Burn by Ben Short

I’ve just finished reading Burn by Ben Short. Personal accounts and memoirs have not been a big part of my reading in the past but this book has definitely prompted me to add this genre of writing to my repertoire of reads.

Ben is a frazzled advertising exec in London, suffering from acute anxiety and rapidly declining mental health, and is quite literally burning himself out. Following the sudden and very symbolic departure of his best friend’s bird of prey, Ben determines that he must do the same, to save himself. Leaving the big smoke far behind him, he eventually finds peace, purpose and a much more authentic meaning of life in the form of a much smaller smoke – charcoal making.

Of course, this was never going to be a simple transition and Ben takes the reader through many an adventure and a scrape, meeting a beautiful cast of characters, all of whom contribute, for good or for bad, towards helping Ben truly find himself and finally free his spirit.

Burn is a delightful memoir of what it means to suffer from poor mental health, whilst never becoming cloying or self-pitying, and although we can’t all find peace by making charcoal in a wood, there is so much to gain and to learn simply from his insight and his determination to find happiness.

David