Book Review: Nerve by Taylor Clark

ISBN:  0316042897 (ISBN13: 9780316042895)

Release date:  March 6th, 2011

Publisher:  Little, Brown and Company

Read from March 6th to the 28th, 2011

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Nerves make us bomb job interviews, first dates, and SATs. With a presentation looming at work, fear robs us of sleep for days. It paralyzes seasoned concert musicians and freezes rookie cops in tight situations. And yet not everyone cracks. Soldiers keep their heads in combat; firemen rush into burning buildings; unflappable trauma doctors juggle patient after patient. It's not that these people feel no fear; often, in fact, they're riddled with it.

In Nerve, Taylor Clark draws upon cutting-edge science and painstaking reporting to explore the very heart of panic and poise. Using a wide range of case studies, Clark overturns the popular myths about anxiety and fear to explain why some people thrive under pressure, while others falter-and how we can go forward with steadier nerves and increased confidence.

This book is great for anyone who wants to learn more about fear.  It's really something that's a lot more interesting than you think.  The book explains why and how we feel fear and how it's possible to overcome fear.

I was surprised and how interesting this book was.  With most nonfiction books like this, I get bored after a while, but that wasn't the case with this one.  It had so many interesting facts in it that I wanted to keep reading.

I found the subject of fear intriguing because I deal with it a lot.  I'm very awkward in social situations, and whenever I'm forced to have a conversation with someone I don't know, I get really nervous.  A sentence or two to just one person, I'm okay.  Carrying on a conversation or being put on the spot in front of a group of people, I have to try really hard not to panic.  If you go to my Youtube channel and watch my old videos, you can very easily tell how terrified I am in them.  That's gotten better since, but I still have moments where I get really nervous in my videos.  I hope what I learned while reading this book will help me get over that a little more.  The books doesn't promise to help you get rid of all of your fears though (that's not really possible unless you take out part of your brain), but it does give some good ways of working to overcome your fears or at least make them easier to live with.

I definitely recommend this to everyone.  If you have a certain fear or phobia (doesn't everyone?), then I definitely think you should check it out.  It really changed my views on nerve, fear, anxiety, etc.

*I recieved this book for free from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.