Books: A mother’s anxiety, a Millenial’s insecurity and a sexual seachange

Everyone and Everything - Nadine J Cohen (Pantera Press)

In 2015, suffering from grief and depression which left her unable to work and barely able to leave her home, writer Nadine J Cohen found solace and sanctuary at Sydney’s McIver’s Ladies Baths - Australia’s only ocean pool just for women and children.

These baths form a backdrop in Everyone and Everything, Cohen’s debut novel, which is a blend of autobiography and fiction. The story follows Yael Silver, a young woman who has been on the verge of suicide, as she tries to heal from the death of her mother from breast cancer and the end of a romantic relationship.

If that sounds heavy going, don’t be daunted. Cohen’s book is full of warmth and humour, more likely to make you laugh out loud than cry.

Yael’s road to recovery, along with traditional counselling, involves being a fun auntie to her sister Liora’s children, drinking too many dairy smoothies, reading really bad erotic stories and frequenting the women’s sea baths where she meets Shirley, an older woman who becomes a special friend.

There are lots of witty observations. Yael describes her anxiety as arriving “without warning and then wouldn’t leave. Like the Kardashians”. She worries that ringing up Lifeline is like cheating on her psychiatrist. When she can’t look after her house plants, much less herself, she describes their demise as inplantacide.

If you enjoyed Jonathan Seidler’s It’s a Shame About Ray, then this is one for you.