In this amalgam of genres, Marc Schneider describes his lifelong struggles with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and offers coping strategies.

Divided into three parts, the book begins with “The Yearbook,” in which Schneider chronicles his life. The author grew up during the 1970s in a household dominated by his emotionally abusive mother. He dealt with anxiety through repetitive behaviors. A decade of self-harm ensued as he attended eight colleges over 12 years and received an OCD diagnosis at age 28. After marrying and starting a family, he worked various jobs before becoming a high school marketing teacher and football coach.

Schneider draws on his experiences, years spent in therapy, and wide-receiver playmaking to inform the narrative’s second part, “The Playbook.” Here he offers strategies intended to help readers manage stressful moments and transform obsessiveness into a strength.

The third part, “The Workbook,” consists of 850 self-help acronyms (“FAULT: Find an Unfortunate Lesson Taught”) and accompanying tips that serve as daily drills.

Schneider’s personal story is highly engaging, with illuminating detail rendered artfully. For example, discussing his OCD onset, he recalls seeing, as a child, a Hot Wheels car under a chair, then hearing an unfamiliar voice say: “Pick it up, or Dad is dead.” ”I stared at the number six painted on my toy car. It was imprinted on my mind: One, two, three, four, five, six. One two, three, four, five six. One, two, three, four, five, six. …I listened to the voice. A life depended on it.”

Unfortunately, that same urge to be artful proves frustrating in part two, where wordiness and awkward metaphors obscure directives (“If one is to take their best foot forward, then the heel is positivity and the strike is forward-thinking”). Similarly, part three’s 850 acronyms, no matter how well intended, are often clumsy and overwhelming.

The book’s last two sections are a misfire. However, those interested in OCD will appreciate the author’s well-rendered personal story.

Also available as an ebook.