Non-Fiction Analysis: Monkey Mind

Monkey Mind, by Daniel Smith is a memoir about his anxiety. Daniel Smith suffered from acute anxiety, he was often worried about the smallest things; he thought about death a lot. Through the text, the author demonstrates his anxiety with short sentences, and many reason why he believed triggered his worst mental state.

The beginning of the book starts off with Mr. Smith walking to his weekly therapy session, along the Freedom Trail; a two-and-a-half-mile-long path. Mr. Smith, at the time, was living the life anyone would want to live; he had a prestigious job, loyal friends and a great girlfriend whom he lived with in a nice apartment. But he was still anxious. On his walks to Brian’s, his therapist’s office he would often think, “a typical line of thought went something like this: I am anxious. The anxiety makes it impossible to concentrate. Because  it is impossible to concentrate, I will make an unforgivable mistake at work. Because I will make a n unforgivable mistake at work, I will be fired. BEcause I will be fired, I will not be able to pay my rent. Because I will not be able to pay my rent, I will be forced to have sex for money in an alley behind Fenway Park. Because I will be forced to have sex for money in an alley behind Fenway Park, I will contract HIV. Because I will contract HIV, I will develop full-blown AIDS. Because I will develop full-blown AIDS, I will die disgraced and alone.” This is an example of the author’s must anxious thoughts, that is built up in short choppy sentences, and ends with death.

Daniel Smith believes that the cause of his anxiety was by an older friend of his, Esther. He experienced many first-times with her, including sex. Esther, as he describes her, is crazy; she is wild, she does ridiculous things, she married a man even though she’s gay because she wants a child. And Esther took Daniel’s virginity in the most terrifying way, after he got drunk at a party. So you can understand why he believes she is the cause. But Daniel Smith’s mother, who is also a psychologist believes otherwise. Although he was raped, and right after began to worry much more than he had, Mrs. Smith believes it was a more than one incident that triggered his anxiety. When Daniel was four, he almost drowned in a pond. Also, his mother had anxiety as well, and anxiety is genetic. There are many other reasons, but Esther is not one of them

Overall, Monkey Mind closely deals with anxiety, social problems and te life a a sixteen-year-old in suburban Staten Island.