Review of Keys to Harmony
Posted: 14 Jul 2025, 10:09
[Following is a volunteer review of "Keys to Harmony" by Margalit Jakob.]
Depression, one of the illnesses that most affects people today, is perfectly captured in this memoir by Margalit Jakob, "Keys to Harmony." In it, we can follow her life from her youth, but also some childhood memories. We can see her move to Israel from the United States, her return later, and the back-and-forth between these countries. Then, although the author and protagonist focus on music and her professional career, as well as the feelings that depression brings her, she shares with us secrets from her marriage, as well as the truths of motherhood through her eyes—which can be both good and bad—and how they affect those who experience them.
I must say that this book pleasantly surprised me. Not only does it have many truly interesting details, but it differs from so many other books that call themselves self-help and only feature incessant dialogues between supposed gurus and professionals, which in reality demonstrate their ignorance on the subject. This book, on the other hand, a simple memoir of its author's life, focuses on depression in a way never seen before, showing it clearly, without hesitation or romanticizing it, but with sincerity while explaining the reality of it as well as how to overcome it. Also, it has some aspects that I have felt identified with, such as not being able to play my instrument in major keys, having periods of not playing it at all due to laziness, lack of need, or feeling incapable of doing so, or even sleeping indefinitely because I don't have the strength to get out of bed. This is without mentioning how well it expresses the cruel reality of the stigma associated with mental health: not even the professionals themselves are capable of acting properly. In this book, we see this with the different doctors, therapists, and psychiatrists our protagonist must see until she finds someone who truly helps her, which is heartbreakingly true in most cases where a person suffers from a mental illness.
However, not everything is perfect in this book, as there are some details that could be improved, namely, the lack of consistency in the verb tenses throughout the story, a timeline that occasionally seems chaotic because the author goes off on tangents, and a number of grammatical and, especially, punctuation errors that make me think the editing wasn't entirely good. Therefore, for all these reasons, I would like to rate this book four out of five stars and congratulate its author for writing a work of this style of literature of almost the highest quality possible.
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Keys to Harmony
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Depression, one of the illnesses that most affects people today, is perfectly captured in this memoir by Margalit Jakob, "Keys to Harmony." In it, we can follow her life from her youth, but also some childhood memories. We can see her move to Israel from the United States, her return later, and the back-and-forth between these countries. Then, although the author and protagonist focus on music and her professional career, as well as the feelings that depression brings her, she shares with us secrets from her marriage, as well as the truths of motherhood through her eyes—which can be both good and bad—and how they affect those who experience them.
I must say that this book pleasantly surprised me. Not only does it have many truly interesting details, but it differs from so many other books that call themselves self-help and only feature incessant dialogues between supposed gurus and professionals, which in reality demonstrate their ignorance on the subject. This book, on the other hand, a simple memoir of its author's life, focuses on depression in a way never seen before, showing it clearly, without hesitation or romanticizing it, but with sincerity while explaining the reality of it as well as how to overcome it. Also, it has some aspects that I have felt identified with, such as not being able to play my instrument in major keys, having periods of not playing it at all due to laziness, lack of need, or feeling incapable of doing so, or even sleeping indefinitely because I don't have the strength to get out of bed. This is without mentioning how well it expresses the cruel reality of the stigma associated with mental health: not even the professionals themselves are capable of acting properly. In this book, we see this with the different doctors, therapists, and psychiatrists our protagonist must see until she finds someone who truly helps her, which is heartbreakingly true in most cases where a person suffers from a mental illness.
However, not everything is perfect in this book, as there are some details that could be improved, namely, the lack of consistency in the verb tenses throughout the story, a timeline that occasionally seems chaotic because the author goes off on tangents, and a number of grammatical and, especially, punctuation errors that make me think the editing wasn't entirely good. Therefore, for all these reasons, I would like to rate this book four out of five stars and congratulate its author for writing a work of this style of literature of almost the highest quality possible.
******
Keys to Harmony
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon