I was delighted to receive an ARC of this book, because I've seen Sabrina's infamous poetry recitals floating around facebook and youtube, and love her rawness and authenticity. Unfortunately, her collection doesn't quite live up to expectations; I found that her best works were the ones I'd already heard and read, and a bit of the rest of the book is repetitive. That said, she's still an incredible poet and I'd recommend checking her work out if you enjoy sad, anxious words about unrequited love and mental health struggles.

Thank you to NetGalley and Button Poetry for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Depression & Other Magic Tricks explores themes of mental health, love, and family. Many of the poems you find in this book has previously been performed at button poetry, and now you can get your hand on them in the written form.

While reading this book, I found that reading each poem out loud gave a lot more of detail and I do not think any of the poems in this book ever were supposed to just sit on the page. These poems are supposed to be read out loud, they are supposed to be performed, it is the sound of each word and each pause that gives the poem their power.


There were many good poems in this collection, some poems I came to adore, and there were some poems I did not care for. If this collection lived up to the hype "Explaining My Depression to My Mother" created, I am not sure, but the poem was in this collection too. After reading the whole collection I do not think that each and every one of the poem lived up to "Explaining My Depression to My Mother", but I found quite a few favorite poems.

My short list of favorite poems from this collection: "unrequited in nine acts" (below), "On getting over you for real" & "on releasing light"


On overall I thoroughly enjoyed reading this poetry collection, with it highs and lows, its battles and triumphs. The topics were easy to relate to and the issue of mental illness was overlying through the whole collection.

misery loves company (or mine does, anyway)

my grandmother says
heartache is
a hungry caterpillar
that must be fed
so it can grow
wings
& fly away
(“feed a fever, starve a cold”)

the girl gets carried away.
she is the sugar cube,
love is the cup of
darjeeling – she
dissolves,
faster
than
you
think
she
will.
(“magic trick 001”)

I’d never heard of Sabrina Benaim before spotting (and immediately downloading) a copy of her poetry book, DEPRESSION & OTHER MAGIC TRICKS, on NetGalley. Later I learned that a live reading of her poem “Explaining My Depression to My Mother” went viral a few years back, with over five million views on YouTube, reportedly making Benaim “one of the most-viewed performance poets of all time.” And indeed, it is awesome and lovely and well, well worth the hype.

Though “Explaining My Depression to My Mother” is indeed one of the fifty-three poems found in DEPRESSION & OTHER MAGIC TRICKS, you should definitely check out Benaim’s reading as well; her performance is brimming with frenetic, nervous energy that lends the poem an added sense of urgency. Anyone who has found themselves trying to explain the invisible, elusory monster that is depression to a non-believer will relate to lines like this:

mom says happy is a decision.

OR

mom says i am so good at making
something out of nothing,
and then flat out asks me if i am
afraid of dying.
no,
i am afraid of living.

After the sudden death of my husband earlier this year, I had to make my family understand just how bad my anxiety and depression had gotten in the years since I left home. Like, it was literally a matter of life and death. Survival. Luckily, everyone around me seems to understand what I mean when I say “depression” – thank pop culture or my younger sister, whose issues maybe paved the way for the revelation of mine – but “social anxiety” is a whole ‘nother mess. People hear “social anxiety” and think: Shyness. Introvert. Quiet. Loner. Misanthrope. What they don’t hear is “mental illness.” Drugs (maybe) and therapy (definitely) and professional help. “Explaining My Depression to My Mother” is heartbreaking and darkly funny and entirely too relatable, in more ways than I’d like.

Despite the collection’s title, not all of the poems explicitly focus on depression. Love, grief, parental estrangement, self-esteem, friendship – all make an appearance here, and why not? Life is a multi-faceted thing. Yet many, if not all, of the poems are tinged with an air of sadness, and why not? Depression sinks its poisonous tentacles into everything, it seems. It cannot be cornered or contained. It’s like that darned fog in Stephen King’s “The Mist.”

Aside from the obvious – birds of a feather, and all that jazz – I like DEPRESSION & OTHER MAGIC TRICKS for two reasons: I actually “got” most of the poems, and it’s feminist AF. In this way, it rather reminds me of another book of poetry, Amanda Lovelace’s THE PRINCESS SAVES HERSELF IN THIS ONE. If you enjoyed one, most likely you’ll dig the other.

File DEPRESSION & OTHER MAGIC TRICKS under “seven small ways in which i loved myself this week.”

** Full disclosure: I received a free electronic ARC through NetGalley. **

I was unsure if reading this would be good for my general mood, however it was utterly perfect. A great mix of style of poems, all beautiful and relatable to me. My favourite was "Poem from the moment after you left", it spoke to me so much. Beautiful book.

This was a wonderful collection of poetry. Having lived with depression for a long time i'm always comforted by finding words that's reflect so well what i've been going through. I enjoyed this so much i went out and got the book as soon as i could.

It started off strong, then my enjoyment tapered off a bit, but perhaps it was not meant to be read in one go, as I did.

"mom says happy is a decision.

my happy is a high fever that will break.
my happy is as hollow as a pin-pricked egg."

One of the best poetry book about depression I have read. Some I can relate to and give me a glimpse into other people who also suffer. My favorite one was "Explaining My Depression to My Mother" (https://youtu.be/aqu4ezLQEUA) it captivated me and hit me so hard.

"She asked if I am afraid of dying; no I am afraid of living"
Thank you, NetGalley and Button Poetry, for my eARC of Depression & Other Magic Tricks. I received this eARC in exchange for an honest review; this does not affect my opinion. Any quotes mentioned below are taken from the ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

I didn’t quite get to the heart and the passion that lives inside this poetry book until I watched Sabrina say aloud many of the poems she keeps in this book in her performances on YouTube. However, the one that really shattered me on the inside due to its beauty and anger was “Explaining my Depression to my Mother”


https://youtu.be/aqu4ezLQEUA


This piece was desperation and bargaining and being fed up and hurt all at once and I wouldn’t have truly gotten that without Sabrina’s voice. Her flare and flavor make her words come to life in a way that they couldn’t have been on their own. It made me wish that I could have watched her perform all the poems in this book, because that’s when her words curl around you and shake you up, that’s when you find how truly beautiful her poetry is.


Sabrina’s poetry is poetry meant to be sung and screamed and belted out into the air. You are meant to find its rhythm and how it’s rhythm syncs with your own. Depression & Other Magic Tricks is brilliantly imagined it’s words coming for the jagged edges of a girls truest form.

When I saw her on the button poetry channel with her one poem, I knew I was hooked and needed more. So when I found out that she had a book coming out, I was pumped! This was SO. GOOD. It centers on depression, anxiety, and love. The pieces for both depression and anxiety were out of this world. The last poem actually made me cry I related so much. If I could form the words to describe what it's like every day dealing with those two things, it'd be all the things said in this book. It was real and raw. I loved it so so much. The only reason it's not a full 5 stars is cause...honestly I got a lil lost sometimes?? I'm no poetry buff. But it was a lil hard to follow sometimes. But it could have also been the way it was formatted on my device. But it was still spectacular and I can't recommend it enough! Can't wait to read more from her in the future!

Copy provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you.


I really love listening to Benaim's poems out loud, her work on Button Poetry always stands out and that doesn't change in her book.

Her use of imagery and metaphor is so stunning in this book. Her words paint pictures of how it feels to be in love, to be heartbroken and to be sad and it's done so beautifully throughout this book. Certain lines hit you in the gut without you even anticipating it - they seem so simple, but they just make you pay attention, 'in my poems you are the dream of you' in particular.

I feel like these poems are really meant to be said out loud and not written, Explaining Depression To My Mother and On Platonic Love Being A Real Thing in particular are poems that read like stories and so work better for out loud poetry.

A deeply personal collection of poems that showcases how brilliant her work is

I usually avoid leaving written reviews for poetry, because when I do I always feel the need to preface the review with the disclaimer that I know nothing about poetry. Is poetry truly as intimidating as I make it out to be, or have I been taught that poetry is this intellectually challenging, inaccessible area of art best left to professors and the poets themselves?

Anyway whatever the point is moot ‘cause this felt less like poetry and more like long, artsy, juvenile Instagram captions.

I could go into detail about all the different reasons why I didn’t care for this book, but it all seems unnecessarily harsh. I guess this collection just wasn’t for me.

I wanted to love this more than I did. Button Poetry is on my Favorite List of Things and they never fail to put out great content. The author comes from the world of Spoken Word and Slam-style poetry, many of the works in this collection come across better when you keep that in mind and “hear” them as you read.

I was left a little torn. Some pieces I really loved and others felt like they were trying way to hard to be POETRY – too many metaphors, too many convoluted comparisons. Some felt like space-fillers. The ones that hit the mark? Phenomenal and worth the purchase of the book on that alone.

I think it’s a good read for anyone who is a fan of her spoken word stuff and if you’re not, it might be best to familiarize yourself with her style before diving into this one so they can be fully appreciated.

I don't read a lot of poetry as I find myself having a hard time focusing and processing it, but I wanted to give this collection a shot. Mental health is such a huge part of my life and it is healing to hear others' personal experiences. I found myself relating to many of Benaim's words and enjoyed reading them in this art form.

When I asked Netgalley and Button Poetry to read and review Depression and Other Magic Tricks, I was unaware that it was by the performance poet who so exquisitely spoke of her depression in "Explaining My Depression to My Mother".

Sabrina Benaim openly share her thoughts, feelings, and keen words with us on many things in this book of poetry. This is life, and love, this is reality; and she alternately wants to embrace them, rest in them, do battle with them, hide from them. This author has guts, and is very brave in her vulnerability.

I feel for this young woman; I have at times been this young woman. I wish her well. I would also wish her freedom from fear and pain and anxiety, but have learned through the years that this would be freedom from the complex wonder of life, and life is to be celebrated for it is a magnificent journey.

Many thanks to Ms. Benaim, Netgalley and Button Poetry for allowing me to review this clever slice of life

This poetry book should be included in the list of bestsellers! The poems included in this collection captured how those who suffers depression or heartbreak really felt. I've read some contemporary or present-day bestselling poetry books and those are incomparable on how really good this book is.

I absolutely loved this book of poems regarding mental health issues, particularly depression. Reading this book of poetry was slightly cathartic for me. 10 years ago I went through a major depressive episode and I can relate so much to the poems in this book. I am definitely looking forward to getting a physical copy of this book.

"i don’t know how to connect in a world like this; in times like these, where i can’t even speak about myself in first person." As a note, an e-galley of this novel was sent to me via NetGalley by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinions in any way.

It's one of those days where I've found parts of myself scattered in the words of others. You know? I felt so connected to Sabrina Benaim's Depression & Other Magic Tricks that there were a few times I had to look away from it, and myself, just to breathe. Benaim shows us fragments of every little piece of herself--dashing through her prose with an ease. She is compelling and relatable. Full of life and hope and pain and love and all the hints of humanity that don't go away at the snap of a finger.

What I loved most about Depression & Other Magic Tricks is that it was utterly stunning in its honestly. Benaim does not hold back the punches when it comes to making her audience feel. I am honestly so, so, so impressed by the way she brings life to poetry and reminds us why we read it to begin with. That being said, like so many of her modern counterparts, she brings forth an edge that comes only with originality of voice. Sabrina is not anyone other than Sabrina and that's what sets all good poets apart.

She has a voice that captivates and will surely grip a generation further as it comes. Benaim is full of hype for a reason and solidifies the respect her name has earned, and will continue to earn. I'm not over hyping her work; it just is what it is. That her prose will tug at your heartstrings and the most intimate parts of who you are. In just a short collection, she has made herself obtainable and that's all one can ever hope for when picking up poetry.

I can't wait to see where she moves us next.