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laurathebookhermit 's review for:
Thank you to ECW Press and NetGalley for giving me access to an e-arc of this title.
I don't read a lot of memoirs, but as soon as I read the description for this I knew this would be a vital read for me and in my opinion, many others.
This is a challenging but beautiful read. The honesty of the experience of mental illness, trauma, and challenging family situations made me feel less like a monster. Hearing/reading the experience of the author in connection with fantasy stories, psychology, and in society, allowed me to really think and process mental illness and trauma from my own perspective but also look at it from a sociological view point. This is unique and very well done. There were so many interesting and thought provoking aspects. To name a couple... who are the author's a mentally ill persons story? What's the effects of black and white thinking on the experience of mental illness and the perception of it? Can some mental illness be prevented by changing the reactions to childhood trauma? Should someone who wishes to no longer be alive be allowed to choose assisted death?
I would recommend this to anyone who has mental illness, has friends/family members with mental illness, or wants to be a more understanding human... basically, anyone who is open to reading this absolutely should! However, I would recommend reading when on a resilient day. There are definitely some moments that could be triggering for those that have been through trauma and/or mental illness.
I also really appreciated that K.J. Aiello narrated the audio themselves. There has also clearly been a lot of research and learning happened over a long period of time. There are many sources referenced so it's not a 2 d experience of mental illness. It incorporates personal thoughts and processes, psychological research that helps to explain different aspects, plus interludes into fiction that really explores trauma and mental illness and how we survive.
I don't read a lot of memoirs, but as soon as I read the description for this I knew this would be a vital read for me and in my opinion, many others.
This is a challenging but beautiful read. The honesty of the experience of mental illness, trauma, and challenging family situations made me feel less like a monster. Hearing/reading the experience of the author in connection with fantasy stories, psychology, and in society, allowed me to really think and process mental illness and trauma from my own perspective but also look at it from a sociological view point. This is unique and very well done. There were so many interesting and thought provoking aspects. To name a couple... who are the author's a mentally ill persons story? What's the effects of black and white thinking on the experience of mental illness and the perception of it? Can some mental illness be prevented by changing the reactions to childhood trauma? Should someone who wishes to no longer be alive be allowed to choose assisted death?
I would recommend this to anyone who has mental illness, has friends/family members with mental illness, or wants to be a more understanding human... basically, anyone who is open to reading this absolutely should! However, I would recommend reading when on a resilient day. There are definitely some moments that could be triggering for those that have been through trauma and/or mental illness.
I also really appreciated that K.J. Aiello narrated the audio themselves. There has also clearly been a lot of research and learning happened over a long period of time. There are many sources referenced so it's not a 2 d experience of mental illness. It incorporates personal thoughts and processes, psychological research that helps to explain different aspects, plus interludes into fiction that really explores trauma and mental illness and how we survive.