Terese Marie Mailhot grew up on the Seabird Island Indian reservation in British Colombia. Upon leaving the reservation she takes to writing. Heart Berries emerges following a suicide attempt when Terese checks herself into hospital where she is diagnosed with PTSD, Bipolar II and an eating disorder. Upon checking in to hospital, her one request is she is allowed to continue to write.

In hospital she pens letters to Casey, her husband, who at the time is her ex. The result is a memoir recounting her trauma, pain, anger and conflicted emotions. The style is choppy, chaotic and raw and certainly will not be a book for everyone but I found the style compelling. It urged me onwards to read.

It's a short book, but full of heavy themes touching on abuse, mental health, suicide, addiction, motherhood. Mailhot also examines sexuality, white male fragility, privilege, poverty, and shame.

Despite the heavy themes, the book drew me in and I think because Mailhot approaches her trauma, pain and shame in a way that doesn't have to focus on all the painful details, it provides a snapshot of emotions, conflicts, and the real rawness of her psyche at the time of writing.

Heart Berries is quite unlike many memoirs I've read, but it's powerful and distinctive and will stay with me for a long time.