Like so many mothers, Julie Chavez ran herself ragged trying to meet the needs of everyone else, until an unexpected panic attack forced her to find a new way. Funny, deeply honest, and inspiring for listeners feeling overwhelmed in their own lives, Everyone But Myself feels like a best friend sharing how she pulled herself back to solid ground while embracing chaos along the way.

“In my experience, the phrase ‘all of a sudden’ is rarely applicable when it comes to mental health.”

For Chavez, an elementary school librarian and mother of two boys, the signs of mounting anxiety and depression had been present for a while, though she had done her very best to ignore them. Then, one night, while her husband was away on business, Julie found herself locked in a debilitating panic attack that threw her life into a tailspin. The terrifying aftershocks left her grappling with questions about the origin of her anxiety and where it would lead next.

What follows is a funny, unflinchingly open account of love and loss, comically negligent doctors, husbands who can’t read minds, family outings gone wrong, and the life-affirming joy of a life well loved and well lived.