on many subjects that can be difficult to fully comprehend. However, while I did enjoy this collection, it did not click with me in the way I would have liked. Her writing style did not flow overly well for me so I never quite got fully into it.

I thought Benaim’s way of tapping into and clearly conveying her feelings was very good, and it was easy to connect to her and feel her emotions on a deep level. Despite my feelings on the collection overall, I could definitely see how raw and poignant her words were. These poems deal with many of Benaim’s personal experiences in her life so far, and sheds some light on her experience with depression—a great way to help open minds on the subject of mental illness. I wish I had enjoyed it a bit more, but overall, I think this is a beautiful collection that many readers will love and relate to.

Meh. There were a few good poems that I connected with slightly, but the majority of these were O.K. A lot of people seem to like this collection, but it didn't do anything for me. Perhaps because personally my mental-breakdown/ depression stems from being too self-aware rather than from break-ups or failed relationships. The cover art is fabulous though. Kudos to the designer!