The Bathroom Mirror by Craig Barton
By Robin (PSY)

Many users on TeenHelp have been inspired by Craig Barton's (a.k.a. CanadaCraig) compassionate and encouraging words at some point, whether it was a random visitor message or a response to a thread. Recently, Craig wrote a book called The Bathroom Mirror, which I have had the pleasure of reading and reviewing this month.

Some of you may be thinking, "How well could a 49-year-old possibly relate to me?" The answer is, better than you would think! This book is a quick read, with fewer than 100 pages of content, but every page has one or more valuable messages to share with readers from all walks of life. The Bathroom Mirror reaches out to the bullies and bullied, the abusers and abused, the "popular" and "freaks," sharing a universal message of love and acceptance for oneself and others.

We have all experienced pain in various forms, but our minds, hearts, and lives do not have to be controlled by the pain we have endured. Everyone copes with this pain in different ways, and Craig offers encouragement to those who have developed addictive behaviors (such as the unhealthy use of drugs, sex, and self-harm) to escape the pain altogether. In this book, Craig talks about how the negative thoughts and words we hold on to are no more powerful than the positive thoughts and words we can choose to substitute for what we have always known, and he empowers readers to embrace the idea of living the lives they have always wanted and deserved to have. No individual, in Craig's mind, is so far gone that they cannot turn their lives around, regardless of what they have done or what others have done to them.

The only aspect of this book I find off-putting is the unconventional text formatting. While useful in emphasizing certain points, it may be distracting to some readers. Additionally, there are two stories in The Bathroom Mirror which may be disturbing or triggering for some readers (one briefly describing an autopsy, and another recounting the death of a beloved pet). These stories are located on pages 34 and 48-50, so you may want to skip those pages if you want to avoid either of these topics.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, especially the section on forgiving others and how "[it] is not about them...you are forgiving someone for your own sake." I can see this book proving beneficial to many individuals, whether they are young teenagers or older adults who struggle with past hurts and ongoing insecurities. Whether you believe your "problems" are relatively small or unimaginably large, you will certainly find several points that are relevant to your situation and worth thinking about.