Review featured in this video - https://youtu.be/H96eE-Nrsew

I teach teenagers, and I often wonder what's going through their heads. It's written by teens to their 16 year old selves. It's an amazing concept. I wish all my students could read such a book. It would help them understand them selves and each other so much more.

Once I got into this I couldn't let go at all. this was great the letters were such a great idea. I'm the daughter of someone with mental illness so this hit me hard and seeing how it effects teens is just heartbreaking. seeing these stories brought up old feelings and new insight for me. This was a great choice on the publishers part. Well done.

I loved this book! The rise in mental health issues for young people is unprecedented and this gives a really perceptive insight into a world that many adults know so little about. The voices are funny, poignant and honest and let you hear in their own words the struggle that many young people are going through on a daily basis.
I dipped in and out of this book, humbled by the struggles and uplifted by the resilience and honesty expressed in this book. I will definitely be purchasing copies for my classroom. Fantastic, honest and powerful read.

Quick read, This book is comprised of several letters from young adults ages 18-24 who have written letters to their 16 year old selves. Some of the letters were very upbeat and inspiring whereas some we're very dark. I found it quite difficult to follow because the letters are short and for the most part we are only getting a sliver of the story about what is going on in these peoples' lives so the letter are kind of choppy and jump around.

*trigger warning for depression, suicide, eating disorders, bipolar, abuse and sexual assault*

I have only one thing to say about this book. It is so important.
If I had this book when I was 15 or 16, I would not have tried to hang myself. I would not have hidden in my room crying for hours thinking no one knew what I was feeling. I would have been comforted in the fact that these people, these glorious individuals, came forward and wrote to themselves when they were 16 telling them that they are going to be okay. And that it's okay to not be okay. These are the things that I wish I had heard when I was that age and they are the things I believe teenagers today should hear. So I will say it again. This book is important.

Hello me, it’s you – Various

I picked this up for review after seeing the blurb, you all know I’ve been trying to read more non fiction, and I love books in letter format, this is a compilation of letters from a group of young people aimed at their younger selves about their mental health issues and for once, I don’t have to provide trigger warnings, because the blurb does it for you!

“Keep smiling and being you. Don’t let the world change you”
Hello Me, it’s You is a collection of letters by young adults aged 17-24 about their experiences with mental health issues. The letters are written to their 16-year-old selves, giving beautifully honest advice, insight and encouragement for all that lays ahead of them.
This book was produced by the Hello Me, it’s You charity, set up by the editor, Hannah. Hannah was diagnosed with depression and anxiety whilst at university and found comfort in talking to friends about their experiences, realising she was not alone in her situation. This inspired the idea for the charity and book. Through the creation of materials such as this, the charity aims to provide reassurance for young adults (and their families) who are experiencing mental health issues and give a voice to young adults on such an important topic. The result of that will hopefully be a reduction in the negative stigma surrounding mental health and an increase in awareness of young people’s experiences. All profits go the Hello Me, it’s You charity, for the production of future supportive books.
Trigger warning: Due to it’s nature, the content of this book may be triggering. Contains personal experiences of depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, trichotillomania and other mental health issues, as well as issues such as assault.

I always cringe a bit when I hear something referred to as being an ‘important’ book, but I’m going to make an exception for this one, because I think there is something very important about breaking down the stigma of mental health among young people, not just for those experiencing it, but those that have never been through it. From the moment I started reading this I thought, yes, this is a book I wished already existed, what we have is a group of anonymous writers talking about a series of different experiences and despite all of them being somewhat horrific, (trust me, been there, wouldn’t wish it on anyone) every single letter shares stories of hope, redemption, acceptance and ultimately survival. Each letter is uplifting in a weird kind of way and provides something positive to those dealing with mental health issues.
Having said that, I recently watched a video from Hannah Witton (she’s great, check her out if you haven’t already) about how she can sympathise with people with depression, but not empathise, having not been through it herself, and I think that is a problem for a lot of people in my life and the lives of the letter writers, we have well intentioned people around us, but they don’t know what to say, or how to make it better, this kind of book is exactly the sort of thing that those people need.

Really, I think this and Reasons to Stay Alive should be compulsory reading in school, if it helps one person going through a mental health crisis, that is enough and if it helps those who aren’t help someone that is, that’s even better.

( I was sent this via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)

Hello me, its you is a collection of letters written by young adults to their sixteen year old selves talking about their experiences with mental health issues. This is an important read and I was really moved whilst reading these letters. There was many elements which I could relate to and I found myself sitting down and thinking about what I would write to my sixteen year old self. This book got me thinking and reflecting. I'm really glad I read this.

WOW
2.5 stars!
I'm so immensely disappointed with this experience! And I’m this disappointed mostly because, I don't think I have ever been more in love with a premise and wanted to read a book so badly.

I had SUCH huge expectations for this book!!!

Mental illness can be a very terrifying and isolating experience and I always get hopeful and excited when I learn that there is a new book that could shed some light on this real life situation often treated as a taboo.

Since I dealt so closely with mental illness I braced myself for an emotional journey, and…

There was no such journey.
I guess for some reason I had huge expectations for the writing. I was expecting a touching emotional prose. These were letters to a younger self that feels trapped lonely isolated and terrified by mental illness and I was expecting the writing to deliver compassion and sympathy.

Most importantly, I expected them to be UTTERLY personal. You are talking to yourself after all, right?!?!

You should know exactly what to say, and how to say it and these letters felt so incredibly distant and cold! So impersonal almost like business letters!

Because they were ALL felt the same!! Exactly the same! Like someone had used a template and just change the events or situations.

These letters sounded like this one to me...

Hello, we made it here. We are fine. The journey was long and tiring but we made it ok. the flight was mostly turbulent so it wasn't at all pleasant. You feel nauseous but that's expected. Don't panic. You'll be ok. but we had good company you know ? People that loved us and cared about us. And the flight attendants were really nice.

I’m not trying to be sarcastic

I'm not kidding

I take this theme very seriously but that's how they letters felt to me. So emotionally flat!
I KNOW I would have not related to this book when I was sixteen and I would have not find it helpful AT ALL.

I guess I would have approach my letter to my younger self much more intimately.

I wish I could have given this book five star because it was a five star idea, a five star theme, five star intention but then, it went down the hill from there to a three star content a two start execution.

I have never felt so bad about giving a bad review until now because I don't want to discourage people from reading this book. Some of the information is helpful but the delivery hurts the purpose terribly.

**I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**


As someone who suffers from mental illness (namely Bipolar Disorder, PTSD, and Anxiety), I also try to read books that have to do with mental illnesses, but I realized..... There really aren't that many out there. I also know personally how isolating mental illness causes you to feel, which is one reason I also look for books like this, to get that feeling that I'm not alone, that there are others that understand what I'm going through. That's where this book comes in. I applaud the author for coming up with the idea of people writing letters to their younger selves about their mental illnesses. This book is exactly what I was looking for, and reading what others have dealt with reminds me that no matter how isolated I may feel, I'm definitely not alone in this battle.

I highly recommend this book to everyone, whether you suffer from mental illness or not. This is something that needs to be out in the world, and kudos to both the author and everyone who contributed to the creation of this book.

I really enjoyed this book. Motivational and it encourages people to see the bright, and often times, the dark side of life. With that, it showcases how we may go through dark times, especially during adolescence. It delves into personal stories in which people reach out to their younger selves and talk about their own struggles and how they were able to overcome that with time. This book helps show the resilience of people and how they are able to fight throw the obstacles that life may bring them.

Furthermore, this book felt even more personal because it was a compilation of letters of people talking to their younger selves. They talked about their mental illnesses and how they learned to cope with it. I believe so many people, especially teens, will find this book very inspiring because they will be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

This book is beautiful. This book is necessary. This book needs to be read.


One of the most intimate things you can do is write a letter. There something about it that pushes you to be honest and real no matter how hard it is. That honesty is brought out further when you write a letter to yourself. Reading others intimate moments is a glimpse into their soul. Their struggles scared them. Years past in pain. Yet the brightest message is life is well worth living.


Mental health is something that so many people deal with every day of their lives. It is not something that is rare. At one point or another, I have to say that almost everyone experiences the pain of it during their lifetimes. This honest and hopeful book of letters is one of the most beautiful ways I have ever seen anyone speak about its hardships.


Hope, knowledge that you were once hurting more then you thought your soul could take, but then realizing that the next day came and went and you are going to be ok. Friendships, love, family, all relationships are hard. Every single day is a day to learn and grow. All this and so much more is hidden in these sad and happy pages.


There is always good to look forward to. Good and bad exists for you to find out what kind of person you wish to be. Life is full of all kinds of moments, it is how you choose to react to it that defines who you are. There is always light.

I love the concept of this book. I looked forward to reading it. I kind of wish it was one book with one story instead of a bunch of short letters. It was cute and I liked it. It was an awesome concept and it made me want to sit down and write myself a letter to my younger self.

As someone who knows others as well as myself, who have suffered with mental and physical health issues, this intrigued me to read this book. The publisher has very kindly allowed me a copy to review.

This book is a collection of letters written by people, mostly anonymously, years after they were around sixteen years old. Upon their reflection on their own personal struggle with mental health and opens up to us to read, empathise and realise again there should be no stigma around such a huge subject that effects so many of us around the world.

The author herself states in the beginning of the book, she herself was diagnosed with anxiety and depression which are two most aware of common mental health issues that effect so many of us.

In between each of the letters written, there is a quote to inspire and give us a sense of hope in a beautiful paintbrush style water stroke text.

The story's told in each letter are intimate and honest allowing us to feel how they feel/felt and allows us to think of how they tackled their health issues.

For me, letter 9 stood out for pain as I suffer with Fibromyalgia. As well as letter 10 during which is written, distraction is key as I have found that has helped me when I have an anxiety moment or think back on my own issues in my teens with more severe issues.

Overall this books talks on subjects of depression, anxiety, eating disorders, self harm, body dysmorphia and more mental health issues so openly it's refreshing and I honestly hope we can stop the stigma.

If you are suffering with your mental health, there is help, this book may help open up otherwise please talk to a family member, friend, GP or if you are in school or college a counsellor or teacher.

I really loved this book. It's such a beautiful idea to have young adult to write about mental health problems they experience, to know that it will be okay in the end, that everything will work out and things will get better. I think it's soo beautiful and positive how everyone in this book, even though they're not "there" yet, they are at least on the way to be okay and trying their best, and telling their younger selves (and us, readers) and there will be people who you will meet at some point in your life that will help you. It really gives me hope that things will get better.

I would LOVE to give this book as a gift to so many people: my sister who thinks she's alone in all that she is feeling, my friend who thinks her panic attacks will never go away.

As well as writing a letter to your younger self, reading those of others is really cathartic - you realise you're not alone, and you become sympathetic: you don't know what anybody is going through when they leave school/work and go home.

If you need something a bit different that you've never read before, and want to feel humbled, this is the one for you.

I absolutely love the concept of this book and wonder why we do not have more books like this. It's a quick read but it brings the attention to mental health issues and the effects they have on teens and young adults.

I wanted to give this book 5 stars but I'm going to have to go with a 3.5. As much as I loved the advice and some of the letters truly hit me hard since I deal with anxiety, I feel like other letters should have not been included. The reason I believe some letters should have been excluded is because they were they were so short they really did not explain much which made it hard to relate to.

A beautiful and inspiring read. Although hard to read at times, the message is quite clear. A must read for any individual, either facing mental health problems or not.

IF YOU HAVE OR HAVE HAD A MENTAL ILLNESS, READ THIS NOW. This book is amazing. I can't even remember how many times I teared up. "Hello Me, It's You" is a collection of anonymous letters that 20-somethings wrote to their teenage selves regarding their mental illnesses. Each letter was so relevant to me and made me feel so much better about my emotions and feelings. I absolutely loved this.