The Big Journal for Anxious People by Jordan Reid and Erin Williams
Jordan Reid and Erin Williams are the authors of The Big Journal for Anxious People.
Journal your way to inner peace—or at least to feeling a little less alone in your stress, anxiety, and 3:00 a.m. doomscrolling—with this hilarious, relatable, interactive journal.
The human body is 80 percent water, so we are basically cucumbers with anxiety (#themoreyouknow). Next time you feel a freak-out emerging, set your phone to the side—or, even better, turn it off—and reach for this journal instead. Jordan Reid and Erin Williams want you to remember that you’re in good company: Anxious people are some of the funniest and most interesting and creative humans on the planet. (They know, because they are two of them.) So if you’ve got 99 problems and 86 of them are completely made-up scenarios in your head, write them down and let them go. With hilarious prompts, brilliant quotes, mental health facts, straight-talking advice, and plenty of space to draw, The Big Journal for Anxious People is a must-have for anyone who needs a little less overthinking and a little more chill.
The following is an excerpt from The Big Journal for Anxious People that Jordan and Erin have generously shared with our community.
Dear Anxious Person:
Hello, and welcome to your brand-new journal.
Let us begin by apologizing for taking the liberty of addressing you as “Anxious Person.” We don’t even know you! It’s just that we’re comfortable making the following assumptions. You are:
a) Human,
b) Living on Planet Earth, and
c) Participating, whether passively or actively, in one or more forms of social media.
If the foregoing conditions are met, in accordance with the Premack Principle* we must conclude that yes: You are anxious. Sorry.
Also not sorry! Because there are plenty of other humans on Planet Earth right this very minute, and most of them are worrying about everything from airplane bathrooms to unexpected phone calls to whether Carol washed her hands before grabbing that Snickers from the candy bowl because she never does.
God damn it, Carol.
Anxiety, in other words, is everywhere - and so are people who want to tell you how to handle it (“just relax” being our favorite). Options for relieving the more uncomfortable byproducts of anxiety are as varied as the sources of anxiety themselves. Some people reach for crystals; some for prescriptions; some for trips to Disneyland so frequent that their friends feel weird about it. Still others reach for - yes - a journal.
Whether you’re new to journaling or have stacks of mortifying teenage musings hidden in your garage, this book is for you. In these pages, you’ll find prompts to explore your feelings, confront your fears, and answer questions like “Should I doodle?” (Yes), “Is mainlining espresso a good idea?” (No), and “How can I never, ever, ever again think about Jeff Bezos?” (if you figure it out, DM us).
So relax—or don’t—pick up the writing instrument of your choice, and flip the page to embark on a glorious journey of self-discovery, gratitude, and mindfulness, plus a healthy dose of lowered expectations, a dash of vengeance, and one very anxious cucumber (you’ll see).
Love,
Jordan & Erin
*Googled it.
Tips for Anxiety
MEET THE AUTHORS
Jordan Reid is the founding editor of the lifestyle blog Ramshackle Glam and the author of several titles, including the Big Activity Book series. Her work has appeared in Mashable, BuzzFeed, Newsweek, and Bustle, among other national media outlets. She lives in California with her two children, various pets, and a Roomba named Thanos.
Erin Williams is the author and illustrator of five books, including Commute: An Illustrated Memoir of Female Shame and the Big Activity Book series. Her work has appeared in MoMA Magazine, The Believer, Salon, BuzzFeed, and Synapsis, among other publications. She lives in Westchester with her spouse, daughter, and a one-eyed cat named Peanut.
Excerpted from The Big Journal for Anxious People by Jordan Reid and Erin Williams with permission of TarcherPerigee, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. Copyright © Jordan Reid and Erin Williams, 2022.
