You Will Get Through This Night by Daniel Howell
As an art therapist, I found Daniel Howell’s “You Will Get Through This: Hope and Help for Your Mental Health Journey” to be a refreshingly honest and accessible contribution to mental health literature. Howell, known for his YouTube presence, draws from his personal experience with depression, anxiety, and identity struggles, to create a resource that bridges the gap between clinical understanding and lived experience. He excels at destigmatizing mental health challenges through vulnerability and humour, while translating complex psychological concepts into everyday language that feels approachable rather than clinical.
Two points make this book particularly valuable from a therapeutic perspective. Firstly, it is Howell’s integration of identity and mental health struggles, especially his exploration of sexuality and internalized shame. His discussion reflects current therapeutic understanding about how identity conflicts impact psychological well-being, offering valuable insights for both individuals and therapists working with LGBTQ+ clients. He strikes a crucial balance between acknowledging the real difficulty of mental health struggles while maintaining realistic hope for recovery. And secondly, the interactive exercises throughout the book create meaningful opportunities for reflection and self-discovery, and provides readers with practical tools to explore new ways of thinking and being.
“You Will Get Through This” succeeds as a bridge between personal narrative and mental health education. Howell’s honesty about his ongoing journey with mental health, rather than presenting a neat recovery story, reflects the reality that mental wellness is often a continuous process rather than a destination. The book reminds us that healing happens in community, through connection, and with professional support—principles that remain at the heart of effective therapeutic work.
