You Are Worth Fighting For

Ivy's book spoke directly to my heart on many levels. Incredible book! Ivy brings her most precious memories and life lessons of her Mom to life as she opens her heart to each reader and offers encouragement and strategies for anyone who has gone through personal struggles with mental wellness. Having met Ivy's mom, and knowing the strength she provided her family while fading her own journey with pancreatic cancer, I know Ivy continues to draw from her mom each day. Thank you, Ivy, for opening your heart to others and for breaking down barriers to mental wellness. This is a book I will read over and over again.

As a clinical therapist, it is crucial for me to provide tools and resources to clients that can be put into direct action. Every single lesson from Ivy and her amazing mom are just this; Powerful, impactful, and applicable. My life and mental health is better from this book and I’ve gifted this book to others and will continue to be on the Ivy Watts train for life. She’s a beautiful soul and a source of love and light in this world and you feel it in this book!

I cannot recommend this book enough! I had seen Ivy speak at the Active Minds/KyleCares Conference and her story is not only empowering, but life-changing. Such a great read but an even better person!

What an important, beautiful book. I loved how Ivy incorporated all of her mom's wonderful life lessons, and offered ways for readers to acknowledge where they need support and get the help they deserve. This is a must-read for anyone who wonders if they should take a closer look at their mental health, learn from someone who has had her own struggles, and apply each chapter to a part of their lives.

You Are Worth Fighting For is beautifully written and was just what I needed to hear during an uncertain time.

I am a nurse and I read it while I had no clue where I was going with my nursing career, I was either going to continue as a med/surg nurse which was the comfortable option and was the easy choice (but I was getting bored of), or branch out of my comfort zone and try hospice which I have always had a pull towards- BUT that would include completely getting out of my comfort zone (which I HATE) and starting something new not knowing what it would be like/if I would even like it.

I read the chapter about getting out of your comfort zone, highlighting and underlying passages as I went, and said to myself once I was done: FINE I WILL TRY HOSPICE ******* I am saying that in all caps because in my heart I wanted to try it all along, but my head was stopping me because I was nervous about branching out into the unknown. BUT I did it, I gained the courage and confidence in myself to push myself out of my comfort zone & hope for the best!
I have been working at my new job for about two months now and I have a strong feeling that this is what I was meant to do! I keep thinking to myself that “my heart is so happy” taking care of these patients and their families and I really do love what I am doing (couldn’t have said that before)!

You Are Worth Fighting For came into my life at the perfect time and gave me the inspiration I needed to get out of my head and follow my heart!!

Having lost our son, Kyle, to suicide when he was a 19-year old college student, our family foundation in his name (KyleCares) focuses on supporting high schools and colleges throughout New England with mental health and suicide prevention programs. When it comes to new partners, solutions, presentations, speeches, and even books that our foundation might recommend to schools or individuals, one criterion we go by when measuring the potential impact of what we’ve learned is to ask ourselves “would Kyle have benefitted from something like this”. It’s one way we judge whether to pursue partnerships further or push harder for schools to adopt a certain program we may have learned about. Your book is full of great lessons that I find myself wishing I stressed more with Kyle as his parent, or messages I know would have helped him had he read your book or heard you speak in person. I can only wonder if he would still be with us if he had the opportunity to be part of an Active Minds Chapter, or hear a Young Adult Speaker, or read your book. To me, that is the biggest compliment I can give you, so thank you for putting your thoughts and lessons into a book others can learn from. You should be proud of what you’ve produced.

Ivy does a beautiful job sharing her personal struggles with mental health in today's society, as well as sharing her mother's courageous story, reflecting on the lessons her mother instilled in her and helping others incorporate those lessons, along with Ivy's personal experience and education in the mental health industry, within our own lives. From being able to claim your worth ("nothing less than a bath and a half"), to self-work ("don't be sorry, be conscious"), Ivy's tools and resources in this book, along with her mother's legacy, helps you feel seen, heard and valued, no matter what your current circumstances look like. "You Are Worth Fighting For" is an amazing and comforting read for anyone feeling lost, for anyone needing support and for anyone who needs to know they are not alone.

I loved Ivy's book! Whether you have a “unique” mental health issue this book will help you. It has a lot of fantastic sayings & quotes. What i love the most is that she wrote “unique” because none of us asked to have anxiety, depression. This book will help you have a different perspective on life and will make you have a good cry. We all have been through chaotic times in life and it’s okay to feel sad, mad, angry, etc., but most important we have today / tomorrow to start a life we want to live! I hope this book helps everyone the way it helped me in certain situations

Ivy released this book at the perfect time for me personally. Feeling the weight of work, my personal life, and much more, I needed to be reminded about how much I am capable of and what I deserve in this crazy world! Each chapter is filled with encouraging words from Ivy and all the amazing things she learned from her late mother. From the second I read this book, those mantras stuck with me. Specifically, “nothing less than a bath and a half”. It’s important to prioritize your mental health and this book is a perfect start for a self help journey.Books like Ivy’s truly remind me that “we’re not really strangers”- meaning we all have our battles, we are all dealing with stuff big and small, but it’s about how we take these uncomfortable conversations and moments, and respond to them, without reacting. Truly a great read. Don’t hesitate to start your self help journey!

You Are Worth Fighting For comes at a time when there is a spotlight on mental illness (especially in the athletic community), and an emphasis is placed on removing the stigma of seeking treatment. Ms. Watts is very transparent and shares her own struggles with the hope that her suffering does not have to be experienced by others. She talks of the importance of looking past the public persona of the "perfect person" to seeing the real person who could be dealing with crippling anxiety, depression or other issues, often brought on by a negative sense of self-worth.
 

Ms. Watts shares the painful story of her mother's courageous battle with pancreatic cancer, her positive outlook regardless of the situation, and how her "sayings" motivated her to write her first book. It is truly inspiring how she incorporated those quotes into each chapter and related how you can use each quote to improve your self-love and self-worth.

I especially liked the questions that she suggested that you ask yourself - questions that make you think about how you think about yourself. And how she suggested that you challenge yourself is excellent. Ms. Watts provides you with some tools to utilize to help you reach your goal of improved self-love and self-worth. I highly recommend reading this book because coming from someone who has been there, she definitely knows what she is talking about.