I Can Fix This | Book Review

I can think of no better book recommendation for Mental Health Awareness Month than I Can Fix This by Kristina Kusmic. If you love someone who is struggling with their mental health, this book is for you.

“Mom, if the only thing keeping you from killing yourself was being high, would you do drugs?”

Kristina’s son, Luka

I Can Fix This: And Other Lies I Told Myself
While Parenting My Struggling Child
by Kristina Kuzmic
Non-Fiction, Parenting, Mental Health, Addiction, Memoir

Kristina Kusmic is a social media entertainer who has lovingly earned the title of “parenting guru” from her fans. Her humorous videos capture the very real ups and downs of life, sprinkled with hope and wisdom. When my children were little, Kristina’s videos were a calm in the storm. She could make me feel seen, heard, and loved, and even bring a rare smile to my face while I was trying to survive another 3 am feeding.

Kristina’s fame skyrocketed a few years ago, earning her a book deal, a speaking tour, and recognition from Oprah. Little did her fans know–little did I know–that while she was making sold-out crowds laugh, she was dying inside. At home, her son Luka was battling depression, suicide ideation, and addiction, and spending stints of time in rehab and mental health facilities.

This book is Kristina and Luka’s story. (Shared with Luka’s permission and participation.) It’s a love story about a mother and a son facing the worst kind of storm you can imagine. In true Kristina style, she shares the bad and the ugly right alongside the good. She is open about the mistakes she made, and generously offers her hard-earned insights to other parents/loved ones who are walking the same path.

Just as the title promises, each chapter is a lie, or an unhelpful way of thinking that made this journey harder. Kristina reveals how these mindsets sabotaged her parenting, and what happened when she changed her perspective.

I found this book deeply relatable. As a mother, I could relate to Kristina’s desire to help her son, and make it all better. I could relate to her pain and desperation, as she helplessly watched the little boy she loved disappear into a dark place.

As a person who has struggled with mental illness and suicide ideation, I could relate to Luka. I could see how his mother’s well-intentioned, but failed attempts to help were alienating him and driving him deeper within himself. I could relate to the ways he tried to communicate, but went unheard. I could relate to the shame and self-loathing he carried when his pain began to affect the people he loved.

This book is not a how-to book. You will not find a checklist of what to do when someone you love is depressed. (And may I say, any book that claims to be that is probably not worth reading. Mental health and addiction are not one-size-fits-all.)

What this book is, is healthy, well-reflected-upon encouragement from someone who has been there. It is a collection of emotional tools to help you steer through your own unique storm.

This book was an honor to read, and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves someone with addiction or mental health challenges.

We aren’t open to learning if we’ve already decided we know what the problem is, and how to solve it.

Kristina Kuzmic

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