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May Cause Side Effects: A Memoir
2023 Best Indie Book Award Winner, Memoir
An unforgettable memoir about the turmoil of antidepressant withdrawal and the work it takes to unravel the stories we tell ourselves to rationalize our suffering.
Brooke Siem was among the first generation of minors to be prescribed antidepressants. Initially diagnosed and treated in the wake of her father’s sudden death, this psychiatric intervention sent a message that something was pathologically wrong with her and that the only “fix” was medication. As a teenager, she stepped into the hazy world of antidepressants just at the time when she was forming the foundation of her identity. For the following fifteen years, every situation she faced was seen through the lens of brokenness.
A decade and a half later, still on the same cocktail of drugs, Brooke found herself hanging halfway out her Manhattan high-rise window, calculating the time it would take to hit the ground. As she looked for breaks in the pedestrian traffic patterns, a thought dawned on “I’ve spent half my life—and my entire adult life—on antidepressants. Who might I be without them?”
Unfurled against a global backdrop, May Cause Side Effects is the gripping story of what happened when, after fifteen years and 32,760 pills, Brooke was faced with a profound choice that plunged her into a year of excruciating antidepressant withdrawal and forced her to rebuild her entire life.
An illuminating memoir for those who take, prescribe, or are considering psychiatric drugs, May Cause Side Effects is an honest reminder that the road to true happiness is not mapped on a prescription pad. Instead, Brooke’s story reveals the messy reality of how healing begins at the bottomless depth of our suffering, in the deep self-work that pushes us to the edges of who we are.
An unforgettable memoir about the turmoil of antidepressant withdrawal and the work it takes to unravel the stories we tell ourselves to rationalize our suffering.
Brooke Siem was among the first generation of minors to be prescribed antidepressants. Initially diagnosed and treated in the wake of her father’s sudden death, this psychiatric intervention sent a message that something was pathologically wrong with her and that the only “fix” was medication. As a teenager, she stepped into the hazy world of antidepressants just at the time when she was forming the foundation of her identity. For the following fifteen years, every situation she faced was seen through the lens of brokenness.
A decade and a half later, still on the same cocktail of drugs, Brooke found herself hanging halfway out her Manhattan high-rise window, calculating the time it would take to hit the ground. As she looked for breaks in the pedestrian traffic patterns, a thought dawned on “I’ve spent half my life—and my entire adult life—on antidepressants. Who might I be without them?”
Unfurled against a global backdrop, May Cause Side Effects is the gripping story of what happened when, after fifteen years and 32,760 pills, Brooke was faced with a profound choice that plunged her into a year of excruciating antidepressant withdrawal and forced her to rebuild her entire life.
An illuminating memoir for those who take, prescribe, or are considering psychiatric drugs, May Cause Side Effects is an honest reminder that the road to true happiness is not mapped on a prescription pad. Instead, Brooke’s story reveals the messy reality of how healing begins at the bottomless depth of our suffering, in the deep self-work that pushes us to the edges of who we are.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 6, 2022
28 people are currently reading
680 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
September 2, 2022
I think I did a pretty good job.
August 22, 2022
Brooke Siem’s beautifully written memoir May Cause Side Effects confronts an all too common scenario of modern psychiatry that has been unaddressed for far too long. As a teen struggling to deal with her father’s death she was started on antidepressants and sold the story that she had an imbalanced, broken brain. Fifteen years later, still medicated and still depressed, she considers jumping out a window, and was stopped by the question of who she might be if she were not on all her medications. This begins her often painful, and at times rage-filled journey, to discover and accept who she was without drugs and beyond medication withdrawal. She faces her shadows while traveling to exotic locations around the world and uncharted spaces within, eventually finding spaces and moments of joy and light, awakening her to new stories of hope and possibilities. As a reader and psychiatrist, I highly recommend this book for anyone in the mental health field, anyone who cannot imagine a life without psychiatric medications, and anyone hoping but struggling to get through medication withdrawal. Thank you Brooke Siem for having the courage to write about this important topic (and for an early copy of the book to read!)
September 9, 2022
I read this book, cover to cover, within 24 hours of receiving it.
I couldn’t stop until it was finished…. Page turner doesn’t quite capture the intensity and sheer brilliance of its magnitude.
This book is immediately added to my list of Top 10 books I’ve ever read (and bein an avid reader for the past 25 years, that’s a big deal).
I cried huge, cathartic tears straight through the first 3 chapters and steadily through the remainder.
An exceptional written, awe inspiring and powerful journey. Wonderfully enjoyable through every, single, page.
Brooke's story of grit, and triumph can be loved and celebrated by all.
Please,
do yourself a favor, snag a copy right meow 😸, and dive in. You'll be so grateful you did.
I couldn’t stop until it was finished…. Page turner doesn’t quite capture the intensity and sheer brilliance of its magnitude.
This book is immediately added to my list of Top 10 books I’ve ever read (and bein an avid reader for the past 25 years, that’s a big deal).
I cried huge, cathartic tears straight through the first 3 chapters and steadily through the remainder.
An exceptional written, awe inspiring and powerful journey. Wonderfully enjoyable through every, single, page.
Brooke's story of grit, and triumph can be loved and celebrated by all.
Please,
do yourself a favor, snag a copy right meow 😸, and dive in. You'll be so grateful you did.
September 4, 2023
After I read Robert Whitaker's book, Anatomy of an Epidemic, I thought I'd read some memoirs from people who had to taper of psychiatric medication. This was fine but it advertises itself as being something it's not really about. There is a component of it about the author's withdrawal from psych meds but it's mostly about the rest of her life. So it was fine but not exactly what I was looking for.
June 15, 2023
I devoured this book. I am currently going through SSRI withdrawal and I actually debated reading this because I thought it might be triggering or scare me. But it did the opposite! Brooke is a wonderful story teller who details some very hard chapters of her life. I cried along the way as she loses a parent, falls down the withdrawal rabbit hole and navigates an ambitious life with all her withdrawal symptoms in tow. It’s harrowing and courageous. Her writing made the book fly by and I was so sad when it was over. When I look in the mirror I look so normal. But there is so much pain in my mind and body right now because of withdrawal. No one can see or know how I feel, but this book felt like it saw me and addressed a lot of my worries. Life can be normal after! I have the hope, I just need to arrive at the destination. Thank you for your memoir Brooke, I’m so happy you’re educating people on this terrible topic and I hope as the years pass, fewer and fewer people experience this withdrawal. Keep spreading the word!
February 7, 2025
I purchased this book to educate myself on antidepressant withdrawal. I really admired Brookes strength of coming off all of those drugs and continued to live and get better with time.
However, it seems that this book poses that travelling the world is the answer to one's problems. I also travelled for several years, and of course, it's an amazing way to discover different cultures and explore humanity in all its facets. It's also a great way to see that there is more to life than your typical 9-5, but it's not the be-all and end all in terms of recovering from poor mental health. I think if there's trauma that hasn't been properly dealt with, then you will carry it wherever you go in the world.
It was only when I stayed in one place that I began seeing a professional therapist regularly and began the hard inner graft of staring my traumas in the face that I learned the most about myself. One of which was also losing my dad from a very early age. I also take an ssri (started at age 25, not 15), which has really helped with my anxiety. I have cptsd, ocd, adhd... and the meds really help me manage my symptoms. And I couldn't relate to Brooke, who described her med experience as numbing to her emotions. I haven't had that experience. I still cry. I still get angry. I still feel. And yes, I still get anxious from time to time. But it's no longer intolerable, and I can regulate myself so much better.
My view is that there are many drugs out there that really can and do make a positive difference to people's lives, mental health, and will to live. As much as this book is a critique of big pharma, I would hope that it doesn't dissuade people from getting the mental health help they need in terms of seeing a professional therapist/psychiatrist and perhaps taking a certain medication(s) that may actually help.
BUT Brookes' story goes to show that it isn't always positive. And I know she was on a concoction of drugs, and from a very early age, and of course, these things affect people in different ways. And this was her story, not mine, so I'll back down a little bit...
Brooke did have Alan, as a bit of emotional support and he did seem to help Brooke to a certain degree in terms of sitting with her feelings in the moment, but it seemed like an alternate kind of therapy... I wondered how effective it really was in the long term...
The one thing I will say, though, is that the book really did enlight me to the impact that coming off ssri's can have and the withdrawals that can occur. Which is something for me and a lot of others to be catious of. And I guess this was the purpose of the book in the first place.
The book also raises an important issue around doctors giving out medications very flippantly, which are hard to come off of. And the issue of misdiagnosis. I know Brooke is from the States, and their system is different from the UK's medical system, but I am sure it is an issue across the board.
And the writing style, I liked it. I think Brooke is a great writer. She painted many images in my mind of how she was feeling, which allowed me to empathise with her distressing moments. And I particularly liked the last chapters. And the description of her birth and her eyes being able to see the light. 😊
However, it seems that this book poses that travelling the world is the answer to one's problems. I also travelled for several years, and of course, it's an amazing way to discover different cultures and explore humanity in all its facets. It's also a great way to see that there is more to life than your typical 9-5, but it's not the be-all and end all in terms of recovering from poor mental health. I think if there's trauma that hasn't been properly dealt with, then you will carry it wherever you go in the world.
It was only when I stayed in one place that I began seeing a professional therapist regularly and began the hard inner graft of staring my traumas in the face that I learned the most about myself. One of which was also losing my dad from a very early age. I also take an ssri (started at age 25, not 15), which has really helped with my anxiety. I have cptsd, ocd, adhd... and the meds really help me manage my symptoms. And I couldn't relate to Brooke, who described her med experience as numbing to her emotions. I haven't had that experience. I still cry. I still get angry. I still feel. And yes, I still get anxious from time to time. But it's no longer intolerable, and I can regulate myself so much better.
My view is that there are many drugs out there that really can and do make a positive difference to people's lives, mental health, and will to live. As much as this book is a critique of big pharma, I would hope that it doesn't dissuade people from getting the mental health help they need in terms of seeing a professional therapist/psychiatrist and perhaps taking a certain medication(s) that may actually help.
BUT Brookes' story goes to show that it isn't always positive. And I know she was on a concoction of drugs, and from a very early age, and of course, these things affect people in different ways. And this was her story, not mine, so I'll back down a little bit...
Brooke did have Alan, as a bit of emotional support and he did seem to help Brooke to a certain degree in terms of sitting with her feelings in the moment, but it seemed like an alternate kind of therapy... I wondered how effective it really was in the long term...
The one thing I will say, though, is that the book really did enlight me to the impact that coming off ssri's can have and the withdrawals that can occur. Which is something for me and a lot of others to be catious of. And I guess this was the purpose of the book in the first place.
The book also raises an important issue around doctors giving out medications very flippantly, which are hard to come off of. And the issue of misdiagnosis. I know Brooke is from the States, and their system is different from the UK's medical system, but I am sure it is an issue across the board.
And the writing style, I liked it. I think Brooke is a great writer. She painted many images in my mind of how she was feeling, which allowed me to empathise with her distressing moments. And I particularly liked the last chapters. And the description of her birth and her eyes being able to see the light. 😊
December 2, 2023
Brooke has so eloquently painted with her words the horrific experience of antidepressant withdrawal and the toll it takes on the physical, mental and spiritual levels. But most importantly of all, she offers those going through the same experience or those supporting loved ones through this experience, something even more beautiful than understanding, she offers hope that healing is possible.
November 15, 2022
Truly enjoyed this memoir which follows the life of a woman who after being on antidepressants for 15 years (having been prescribed as a teen, after the death of her father) discovers that the medication has made her unable to know her baseline…is she perhaps even more depressed and numb, on these medications? Are prescription psychiatric drugs intended to be taken for decades? Through a series of events not only does the author stop taking the medications, but her psychiatrist (through a total lack of knowledge that is only now becoming more researched) allows her to stop taking the medication cold turkey. In doing so, a slew of more psychiatric concerns arise: intrusive thoughts and severe anxiety. Are these things a result of withdrawal or is this who she really is? The author explores these thoughts as she finally is able to embrace the freedom of discovering herself outside of a diagnosis, while welcoming emotions and feelings she had not known for years.
I discovered this book after watching the Medicating Normal documentary and am grateful to have read it. For those of you on Hoopla, this book can be found there as an audiobook.
I discovered this book after watching the Medicating Normal documentary and am grateful to have read it. For those of you on Hoopla, this book can be found there as an audiobook.
March 3, 2023
loved this
April 20, 2023
In and of itself, May Cause Side Effects is a powerful story about trauma, grief, and persevering through the overwhelming experience of antidepressant withdrawal. It's elegantly written, rich in wrenching and poignant details, and impressively vulnerable.
On a bigger scale, this book is so important because stories like this are woefully underrepresented, despite being all too common in a society that tries to suppress the pain of familial, societal, and environmental traumas with medications we barely understand. (The pharmaceutical industry and our healthcare system have not adequately acknowledged or advised patients of the potentially devastating side effects of these medications.) We need more people to share their stories, as Brooke has, to raise awareness of this issue and steer ourselves towards healthier treatments and societal changes.
This book also resonates deeply with me on a personal level, as I took antidepressants for twelve years, went through a period of withdrawal, and have struggled to regain control of my thoughts, attention, and emotions after being dependent on the meds for so long. Reading this story was an inspiring reminder that I'm not alone in this fight. Thank you, Brooke, for sharing your experience and helping people like me find the way forward.
On a bigger scale, this book is so important because stories like this are woefully underrepresented, despite being all too common in a society that tries to suppress the pain of familial, societal, and environmental traumas with medications we barely understand. (The pharmaceutical industry and our healthcare system have not adequately acknowledged or advised patients of the potentially devastating side effects of these medications.) We need more people to share their stories, as Brooke has, to raise awareness of this issue and steer ourselves towards healthier treatments and societal changes.
This book also resonates deeply with me on a personal level, as I took antidepressants for twelve years, went through a period of withdrawal, and have struggled to regain control of my thoughts, attention, and emotions after being dependent on the meds for so long. Reading this story was an inspiring reminder that I'm not alone in this fight. Thank you, Brooke, for sharing your experience and helping people like me find the way forward.
October 10, 2022
What would you do if you suddenly found yourself contemplating suicide after spending half of your life on antidepressants? Brooke Siem paused and pondered and wondered who she would have been without the medication, then she sought to find out. She takes us on her harrowing journey of withdrawal and vulnerability, uncertainty and fear… and it turns out to be one of courage, steadfastness, determination. How many times did she think about giving up, giving in, letting the medication take her back to a place where she didn’t have to face herself? Yet she kept on and showed us that healing is possible. Finding comfort with yourself is possible. Facing your demands can be terrifying but you can conquer and manage them.
The book itself is very well written. I love her use of
imagery, yet her language is accessible to anyone who wants to read a good memoir, or is searching for guidance or answers, or simply hope. As a mother of an 11-year-old I found myself relating a lot to her mother, thinking about how it must be to watch your child go through such a thing. I feel that, having read this, it has given me tools to deal with future problems my daughter might have and how to deal with them. Medication for teens is a very serious thing, and this book also helps bring awareness to this issue. If we have the option to medicate a teen we need to do a lot of research, a lot of soul searching. I pray to God my daughter never needs antidepressants but if anything happens, this book
and the lessons therein will help me. I think you know you’ve written a good book when a mom says she’ll use it to help raise her kid! 😄
Thank you, Brooke, for letting us into your life and your experience. I believe it’s going to help a lot of people. We will never know who you would have been without the medications but this is who you are now and I, for one, am grateful.
The book itself is very well written. I love her use of
imagery, yet her language is accessible to anyone who wants to read a good memoir, or is searching for guidance or answers, or simply hope. As a mother of an 11-year-old I found myself relating a lot to her mother, thinking about how it must be to watch your child go through such a thing. I feel that, having read this, it has given me tools to deal with future problems my daughter might have and how to deal with them. Medication for teens is a very serious thing, and this book also helps bring awareness to this issue. If we have the option to medicate a teen we need to do a lot of research, a lot of soul searching. I pray to God my daughter never needs antidepressants but if anything happens, this book
and the lessons therein will help me. I think you know you’ve written a good book when a mom says she’ll use it to help raise her kid! 😄
Thank you, Brooke, for letting us into your life and your experience. I believe it’s going to help a lot of people. We will never know who you would have been without the medications but this is who you are now and I, for one, am grateful.
July 16, 2024
As soon as I heard about this book I knew I needed to read it - I am 27, have been on SSRIs/SNRIs since I was about 14 or 15, and am currently in the process of weaning off of them. I have seen very little writing about the effects of psych meds on people long term when they were started at a young age, and I’m so glad this book is contributing to that conversation. One of the things she said that sat with me the most was this: “Maybe it’s not about coming back to who I was before I was medicated. I can’t go back … go the body and mind I knew through the eyes of a child.”
While I’m very glad this book exists, I did struggle to connect with Brooke’s story outside of the shared experience of being on SSRIs young and wanting to know who I am off of them. The whole young white woman travels the world to find herself and does so in the midst of recognizing other people’s oppression thing was WEIRD!!!!
I am sitting with the balance of this is an important concept and we need to talk about this, and if I met her in person I don’t think I’d like her lmao
While I’m very glad this book exists, I did struggle to connect with Brooke’s story outside of the shared experience of being on SSRIs young and wanting to know who I am off of them. The whole young white woman travels the world to find herself and does so in the midst of recognizing other people’s oppression thing was WEIRD!!!!
I am sitting with the balance of this is an important concept and we need to talk about this, and if I met her in person I don’t think I’d like her lmao
December 31, 2024
-2 stars off for unnecessary language. This book is spattered with F words like punctuation.
-Warning that this book describes fantasizing about jumping out of a window and other disturbing or triggering images frequently.
-As a Christian, I find the worldview in this book lacking. Self compassion is good, but the cleansing blood of Jesus is richer and deeper and more truthful.
This book is not for everyone by any means, but even with the three heavy caveats listed above I think this book could be a valuable tool for someone who would like to understand and empathize with someone who experiences depression or other mood disorders.
-Warning that this book describes fantasizing about jumping out of a window and other disturbing or triggering images frequently.
-As a Christian, I find the worldview in this book lacking. Self compassion is good, but the cleansing blood of Jesus is richer and deeper and more truthful.
This book is not for everyone by any means, but even with the three heavy caveats listed above I think this book could be a valuable tool for someone who would like to understand and empathize with someone who experiences depression or other mood disorders.
September 19, 2022
Wow. What a hugely personal emotional story. I learned so much about myself and my own journey with antidepressants through Ms. Siem’s words. This is a must read for anyone struggling with or close to someone struggling with depression, anxiety, medication, or frankly mid-adulthood. Thank you for sharing.
September 24, 2022
Insightful, well-written page turner
Phenomenally well written and very engaging. But perhaps the best part is that it shines a light on so many things about mental health that we dont talk about enough: prescription drugs, the experience of depression, suicide, and more. I highly recommend this read
Phenomenally well written and very engaging. But perhaps the best part is that it shines a light on so many things about mental health that we dont talk about enough: prescription drugs, the experience of depression, suicide, and more. I highly recommend this read
September 29, 2022
The book is now about the author's experience with antidepressant drugs and withdrawal. When she was 15, her father suddenly died, and she was put on antidepressants. Fifteen years later, after a suicide attempt, she decided to go them and got severe antidepressant withdrawals. Meanwhile, she traveled to Malaysia and started a journey without drugs to get to know herself again. She ended up staying in fourteen homes in ten countries and four continents and spent time learning to cook old recipes from all around the world. She would also spend time chatting with women who taught her how to cook and ended healing throughout this process, leading her to an appearance on "Chopped." Cooking became a source of love and a lifeline back to herself.
The author's writing was terrific. The way she used words kept me underlining, dogearing, and screenshotting. In looking at the epidemic of prescription drugs, she raises important questions about antidepressants and their long-term side effects. The author shares intimate stories about being put on antidepressants, what her life was like while taking them, and her journey to get off of them. This story shows us how healing begins in suffering (and food), not always with a pill.
To listen to my interview with the author, go to my podcast at:
https://www.momsdonthavetimetoreadboo..."
The author's writing was terrific. The way she used words kept me underlining, dogearing, and screenshotting. In looking at the epidemic of prescription drugs, she raises important questions about antidepressants and their long-term side effects. The author shares intimate stories about being put on antidepressants, what her life was like while taking them, and her journey to get off of them. This story shows us how healing begins in suffering (and food), not always with a pill.
To listen to my interview with the author, go to my podcast at:
https://www.momsdonthavetimetoreadboo..."
October 17, 2022
Hard to give a rating since you can't rate someone's experiences. I really appreciate that the author wrote this book because it's a topic that is heavily swept under the rug both by doctors and by society at large. This is not the first I hear of Venlafaxine being a terrible drug to come off of and I hope books such as these will make GPs and psychiatrists less cavalier in prescribing them.
The story itself was interesting but I didn't find myself invested in the world-wide voyage and didn't feel like we knew the narrator well beyond the mood swings, noise sensitivity, and occasional flashes of joy. I'm happy for her that she got the opportunities she did. It goes without saying that most people going through anti-depressant withdrawal would not have the chance to find their peace swimming with whale sharks and winning game shows. I didn't feel like this narrative included a lot of hope or guidance for them.
Yes, this is a memoir, not a pop science book - the author owes us nothing except her own experiences. I just came away wanting more I guess.
The story itself was interesting but I didn't find myself invested in the world-wide voyage and didn't feel like we knew the narrator well beyond the mood swings, noise sensitivity, and occasional flashes of joy. I'm happy for her that she got the opportunities she did. It goes without saying that most people going through anti-depressant withdrawal would not have the chance to find their peace swimming with whale sharks and winning game shows. I didn't feel like this narrative included a lot of hope or guidance for them.
Yes, this is a memoir, not a pop science book - the author owes us nothing except her own experiences. I just came away wanting more I guess.
August 22, 2025
|| 4 ⭐️ ||
A particularly devastating account of how severe antidepressant withdrawal can be. It was quite difficult to read at first, but Brooke did an incredible job of illustrating the way that her bands of depression and withdrawal symptoms gradually released over time as she stepped way outside of her comfort zone and faced the unknowns—especially with world travel.
I thought the “self-compassion” therapy was a bit wacky, but I’m glad it seemed to help her process some things anyway.
I ultimately liked how she didn’t share her experience with antidepressant withdrawal in a preachy way. She simply shared the raw details of going through it herself, without harshly judging people whose experiences with antidepressants are different. It was a very considerate way of spreading awareness about the dangers of antidepressants.
A particularly devastating account of how severe antidepressant withdrawal can be. It was quite difficult to read at first, but Brooke did an incredible job of illustrating the way that her bands of depression and withdrawal symptoms gradually released over time as she stepped way outside of her comfort zone and faced the unknowns—especially with world travel.
I thought the “self-compassion” therapy was a bit wacky, but I’m glad it seemed to help her process some things anyway.
I ultimately liked how she didn’t share her experience with antidepressant withdrawal in a preachy way. She simply shared the raw details of going through it herself, without harshly judging people whose experiences with antidepressants are different. It was a very considerate way of spreading awareness about the dangers of antidepressants.
May 20, 2024
Fascinating memoir. Brooke has had a hard journey. Her story reminds me that brokenness is what allows us to see the beauty of healing. And darkness shows us how bright the stars are. Without pain and sorrow, we can't know joy. And heartache is worth the beauty of feeling alive.
But, this book does focus a lot of self-compassion, self-worth, self-forgiveness. Self. Self-healing. I hope that one day, Brooke can find the true, lasting healing that comes not through our own compassion towards ourselves, or from looking inward, but from letting go, and trusting Jesus with our heart.
Content Warning: entirely too much use of the f-bomb. It was said so often if was actually got annoying and irritating, besides already being offensive. As someone else said, it's peppered throughout the book like punctuation. Along with a few other similar words. Also, she hints at, and pretty much comes out and condones, sleeping with a guy she just met and won't build a relationship with.
I would hesitate to recommend this book based on the content, and all the self-love messages.
Quotes:
"I'm terrified of the world around me. Terrified of debilitating illness, and war and death. Of broken bones and hearts and promises. I get off all this medication and this is what I wake up? It's dirty and dangerous. And the joy is not as strong as the despair. And it all ends in piles of trash and sadness. And how is life worth living when one terrible person can walk into an airport and kill the good in dozens? Why bother living when everything beautiful is so easily destroyed?"
"But at some point of the past five years, the spotlight of my mind shifted from her suffering and began shining on little moments where I seemed to awaken from the darkness and blink alive... When I look back, my first thought does not fall on the darkness. Instead, I remember the light. Maybe the story doesn't ever really end. Maybe the focus simply shifts."
But, this book does focus a lot of self-compassion, self-worth, self-forgiveness. Self. Self-healing. I hope that one day, Brooke can find the true, lasting healing that comes not through our own compassion towards ourselves, or from looking inward, but from letting go, and trusting Jesus with our heart.
Content Warning: entirely too much use of the f-bomb. It was said so often if was actually got annoying and irritating, besides already being offensive. As someone else said, it's peppered throughout the book like punctuation. Along with a few other similar words. Also, she hints at, and pretty much comes out and condones, sleeping with a guy she just met and won't build a relationship with.
I would hesitate to recommend this book based on the content, and all the self-love messages.
Quotes:
"I'm terrified of the world around me. Terrified of debilitating illness, and war and death. Of broken bones and hearts and promises. I get off all this medication and this is what I wake up? It's dirty and dangerous. And the joy is not as strong as the despair. And it all ends in piles of trash and sadness. And how is life worth living when one terrible person can walk into an airport and kill the good in dozens? Why bother living when everything beautiful is so easily destroyed?"
"But at some point of the past five years, the spotlight of my mind shifted from her suffering and began shining on little moments where I seemed to awaken from the darkness and blink alive... When I look back, my first thought does not fall on the darkness. Instead, I remember the light. Maybe the story doesn't ever really end. Maybe the focus simply shifts."
September 1, 2025
A must for those choosing to "get off the meds"!
This book arrived AFTER a year of unrelenting challenges. No one, not my medical doctor, psychiatrist, or therapist spoke about any of this though they knew I was negotiating all the changes after getting off meds for PTSD and depression. While reading this book, I decided to highlight any sentence that I felt a kin to and realized the expanses of yellow were starting to dominate pages. Read this if you want to recognize the strange, frightening occurrences of hyperarousal to sound, touch, the dizziness, the constricted throat, the torrential tears and the journey back, the slow reveal of finding your ground.
This book arrived AFTER a year of unrelenting challenges. No one, not my medical doctor, psychiatrist, or therapist spoke about any of this though they knew I was negotiating all the changes after getting off meds for PTSD and depression. While reading this book, I decided to highlight any sentence that I felt a kin to and realized the expanses of yellow were starting to dominate pages. Read this if you want to recognize the strange, frightening occurrences of hyperarousal to sound, touch, the dizziness, the constricted throat, the torrential tears and the journey back, the slow reveal of finding your ground.
March 5, 2023
Found this book through Brooke’s interview on the Skinny Confidential podcast & listened to it in 2 days time. It was so good! I really appreciated how fully detailed we were able to experience her real and raw mental breakdowns. It was colored in such a tortured light but one that was relatable and easy to keep up with. So many similar books about these kinds of struggles are just too literary and hard to understand. Brooke did such a great job taking the reader through this journey.
August 18, 2023
"I notice how alert I am to the smack of my shoes on the muddy ground, to the fear that bubbles up when I see a shadow in the darkness, to the smell of one of Ross's cigarettes. I am alive."
An exceptional book, from A to Z. I'm going through withdrawal right now and as I was reading the book, I couldn't believe how similar was my experience to Brooke's, I couldn't believe that I was not alone. I'm really not alone. And you're not alone either.
An exceptional book, from A to Z. I'm going through withdrawal right now and as I was reading the book, I couldn't believe how similar was my experience to Brooke's, I couldn't believe that I was not alone. I'm really not alone. And you're not alone either.
January 16, 2024
May Cause Side Effects is bloody brilliant. Brooke Siem is extremely candid and honest about the raw realities of antidepressant withdrawal. I wish every prescriber, every therapist, and every patient currently taking or contemplating taking antidepressants (particularly SSRIs and SNRIs) would read this, and use it to inform their decision making processes.
This is exactly the book I have been waiting to read for years.
This is exactly the book I have been waiting to read for years.
March 27, 2024
Uneducated and lacked nuance. This book is rooted in toxic positivity and fails to see that people require different paths through grief. Rather than celebrating the nuances of life and the different paths toward mental wellness, this author tends to demean and belittle if you don’t have the same path that she took. Reminder that the author is just a chef and Op Ed writer, please consult with your medical Dr. I couldn’t under good faith recommend this book.
August 1, 2023
I’m so glad i found this book. Currently detoxing from a medication iv been on for 15 years and felt extremely alone. This subject is not talked about enough. This book made me feel less alone. It was also just an amazing story. I was captivated from the first page and couldn’t put it down or stop thinking about it until finished. Amazing job. Thank you Brooke for writing this.
October 16, 2023
Great book! Brooke has been through a lot and I’m so happy she shared her story to help others. I’m 3 weeks off Prozac and everyone seems to think it’s side effects should be pretty much done but I feel like it changes from day to day and nothing g feels normal!
This book made me feel less alone!
This book made me feel less alone!
July 6, 2024
Loved this book. It encouraged me to seek what my life would be like (safely) letting go of antidepressants. Some parts were slow especially the first 2 or so chapters. But god I’m glad I read each and every page.
April 6, 2025
dnf’d at like 70%… i get the gist and its cute that she got through it but really felt like someone who went through a lot, made a joke that she should write a book about it, and then actually followed through. writing was eh, was quite boring
November 18, 2022
Very impactful and an honest take on life’s crazy adventures.
May 1, 2023
I really liked this. Not sure what specifically. I just enjoyed it more than I expected!
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