The Book of Help

A Memoir in Remedies

By: Megan Griswold

Narrated by: Megan Griswold

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.

From an early age, Megan Griswold was set on a path of looking outside herself to learn about herself. At birth, her parents found a Christian Science practitioner for her; at age seven, she asked Santa for a mantra; and at 12, she started taking workshops on personal growth. Her over-the-top existential curiosity eventually led her to outdoor leadership training in Patagonia where she met her husband. Their marriage was not without challenges, and after he was arrested, Megan's world was shattered. Rather than let herself shatter, she embarked on a journey of self-discovery with renewed vigor.

The Book of Help is the story of the 15,000 hours and 160 different remedies, therapies, and modalities that Megan went through, poking and prodding herself to feel better and be better. She explores a past life family tree, gets trained in five-element acupuncture, becomes a doula, takes ayahuasca, does a water fast, and sees psychics and a bevy of therapists.

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.

©2019 Megan Griswold (P)2019 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Griswold’s debut...provides an exhaustive look at alternative treatments, but wrapped up in that narrative is a personal tale about her own quest to find comfort and healing from the scars of her youth and the tragedy of her divorce.... As remedies, the results were decidedly mixed, but vicariously living them through her telling makes for a fascinating book. Soul-searching has never been more comprehensive." (Kirkus Reviews)

"When Griswold discovers that her husband has an addiction to phone sex and prostitutes, her mother tells her this is all good material. Given this, readers won’t likely blame the author for seeking her own answers.... This [book] will appeal to like-minded seekers." (Booklist)

“Megan Griswold’s intimate, chatty, marvelous voice scooped me up on the first page of The Book of Help and she never left my side until the last. This open hearted, soul searching, intensely readable memoir reminds us that we are far from alone on our journey and how ever much we might want them - there are no finish lines, just resting stops where we can heal, learn, gather strength and, most importantly, keep going.” (Isabel Gillies, New York Times best-selling author of Happens Every Day)