Book Review: "Nerve" by Taylor Clark

Reviewed by Jennifer Shaw

Fear, anxiety, and stress plague tons of people in their day-to-day lives. Anxiety and stress definitely play a big part in my daily life so I was excited to see what benefits Nerve (March 2011) would bring to my situation. Clark’s Nerve takes on the subject in a light but thought-provoking way. He uses case studies to introduce the different topics covered throughout Nerve that are easy to understand and very relatable. His ease of storytelling definitely makes for a riveting and educational read that I found to be quite helpful.

While Nerve is an intriguing enough read and gives tons of information, I was hoping it would be more of a ‘how to get from point A to point B’ guide than a collection of anecdotes. Although this book is mostly comprised of case studies, readers can take away valuable information from each study. There are plenty of helpful hints that are sure to help a sufferer get on the right track. This helps balance out the lack of a comprehensive how-to guide.

Clark goes one step further for those looking to better their anxiety, stress, and/or fear by providing a thorough ‘suggested reading’ list.

Overall, Nerve is a fascinating and informative read. The amount of research Clark did is obvious on every page. Nerve offers readers a chance to better understand why some excel while others do not, and how to break the cycle of fear, anxiety, and stress.