Reasons to Stay Alive

Haig’s love for literature pervades the book, with multiple references to writers and their work. It also represents Haig’s healing journey as he became increasingly drawn to the power of words. Eventually, they would come to elevate him to a new state of being, internally as well as externally, or socioeconomically. They also give him a way to connect with others and help them on journeys of their own.

Early in the memoir, Haig references the French philosopher Michel Foucault as a way to communicate his fear of mental illness. Later, he uses American author Kurt Vonnegut as a point of reference when discussing theories of chemical imbalance in the brain and American author Stephen King while explaining the nature of depression as an external antagonist. These early references display the way literature has become, for Haig, a way of approaching and measuring the world.

Midway through the story, Haig discovers the efficacy of literature in addressing his mental illness. Literature becomes an addictive substance and a way of self-medicating:

I read and read and read with an intensity I’d never really known before. I mean, I’d always considered myself to be a person who liked books. But there is a difference between liking books and needing them. I needed books. They weren’t a luxury good during that time in my life. They were a Class A addictive substance (129-30).

With this revelation, he goes on to explore the complex relationship between reading and the mind, between escapism and self-discovery, an understanding he later brings into his own work as a writer. Although he writes across genres, Haig primarily writes fiction that addresses these topics and themes. His early experience voraciously reading taught him that “escapism” is not in conflict with healing and growth. Haig goes on to elaborate on the particular books that had an impact on him. Echoes of these books can be seen in his style of writing as well as his view on the world.

In the final chapters, the power of literature is echoed in small ways. A Twitter user’s “#reasonstostayalive include their “TBR pile!” (To Be Read), Another says: “I have the most supportive people around me, and the best books to read” (204). Haig’s list of day-to-day things that improve his mental state include: “Reading Emily Dickinson’s poems,” “Reading some of Graham Greene’s The Power and the Glory,” and “Writing” (213). Reading and writing become both an internal coping mechanism for difficult times and an external way of reaching others. This illustrates the dual nature of Haig’s relationship with literature and the way it can successfully fill multiple, seemingly conflicting, roles in our lives.