Amongst them is the way the matrix of obsession, compulsion and intrusion represents an exaggeration of conventional anxieties. I’ve lived with it (and probably autism too) for my whole life and I find that one of the worst things about it is struggling to communicate the horrors of it to other people; other people don’t know what OCD is and they don’t care to try to understand it. the essays will leave readers feeling secondhand joy and maybe even encouragement to own their love for their own less-than-cool favorite things. I related to this book but, frankly, her life just not interesting enough to hold-up an entire book. Ahh I wanted to like this, as someone who has OCD and loves ouroboroses, essays, and A Series of Unfortunate Events.

I have so much respect for author being able to open herself up in such a way and I think that this book will be so helpful for so many people because it can show them they are not alone and are deserving of help. At the same time it is extremely entertaining - I particularly loved the descriptions of her travels and experiences in LA.Depression gets William Styron’s Darkness Visible, psychosis Daniel Paul Schreber’s Memoirs of My Nervous Illness. She then goes on to describe him as “a nice man” and wants you to believe he was some gentle, tortured soul trying to make a lovely sweet theme park full of rainbows and happiness because he was scared to die…yeah right, whatever.

Obsessive, Intrusive, Magical Thinking is a culmination of a life spend obsessing, offering a glimpse into Marianne’s brain, but also an insight into the lives of others like her. That is the only way I can think to express my thoughts on this book, and I don't care to try writing this review again. It’s a distinction that feels unnecessary, since the bulk of the essays follow a similar narrative arc: an obsession plagues the author; it sets her on a fractured, sometimes frustrated mode to healing; by the final paragraph, a mix of exposure therapy and self-realisation means the obsession is largely resolved.Having followed Marianne Eloise on Twitter for years now, I was delighted to hear she’d written a book, and it did not disappoint.