Your Head Is A Houseboat

I have been a mental health advocate for quite a while now, and I have spent a lot of my time trying to understand my own mind better. I’ve often thought that the Internet—this age of unlimited information at our fingertips—has changed me. Maybe even damaged me in some ways and my ability to process information. I’m not sure. It’s a concept I have often thought of but rarely found the right words to explain it.

It feels like most of my days are built on distractions. It can be hard to focus. A lot of times I feel like I am out-of-focus in general. Like I am somehow falling behind or not living up to an impossible standard I set for myself when I was young.

But I ran across this book recently that deals with a lot of the issues I know are present inside me, but I have no way to fight back against it.

Campbell Walker (AKA Struthless) wrote and illustrated a book called: Your Head Is A Houseboat. It is described as a guide to mental clarity.

The very first chapter is titled: You’re Going To Die. What a way to start off a book. Better just go ahead and get right out in front of things.

In the book, Walker demystifies brain functions, mental health, emotions, mindfulness, and psychology—but with less complex terminology and more bizarre metaphors.

He reminds us that in an age where we are constantly consuming media via the Internet, these thoughts end up like piles of junk in our brains. Just because we go to sleep at night and rest does not mean that our brain empties of worries. Just because we scroll on Twitter for several hours doesn’t mean our deadlines won’t be waiting for us when we surface again.

Throughout the whole book, Walker holds our hand through the dark and strange parts of our mind. Like an old friend guiding you through a labyrinth, he makes a special point to make his content accessible to all. The words are truths that must be heard, but they are told to you in the softest ways possible.

So, if you struggle with mental clarity or maybe wonder about the effect social media has on your health, I encourage you to give the book a shot.