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lmjones's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
I really love that this book exists. I thought almost every story in here was quite good. There’s only one that I remember rubbing me the wrong way. What’s great about this book is that it’s hope-filled. You read these stories about all these different people and their different diagnoses and circumstances and each delivers beautiful and often hard-won wisdom…except the one that just came off dogmatic and still angry.
One thought I had though while reading this was that it might be a bit of a heavy read for teens even though it’s YA. Some stories were well suited for that audience, while I thought a few would have freaked my depressed teen self way out.
One thought I had though while reading this was that it might be a bit of a heavy read for teens even though it’s YA. Some stories were well suited for that audience, while I thought a few would have freaked my depressed teen self way out.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Minor: Chronic illness, Deadnaming, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, and Suicide attempt
paigewrasse's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
daenknight's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
miss_majuu's review
3.0
Overall I am quite disappointed because this was not the important and impactful collection I imagined it to be.
Most of the essays I found interesting and insightful but there were so incredibly many piece where I did not understand why they're part of this collection. Multiple pieces do not mention mental health at all and even more do not "start a conversation about mental health".
I also was very confused on what the intend and the target audience of this collection were: this is advertised as primarily for young adults but there are so many pieces about adult experiences no teenager has experienced yet.
I didn't get what some parts were trying to do because they were more autobiographical than advise or conversation starters.
Furthermore I do not think this was a well edited collection: there were five chapters with an introduction but no pieces in that chapter related or had anything to do with the set topic of the chapter.
There were also a lot of different pieces of media but the same kind was always grouped together, e.g. there are around five illustrations but they're all in the same chapter, never anywhere else just all in one bulk, which made for quite a jarring reading experience.
My favorite essay was Coda by Meredith Russo
My overall average rating is 2.8⭐️
Most of the essays I found interesting and insightful but there were so incredibly many piece where I did not understand why they're part of this collection. Multiple pieces do not mention mental health at all and even more do not "start a conversation about mental health".
I also was very confused on what the intend and the target audience of this collection were: this is advertised as primarily for young adults but there are so many pieces about adult experiences no teenager has experienced yet.
I didn't get what some parts were trying to do because they were more autobiographical than advise or conversation starters.
Furthermore I do not think this was a well edited collection: there were five chapters with an introduction but no pieces in that chapter related or had anything to do with the set topic of the chapter.
There were also a lot of different pieces of media but the same kind was always grouped together, e.g. there are around five illustrations but they're all in the same chapter, never anywhere else just all in one bulk, which made for quite a jarring reading experience.
My favorite essay was Coda by Meredith Russo
My overall average rating is 2.8⭐️
noragrace89's review against another edition
4.0
“I was trying to be brave. I was trying to let people in. I was trying. I am who I am today because of my messes. Because I’ve survived them. Because I’ve written about them. Because I’ve learned from them, because I keep searching for new tools to clean them up, because I keep trying to heal.”
finalgirlfall's review against another edition
3.0
there weren't a great deal of essays regarding more stigmatized disorders or symptoms, such as psychosis. i found that disappointing.
alex_s_113's review against another edition
I liked a few entries, but a lot of what I read made me physically squirm or itch. Would prefer more anecdotes over stream-of-consciousness.
Still a good book to acknowledge all the mental struggles and conditions many people feel they’re the only ones going through. Just not my jam.
Still a good book to acknowledge all the mental struggles and conditions many people feel they’re the only ones going through. Just not my jam.
whatsmacksaid's review against another edition
3.0
Honestly this is a very hard read. The essays are wide-ranging enough that I can't imagine a reader who wouldn't be triggered in one way or another, so it's a good thing the essays are so short. Some were better than others.
This isn't a book that should be read all at once. However, it does complete its purported goal in that it is a good starting place for discussions about mental health and various mental illnesses.
This isn't a book that should be read all at once. However, it does complete its purported goal in that it is a good starting place for discussions about mental health and various mental illnesses.