Alfonso Casas’s MonsterMind is a very personal account of the inner monsters that live inside his head. We all have them, right? That voice inside your head picking at everything they do? You’re not good enough . . . You're not smart enough...you were just lucky...they'll find out one day you're a fraud...
In this graphic novel, Alfonso introduces his own monsters: Mr. Past Traumas, Mr. Fear, Mr. Social Anxiety, Mr. Impostor Syndrome, Mr. Sadness, Mr. Doubt... The pessimistic, the insecure, the self-demanding, the monster that keeps you from sleeping while you think of what you could have said back in that conversation two years ago, or that keeps you looking at every text message to figure out the tone lurking the sender used.
It's a dark novel, no doubt about that. But it also sends a message of hope.
We are all like Mr. Casas. We all have demons, doubts, and fears. We may never actually manage to rid ourselves of them, but we can learn to control them, live with them but never let them rule your house.
The artwork here is wonderful. Casas's drawing of each monster is on point! Some even seem a little cute, like doubt. They remind me of the Adipose aliens from Doctor Who.
Each page is so brutally honest. He does not spare himself any pity for the times he was consumed by these monsters, and he is realistic in where they are after he finds a way to break free of them.
Highly recommended!
Thanks to @Netgalley, Diamond Book Distributors, Ablaze, and Alfonso Casas, for allowing me a chance to read this ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

For someone that has been trying to figure herself out, especially this summer, I felt like I could relate to this book a lot. The imagery was spot on on how I feel from a day to day basis, and I was really able to relate to the character. Anxiety, fear, doubt, etc. are all major contributors on why I live the life I live, and I’m hoping to change that.

The book manages to invite us into the mind of the author in just a few pages. We can feel the struggles and sometimes even relate to some extent. It helps people understand the yearning behind closed doors.

My first ever ARC from NetGalley. Thank you so much to NetGalley, Ablaze, and Diamond Book Distributors for giving me a chance to review this amazing graphic novel. And yes that is my honest opinion. This is one of the best books I've read about a person that is dealing with all the horrors that come with anxiety and how those horrors affect that person's life.

When searching books on the NetGalley website I stumbled upon this beautiful cover with monsters illustrated hunched over a gentleman who looks fed up with life. And the subtitle is "Dealing With Anxiety & Self-Doubt". This was so familiar to me. Because I am also dealing with anxiety and depression since my teenage years. It's a sensitive and triggering subject for me as expected. That's why I was quite hesitant to examine this graphic novel.

To my great relief illustrator/author Alfonso Casas not only did manage to explain what it feels and looks like living with all these monsters also as known past trauma, fear, sadness, self-doubt, etc. with great humor but also give people hope with his honest story. I also appreciated the discussion guide and project ideas feature at the end of the book by Matthew Noe, MSLS. It's a well-thought-out detail I think.

In conclusion, I enjoyed the book very much and I was highly inspired by it. I am looking forward to the new works of Alfonso Casas.

A book that deals with Anxiety & Self-Doubt that I can actually relate to? Yes please!

I have to say, I firstly absolutely love the art style of this Graphic Novel. The monsters look perfect. Just like they need to look.

It's difficult to find a book about Anxiety that doesn't make you feel like there are only a few people struggling with it. I barely read books about this subject because thinking about it often makes it worse.
I gave this one a shot because the cover looked absolutely ridiculous and sweet at the same time and I must say, displaying fears as monsters is one of the best things that can be done, in my opinion. Just because they are.
They are everywhere, come to you at the wrong time. But it also made Anxiety a lot less scary, a lot more normal and definitely bearable.

I really enjoyed this book and I will recommend it to everyone in the hope that it will give them as much of a different view on their anxiety as it gave me.

Heavy topic awesome illustrated. This graphic novel makes you realize you’re definitely not alone on this, especially while having monsters constantly following you. This novel could help others understand more what the reason behind feeling and acting a certain way might be. Also, if someone asks why you act the way you do, showing this book would definitely answer this question for them.
Will forever picture my doubts having a better peach than I have, thanks for that.

I am sure you’ve heard it all before. That inner monster in your head telling you…You’re not good enough…You just got lucky…I don’t think you should do it…What if that happens again?…You are an embarrassment…

This graphic novel does not provide solutions on how to deal with your inner monsters. Instead, this is a very personal story of Casas’s inner monsters and how they tormented him. He starts off by showing who his monsters are and introducing them one by one. Are there times where just before you sleep, you thought of an incident that happened which causes you to spiral into a black hole and lose your sleep? Or are there times where you contemplate a long time before sending a message for fear of being judged? He explore how they interact with him daily, planting unwanted thoughts in his that keeps him awake and anxious. Because of his inner monsters, Casas was unable to enjoy his life and do things the way he wanted. Eventually, he accepted that the monsters were not going to leave but he can make a change for himself.

It was a little difficult for me to follow Casas’s thoughts and illustrations at first but it came together well in the end. I love how each monster has its own personality and their illustrations are very cute. Casas said that your monsters will live with you forever so we might as well get to know them and find a balance to live with them in a healthy way. This was definitely a creative way of identifying these inner monsters and Casas’s story is very relatable. We’ve all been there at some point in our life and it’s important to know that we are not alone. I absolutely enjoyed reading this and I recommend this to anyone who wants to see mental health in a different perspective.

Thank you @netgalley and Diamond book distributors for the arc.

Cute quick read. Identified certain behaviors, feelings, experiences accurately. Not sure what I was looking for when choosing this book, but was still left with an empty feeling as if it didn't deliver what it was supposed to.

As someone who suffers from major depression and anxiety [amongst a host of other things] this graphic novel really rang true for me. While I am not a creator like Mr. Casas is, I often have to do things where doubt crowds in at every corner [and I know what it is like to struggle with that, but cannot even imagine what it is like when one has to create something and then present it. I get anxiety just thinking about that], and I am sure I am not doing it correctly, my opinions are not only not right, but stupid etc etc., and that makes accomplishing things [getting dressed, making decisions, showering, etc]extremely difficult most days. Add in that these days it just seems that you cannot please anyone, and you have a recipe for a complete breakdown. This graphic novel was a good reminder that we do not have to live in that space and that there is help out there for those of us who need and seek it and that it is possible to move forward.

Very well done. I can see me revisiting this GN over and over to remind myself that there is help out there and that there are people who support me and I CAN move forward. I really appreciated this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Alfonso Casas, and Diamond Book Distributors/Ablaze for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

You know that feeling when a friend sends you a tiktok that hits a little to close to home and you start questioning everything?
That is this book in a nutshell.

While this book made me uncomfortable quite often in reading it. It was because these were the parts of me that I often have a hard time expressing to those around me.
It is definitely an interesting and insightful read. While also being fun.

5 *stars*

On real graphic novel.

This is a reminder that everyone is dealing with some kind of problem: anxiety, doubt or even guilt.
Yeah they creep in when you don't want them the most, but at the end of the day you have to live with them.

Thank you!

#MonsterMindDealingWithAnxietySelfDoubt #NetGalley

This was a very thoughtful insight to many things especially anxiety and what lurks within us like our demons and monsters. It’s pretty terrifying knowing that you can’t easily over come these things and they will actually consume you until content but I did enjoy that the most about this. It’s a pretty open and exclusive open to what anxiety is like and I appreciate that. I love books that go deeper into these topics and I appreciate the author even more. 5 out of 5 stars this was truly eye opening!

LOVED this short & sweet little comic. It portrayed anxiety so perfectly & how your demons follow you everywhere and it’s not as simple as taking a step back. I really hope this becomes a classic in schools because i believe the visual representation would be SO helpful to younger readers.

Really useful little graphic novel. Alfonso Casas presents his demons as monsters and gives them names. It’s amazing how you can identify them. His idea, and it’s interesting, is that you won’t defeat them, instead you need to learn to live with them and try to laugh at them as best you can. Definitely food for thought.

the millennial mental health version of Mr Men, this book is the autobiographical account of Alfonso Casas dealing with his "monsters" (AKA different mental health issues). think "inside out" but the cast is depression, social anxiety and toxic thoughts.
perfect for millenials, the gen z with their darker dryer than dry humour, and everyone else too, this book is a fun, humorous way to get inside the shadow realm of our mind.
As Alfonso says, this is just the story of someone learning to deal with their monsters. and isn't that what we all need to do?

Gorgeous illustrations that give such real imagery to dealing with anxiety, depression, motivation, doubt etc. It made me rethink my own monsters I carry with me, like invisible pets I got stuck with. I thought this was a good metaphor and liked that it didn’t end with something overly saccharine, because it’s something to live with and accept about yourself, not try to fix.

Thanks to Netgalley and Diamond Book Distributors for the ARC of this in exchange for my honest review.

I thought this was a cute way to look at anxiety, depression, and other mental monsters. The artwork was really good, with the monsters being sort of cutesy scary, not horror scary. It made them seem easier to deal with, especially at the end. The idea that you have to work with your monsters really resonated with me.

I thought this was so great! I work as a therapist and could definitely see myself using this book with clients. I also have anxiety myself and felt that this book as very relatable! I loved all the monsters and how he depicted the different anxieties. I also loved the ending and the positive note it left on.

A great comic about what it's like to live with the burden of invisible monsters. Each monster represents an negative aspect of our mind or a mental illness like doubts, depression and anxiety.

Many of these really hit home.. especially as a result of the pandemic. I have never seen anything so relatable.

“This isn’t the triumphant tale of a hero who defeated his monsters.... it’s just the story of somebody.... who’s learning to live with them.”

This line is the biggest reason why I loved this book, aside from its awesomeness. It's all about hope. Problems don't vanish overnight and some never go away, so it's realistic to depict it this way.

Overall, I loved this comic, it's cute and very relatable. The art was very well done, and I like the character designs for the monsters.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgqalley for the opportunity to review this book!

This was an awesome comic/graphic novel. This is a story of how the author deals with the monsters that are his anxiety. If you’ve ever dealt with anxiety, this book is for you and if you are someone who has not had to deal with it, this is a great book to be able to read about how many of us feel at times and get a glimpse into one person’s anxiety. Either way, this is such a readable and enjoyable book (despite the serious subject matter). This book was great and my only gripe is that it wouldn’t open on my IPad and so I read it on my phone which was a tiny screen and I’d love to see the monsters and drawings on a larger screen because they were awesome! Easily 5 stars!