Review: Because We Are Bad: Ocd and a Girl Lost in Thought

Because We Are Bad: Ocd and a Girl Lost in Thought by Lily Bailey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As a child, Lily Bailey knew she was bad.

By the age of 13, she had killed someone with a thought, spread untold disease, and spied upon her classmates.

Only by performing a series of secret routines could she correct her wrongdoing. But it was never enough. She had a severe case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and it came with a bizarre twist.

This true story lights up the workings of the mind like Mark Haddon or Matt Haig.

Anyone who wants to know about OCD, and how to fight back, should read this book. Immerse yourself in a new world.

I think most of will have some idea about OCD and probably like me know it often involves sufferers having compulsive habits and routines. Lining things up. Checking things multiple times. Obsessive hand washing.

Many of us will not know or understand what leads to these compulsions. Lily Bailey's book enlightens us.

It's her story of how her OCD began when she was only a young child and how it developed. Her efforts to cover it up and how she received treatment to enable her to come to terms with it and cope. It certainly gave me a better understanding of OCD.

It's hard going at times because of its honesty and Lily was still quite young when she wrote it. (22) Some reviewers felt she should have waited until she was older before writing her book but she had reached quite a turning point in her life so I think it was quite good timing.


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