Monkey Mind
A Memoir of Anxiety
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Narrated by:
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Richard Powers
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By:
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Daniel Smith
About this listen
In the insightful narrative tradition of Oliver Sacks, Monkey Mind is an uplifting, smart, and very funny memoir of life with anxiety - America’s most common psychological complaint.
We all think we know what being anxious feels like - it is the instinct that made us run from wolves in the prehistoric age and pushes us to perform in the modern one - but for forty million American adults, anxiety is an insidious condition that defines daily life. Yet no popular memoir has been written about that experience until now. Aaron Beck, the most influential doctor in modern psychotherapy, says that “Monkey Mind does for anxiety what William Styron’s Darkness Visible did for depression.”
In Monkey Mind, Daniel Smith brilliantly articulates what it is like to live with anxiety, defanging the disease with humor, traveling through its demonic layers, evocatively expressing both its painful internal coherence and its absurdities. He also draws on its most storied sufferers to trace anxiety’s intellectual history and its influence on our time. Here, finally, comes relief and recognition to millions of people who have wanted someone to put into words what they and their loved ones feel.
Daniel B. Smith is the author of Muses, Madmen, and Prophets and a contributor to numerous publications, including the American Scholar, Atlantic, New York Times Magazine, and Slate.
©2012 Daniel Smith (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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It's a report tempered by hard times. In "Matricide", Daum unflinchingly describes a parent's death and the uncomfortable emotions it provokes; and in "Diary of a Coma" she relates her own journey to the twilight of the mind. But Daum also operates in a comic register. With perfect precision, she reveals the absurdities of the marriage-industrial complex, of the New Age dating market, and of the peculiar habits of the young and digital.
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Complaining about her dead mom.
- By Erik Hermansen on 11-23-14
By: Meghan Daum
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Scale
- A Novel
- By: Keith Buckley
- Narrated by: Keith Buckley
- Length: 5 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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As a hopeless and struggling indie rock musician, Ray Goldman's best chance of discovering any beauty and purpose in his dysfunctional life will come only when he ceases to struggle against life itself. Scale chronicles Ray Goldman’s journey downward through the adversarial trials that sometimes prove necessary in facilitating an eventual ascent into truth and happiness. The odd chapters of the novel find Ray, now a 31-year-old guitar player, seeking fulfillment in the wake of a life-altering tragedy.
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Poor Presentation
- By mmacedonia on 04-16-19
By: Keith Buckley
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Another Kind of Madness
- A Journey Through the Stigma and Hope of Mental Illness
- By: Stephen P. Hinshaw
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Families are riddled with untold secrets. But Stephen Hinshaw never imagined that a profound secret was kept under lock and key for 18 years within his family - that his father's mysterious absences, for months at a time, resulted from serious mental illness and involuntary hospitalizations. From the moment his father revealed the truth, during Hinshaw's first spring break from college, he knew his life would change forever.
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Insightful, heartbreaking, and important
- By S. Yates on 10-09-17
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A Body, Undone
- Living On after Great Pain
- By: Christina Crosby
- Narrated by: Christina Crosby
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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In the early evening on October 1, 2003, Christina Crosby was three miles into a 17 mile bicycle ride, intent on reaching her goal of 1,000 miles for the riding season. She was a respected senior professor of English who had celebrated her 50th birthday a month before. As she crested a hill, she caught a branch in the spokes of her bicycle, which instantly pitched her to the pavement. Her chin took the full force of the blow, and her head snapped back. In that instant, she was paralyzed.
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Extraordinary writer
- By Professor on 01-20-24
By: Christina Crosby
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Where the Past Begins
- A Writer's Memoir
- By: Amy Tan
- Narrated by: Amy Tan
- Length: 14 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Moving from her childhood in Oakland and growing up with her Chinese parents through her success as a novelist, Amy Tan delves into her creative interests in music, the paralysis of beginning a new project, journal writing, and travelling. Where the Past Begins chronicles the making of a writer. With characteristic humor and poignant observation, Tan weaves a nontraditional introspective narrative that is as complex and vibrant as this beloved American novelist's fiction.
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Narration Issues
- By Sara on 12-14-17
By: Amy Tan
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The Priority List
- A Teacher's Final Quest to Discover Life's Greatest Lessons
- By: David Menasche
- Narrated by: David Menasche
- Length: 4 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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David Menasche lived for his work as a high school English teacher. His passion inspired his students, and between lessons on Shakespeare and sentence structure, he forged a unique bond with his kids, buoying them through personal struggles while sharing valuable life lessons.
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Truly Inspiring!!
- By Trish on 07-13-14
By: David Menasche
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The Book of Help
- A Memoir in Remedies
- By: Megan Griswold
- Narrated by: Megan Griswold
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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A hilarious and heartbreaking memoir-in-remedies by a self-described "professional soul-searcher" that details a journey of self-discovery through more than 160 tonics, seminars, regimens, and transformative therapies. With a voice that is at once intimate and hilarious, Megan captures the openness and honesty necessary for people to take a new path in life. Listeners will open the audiobook with curiosity about all the different healing therapies that Megan tries, but leave with a new understanding of themselves.
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Mr. Toad's Wild Ride has some serious competition!
- By Elisa R. Goodman on 02-15-19
By: Megan Griswold
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Reading My Father
- A Memoir
- By: Alexandra Styron
- Narrated by: Alexandra Styron
- Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Alexandra Styron's parents—the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Sophie’s Choice and his political activist wife, Rose—were, for half a century, leading players on the world’s cultural stage. Alexandra was raised under both the halo of her father’s brilliance and the long shadow of his troubled mind. Reading My Father portrays the epic sweep of an American artist’s life. It is also a tale of filial love, beautifully written with humor, compassion, and grace.
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William Styron Ranks...
- By Douglas on 12-22-13
By: Alexandra Styron
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Selfish, Shallow, and Self-Absorbed
- Sixteen Writers on the Decision Not to Have Kids
- By: Meghan Daum
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller, Jo Anna Perrin
- Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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One of the main topics of cultural conversation during the last decade was the supposed "fertility crisis" and whether modern women could figure out a way to have it all - a successful, demanding career and the required 2.3 children - before their biological clocks stopped ticking. Now, however, conversation has turned to whether it's necessary to have it all (see Anne-Marie Slaughter) or, perhaps more controversial, whether children are really a requirement for a fulfilling life.
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Am I the only sane childfree woman in here?
- By J. Malouin on 09-29-15
By: Meghan Daum
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This Is How I Save My Life
- From California to India, a True Story of Finding Everything When You Are Willing to Try Anything
- By: Amy B. Scher
- Narrated by: Amy B. Scher
- Length: 6 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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When Amy B. Scher was struck with undiagnosed late-stage, chronic Lyme disease, the best physicians in America labeled her condition incurable and potentially terminal. Deteriorating rapidly, she went on a search to save her own life - from the top experts in Los Angeles and the world-renowned Mayo Clinic in Minneapolis to a state-of-the-art hospital in Chicago. After exhausting all of her options in the US, she discovered a possible cure - but it was highly experimental, available only in India, and had as much of a probability of killing her as it did of curing her.
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A great comfort
- By Sue on 07-07-18
By: Amy B. Scher
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Advice for Future Corpses (and Those Who Love Them)
- A Practical Perspective on Death and Dying
- By: Sallie Tisdale
- Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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You get ready to die the way you get ready for a trip. Start by realizing you don't know the way. Listen to a few travel guides. Study the language, look at maps, gather equipment. Let yourself imagine what it will be like. Pack your bags. This book is one of those travel guides - a guide to preparing for your own death and the deaths of people close to you. The fact of death is hard to believe. Sallie Tisdale explores our fears and all the ways death and talking about death make us uncomfortable - but she also explores its intimacies and joys.
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I thought I had more time...
- By Alyssa on 09-09-19
By: Sallie Tisdale
What listeners say about Monkey Mind
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- S. Corcoran
- 02-01-13
More weird than funny, interesting view of anxiety
The stories were really more weird than funny, and in places actually somewhat creepy. But the book offers some interesting analyses of anxiety, probably worth a listen for that, but if you're looking for "quirky and fun" look to Jenny Lawson instead.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Crystal Houston
- 03-25-17
Smart, original, charming and damned funny too
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
A wonderful, witty and poignant book that I'd highly recommend. I admire the honesty and bravery of this work. It's easy to identify with Smith’s anxiety, especially in his younger years. In college, he describes his inability to be social, to make friends even with his roommate, a fellow anxiety sufferer: “We should have been up on our bunks trading pills like they were baseball cards.” There's also a memorable scene where the author, suffering for years from profuse sweating, finds a harebrained solution in the feminine hygiene aisle of CVS. It's both humorous and heartbreaking.
What did you like best about this story?
My favorite scene is when Daniel Smith’s father gives him the “Birds and the Bees” talk by playing the Meatloaf song “Paradise by the Dashboard Light.” (The author, in his early teens, believes the song is about baseball.) Or maybe the scene where Smith describes his personal appearance: “The muscles that connect the head to the shoulders were, in my case, perpetually clenched – a condition that, had I weighed more than 120 pounds, might have made me look like a villain on the pro wrestling circuit playing to the crowd.” Or maybe the one where Smith loses his virginity, which his overprotective, overbearing mother calls “rape.”
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
Smith’s memoir doesn’t really lend itself to a tag line, which is why I like it. Perhaps, “Monkey Mind does for anxiety what William Styron’s Darkness Visible did for depression.” However, this book is more accessible than Styron’s.
Any additional comments?
Daniel Smith is sharp and insightful without being a bore. The book’s thoughtfulness, intelligence and self-deprecating tone proves irresistible. To quote the author: “If this all sounds melodramatic, well that isn't a bad metaphor for anxiety as a kind of drama queen of the mind.”
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- Monica
- 04-12-23
Great listen!
Wonderfully written although painfully familiar! I, unfortunately, suffer terribly from anxiety/OCD. I enjoyed listening mostly because of the lack of advice. It was like listening to a friend share similar experiences without the often misguided attempts to "help". Thank you for this spectacularly written account and for bearing your stories for others to relate to.
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- irene
- 08-10-13
So very glad I found this!
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Yes.....I just gave it as a gift....It was helpful, compassionate, understanding and delightfully written. He shared honestly. Wow.
What did you like best about this story?
It wasn't a self-help book, but a dead-on detailed description of the pain and handicap anxiety causes......and the humor....very good!
Which scene was your favorite?
discovering the safety of the library......but only because favorite means "pick just one"
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
how he related to Roth....all of it....but especially in understanding & accepting his mother
Any additional comments?
Thank you Daniel Smith......just, Thank you.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Diane
- 08-05-12
Eye-opening
Any additional comments?
I have mixed feelings about this book. The first and last several chapters were captivating. In the middle, however, I wondered if I had wasted yet another credit and even considered not finishing. The problem for me was the amount of time dedicated to the author’s anxiety symptoms, which he described to exhaustion. Fortunately, I stuck with it and my tenacity was rewarded in the end.
Therefore, on the whole, I would recommend it.
By the way, “Monkey Mind” was chosen to be discussed at the “Science Friday” book club. You can download the podcast if you miss the live show on NPR.
Note to the author: Daniel, you should have done the narration. The narrator did a fine job, but this was such a personal story that it felt wrong having someone else speak it. Also, while I do not suffer from extreme anxiety, I felt the same way as you about Bdeis orientation week. It was horrible!
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5 people found this helpful
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- Lisa Pinn McFaddin
- 07-14-21
Hit close to home
An excellent explanation and exploration of the bouncy ball that is an anxious brain.
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- Kindle Customer
- 05-10-18
Reader Comments
This book is highly recommend to those who have or have overcome an anxiety disorder. Reading this will help you to see that you are not alone with your anxiety disorder.
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- Shannon
- 10-01-12
Interesting perspective!
A very interesting perspective from someone who has a debilitating anxiety condition. If you have ever thought you suffer from anxiety, this will make you feel better about your own condition, and may help you through it.
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2 people found this helpful
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- E
- 03-01-19
Great book!!
I was looking for a book to help with anxiety and I found walking around my neighborhood listening to this book funny and kept pulling me in for more. so relatable and so enjoyable to listen to. I hope I can find more similar to this one.
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- Brian Sachetta
- 05-28-20
Relatable and well-written
For those who experience anxiety, Smith’s work may feel like a return home. The book, which is very well written, is a look into the author’s past experiences with anxiety — the good, the bad, and the ugly.
This book differs from many others in the space in that it’s a memoir and not a self-help book. As such, many of the stories here are told to recount the author’s past and help the reader connect them to his or her own past experiences — not necessarily to reveal key insights.
That’s why I say it feels like a return home; anxious folks will be able to relate quite well to these stories, even if they don’t really lead too far in the end. “Ahh, yes, I know what he’s talking about. I’ve been there many times before,” I found myself saying several times throughout this one.
Though anxiety sufferers will definitely relate to the material, one thing I’m not totally sure of, however, is whether very many of them will want to revisit fear-provoking incidents without a promise of getting something out of doing so. Sure, such stories may be relatable, but is that relatability worth the potential angst? That’s something you’ll have to decide for yourself.
All in all, however, I enjoyed relating to Smith, and as such, give it four stars.
-Brian Sachetta
Author of “Get Out of Your Head”
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