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Do What You Want
DO WHAT YOU WANT
A ZINE ABOUT MENTAL WELLBEING, RAISING MONEY FOR MENTAL HEALTH CHARITIES.
Contributors include writers from the Guardian, the New York Times, NYMag, The Telegraph, The Observer, Rookie, Pitchfork and ELLE.
Our highlights are: Why Should I Go to Therapy? by Ask Polly’s Heather Havrilesky || An interview about OCD with writer and actress Mara Wilson || Food for Thought: Diana Henry, Tejal Rao, Meera Sodha, Ruby Tandoh and more share their recipes for life || The Many Faces of Eating Disorders: interviews with survivors || Eleanor Morgan writing about Plastic Minds || The Cost of Care: an interview with Sally Burke, from Channel 4’s acclaimed documentary series Kids on the Edge
A ZINE ABOUT MENTAL WELLBEING, RAISING MONEY FOR MENTAL HEALTH CHARITIES.
Contributors include writers from the Guardian, the New York Times, NYMag, The Telegraph, The Observer, Rookie, Pitchfork and ELLE.
Our highlights are: Why Should I Go to Therapy? by Ask Polly’s Heather Havrilesky || An interview about OCD with writer and actress Mara Wilson || Food for Thought: Diana Henry, Tejal Rao, Meera Sodha, Ruby Tandoh and more share their recipes for life || The Many Faces of Eating Disorders: interviews with survivors || Eleanor Morgan writing about Plastic Minds || The Cost of Care: an interview with Sally Burke, from Channel 4’s acclaimed documentary series Kids on the Edge
172 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2017
About the author
Ruby Tandoh
7 books245 followersBritish chef who became known to television audiences as a contestant on The Great British Bake Off in 2013. She is the author of the cookbook Flavour and has contributed to Elle, Vice and The Guardian.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
January 6, 2018
An informative and varied zine, edited (and she wrote a few articles) by Ruby Tandoh, of GBBO fame.
I thought this was a good mix of different things: interviews - I particularly liked the ones with Sara Quin of Tegan & Sara, and the one with Mara Wilson - facts, essays, recipes and illustrations. Also awesome that all the profits go to charity and not-for-profit organisations, including Mind.
I thought this was a good mix of different things: interviews - I particularly liked the ones with Sara Quin of Tegan & Sara, and the one with Mara Wilson - facts, essays, recipes and illustrations. Also awesome that all the profits go to charity and not-for-profit organisations, including Mind.
May 21, 2017
I’m absolutely in love with the array of essay books that are being released now; The Good Immigrant, Nasty Women, and Know Your Place, which is still being crowdfunded, are three that spring to mind.
What started out as a project to raise some money for charities such as Mind and Beat has become a brilliant zine, a handbook for this generation to navigate mental health problems.
I’ve long admired Ruby Tandoh’s writing, both her long pieces and her threads of tweets, and so I was immediately drawn to this collection. Tandoh and Pritchard have brought together such a great collection of writers and artists, and so this zine absolutely hums with honesty, talent and vulnerability.
If you want an idea of the calibre of writing available in this zine, the team have made two essays available online: Into the Depths by Martha Rose Saunders, about autism, desire and passing (http://www.rookiemag.com/2017/03/into... and On the Realities of Life as a Black Woman with Borderline Personality Disorder by Christine Pungong (http://www.thefader.com/2017/03/03/bo...), one of the most affecting essays in the collection.
Also featured are recipes, checklist guides to loving yourself and practical advice about seeking help for your mental health problems.
The zine has been re-released for a second printing in August this year; you can preorder it now! If you want to get your hands on a physical copy earlier however, hit up their stockists listed on the website to see if they have some left. Ebook editions are also available.
What to read next:
Nasty Women by 404 Ink
The Good Immigrant edited by Nikesh Shukla
The Things I Would Tell You: British Muslim Women Write, edited by Sabrina Mahfouz
What started out as a project to raise some money for charities such as Mind and Beat has become a brilliant zine, a handbook for this generation to navigate mental health problems.
I’ve long admired Ruby Tandoh’s writing, both her long pieces and her threads of tweets, and so I was immediately drawn to this collection. Tandoh and Pritchard have brought together such a great collection of writers and artists, and so this zine absolutely hums with honesty, talent and vulnerability.
If you want an idea of the calibre of writing available in this zine, the team have made two essays available online: Into the Depths by Martha Rose Saunders, about autism, desire and passing (http://www.rookiemag.com/2017/03/into... and On the Realities of Life as a Black Woman with Borderline Personality Disorder by Christine Pungong (http://www.thefader.com/2017/03/03/bo...), one of the most affecting essays in the collection.
Also featured are recipes, checklist guides to loving yourself and practical advice about seeking help for your mental health problems.
The zine has been re-released for a second printing in August this year; you can preorder it now! If you want to get your hands on a physical copy earlier however, hit up their stockists listed on the website to see if they have some left. Ebook editions are also available.
What to read next:
Nasty Women by 404 Ink
The Good Immigrant edited by Nikesh Shukla
The Things I Would Tell You: British Muslim Women Write, edited by Sabrina Mahfouz
May 11, 2017
This is the first time I've seen a zine or magazine on Goodreads, I think, though it is so hefty it could count as a book! It is curated by Ruby Tandoh (who got famous on GBBO and now does awesome food and mental health activism) and her partner Leah Pritchard, a musician.
Pretty sure I've read this cover to cover by now... I love it and can see myself going back to it over and over again. It covers all sorts of aspects of mental health, steering away from the now-commodified concept of "self-care". It instead brings to light real issues that individuals face every day - with a big focus on intersectionality - and often, very importantly, the things that hold them back from seeking help. The pieces that particularly resonated with me were 'Placeholders' by Vanessa Pelz-Sharpe and 'The View' by Rosemary Valero-O'Connell, but each of them - accompanied by beautiful illustrations - were respectively eye-opening, harrowing and comforting.
As I understand, all copies have been sold (with profits going to various charities) but maybe they'll do a reprint?
Pretty sure I've read this cover to cover by now... I love it and can see myself going back to it over and over again. It covers all sorts of aspects of mental health, steering away from the now-commodified concept of "self-care". It instead brings to light real issues that individuals face every day - with a big focus on intersectionality - and often, very importantly, the things that hold them back from seeking help. The pieces that particularly resonated with me were 'Placeholders' by Vanessa Pelz-Sharpe and 'The View' by Rosemary Valero-O'Connell, but each of them - accompanied by beautiful illustrations - were respectively eye-opening, harrowing and comforting.
As I understand, all copies have been sold (with profits going to various charities) but maybe they'll do a reprint?
August 20, 2017
Possibly one of the most important publications of 2017. I loved this.
February 1, 2018
adored this & would recommend it to absolutely anyone.
June 5, 2017
Such an interesting collection of interviews and essays. I hope they do more!
June 4, 2019
An insightful compilation of essays, recipes, poems and artwork that discusses a wide variety of topics varying from mental illness to the PTSD of refugees. Not usually the kind of book I'd reach for but I thoroughly enjoyed it!
May 3, 2017
informative, affirming and uplifting zine encompassing so many important topics, voicing those who are so often silenced! such a wonderful project and definitely worth a read.
February 24, 2020
When you first look at Do What You Want, with its bright illustrations and short form articles format, you think you’re in for an afternoon of light, positivity-affirming reading around the subject of mental health. This could not be further from the truth. This zine demands you pay attention, and concentrate, and listen, and learn. From its recipes to its interviews to its comic strips to its opinion pieces, Do What You Want is an intricate web of ideas and experiences that I had to read across multiple sittings, sinking in and out of the lives of others and feeling like I’d run a marathon each time I surfaced again. The topics range from mental health in sex work, refugee communities and prisons to reflections on the stigmatisation of medication and accessibility issues with therapy. No contribution outstays it’s welcome; each part of the zine is brief, but intense, and the result is a whole that is more than the sum of its parts. Once I’d turned the final page, all I wanted to do was go back and re-immerse myself in its pages - after a breather, of course.
Highlights for me included the interviews with Mara Wilson, Sara Quin and Heather Havrilesky, Bad Bosses by Laura Snapes, Yossy Arefi’s Fruit Galette recipe, Normal Eating by Ellyn Satter (illus. Pearl Law), Acting Queer by Ruby Tandoh, Sweeten the Pill by Becky Appleton, Plastic Minds by Eleanor Morgan and Seeing the Colours by Aamna Mohdin.
Highlights for me included the interviews with Mara Wilson, Sara Quin and Heather Havrilesky, Bad Bosses by Laura Snapes, Yossy Arefi’s Fruit Galette recipe, Normal Eating by Ellyn Satter (illus. Pearl Law), Acting Queer by Ruby Tandoh, Sweeten the Pill by Becky Appleton, Plastic Minds by Eleanor Morgan and Seeing the Colours by Aamna Mohdin.
May 28, 2017
I had to stop all of my plans the day I was reading this because this was SO GOOD, but it also made me want to collapse into a puddle of tears. Reading about other people's mental health always makes me feel some type of way -- comforted by feeling seen through shared experiences but shattered that so many people have these same experiences and feelings. That said, it was great to see a range of different types of mental health covered (in addition to the heavily talked about depression and anxiety), along with the factors that can contribute to issues developing and the aftermath that can be caused after issues emerge. This is primarily a zine (though can it technically be a zine if it has a ISBN number?) about mental health with a few recipes sprinkled throughout, contrary to my friend's and my belief that it would be an equally balanced food and mind zine.
For more reviews, check out www.girlwithabookblog.com!
For more reviews, check out www.girlwithabookblog.com!
May 11, 2017
Smart, thoughtfully and beautifully presented, this one-off zine is a fine addition to my bookshelf. It strikes me as a "giftable" work, something which one might distribute to friends either "just because" or as a gesture of support in a difficult time, and which will serve well in both situations. This is a substantial piece of printed material, with quite a lot in terms of the diversity and range of its contents, so it's worth revisiting multiple times to let the art, poetry, and essays sink in.
It may be the most intersectional collection I've read lately. Mental health issues, queer issues, women's issues, and many other forms of diversity have a home here.
It may be the most intersectional collection I've read lately. Mental health issues, queer issues, women's issues, and many other forms of diversity have a home here.
March 13, 2019
I can guarantee you that this will not have articles for everyone. I like to read and learn about mental health a lot, but even I skipped a fair few pieces in this. It also took me a really long time to finish because I didn't feel totally invested - nonetheless I am glad we are discussing all sorts of different aspects of mental health.
ps. this book spoiled Crazy Ex Girlfriend for me and I'm mad about it
ps. this book spoiled Crazy Ex Girlfriend for me and I'm mad about it
August 20, 2018
A brilliant read. Get ready to see parts of yourself and your past, and to face these with acceptance and care. This book does an amazing job of incorporating a radical mental health frame with intersectionality, radically deviating from the reductionist norm of mental health literature. Highly recommended!
May 8, 2017
five stars for recipe for more life passionfruit tart!! also: beautiful illustrations and an incredible collection of poems, interviews, comics, and essays abt mental health in all its multifaceted variation
May 10, 2017
This is essential reading.
May 30, 2017
Worth it for the Heather Havrilesky and recipes alone, Ruby Tandoh and Leah Pritchard's zine has much to offer nevertheless.
June 1, 2017
i want to say this came along at the perfect time but honestly i think it would've been life-changingly brilliant whenever i'd read it
December 27, 2017
Filled with diverse perspectives on mental health, this anthology was really peaceful and comforting to read, despite not flinching from the harder stuff.
February 13, 2018
A wonderful heartfelt meaningful book for anyone who has struggled because they thought or have been told that they aren't enough.
February 9, 2020
Purchased for the Heather Havrilesky piece. Appreciated the wide-ranging content, bright illustrations, a cw-laden table of contents. Had NO idea it was GBBO's Ruby, so that's an added bonus.
March 31, 2020
This was made free online through a link on Ruby's twitter, which is where I found it.
A very good primer for a lot of topics, and makes you feel like you're not alone in any sense. A good starting point. Beautiful art and illustration. Recommend.
A very good primer for a lot of topics, and makes you feel like you're not alone in any sense. A good starting point. Beautiful art and illustration. Recommend.
December 24, 2020
This is one of my most cherished possessions. I’ve returned to it constantly in the 3ish years I’ve had it. Thank you, Ruby and Leah!
December 21, 2021
This was a re-read. Still timely, still relevant, still full of important stories and reminders. UK-centric but the themes are universal.
November 27, 2017
My heart feels very warm. This is good for anyone going through anything and just does not want to feel alone in their struggles. This feels like a good solid pat on the back in the best way.
May 16, 2017
An eye-opening insight into a broad range of mental health issues that people suffer from. I enjoyed the variety of material in this zine (though I’m tempted to call it a book as it’s generous in its size). There were sections I found more familiar such as those on depression and anxiety, but I was equally interested in learning about mental health conditions that are outside my experience, and hearing people’s first-hand stories of living with them.
A brilliant project with all the profits going to mental health charities.
A brilliant project with all the profits going to mental health charities.
April 20, 2023
Hit and miss, but for the most part interesting and informative
May 3, 2017
EVERYONE needs to read this
May 23, 2017
Beautifully designed, thoughtfully edited: a great mix of essays, interviews, poems and illustrations on all aspects of mental health.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews