chamiehawk's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
0.5
I absolutely loved this book and related with the author throughout. She had alot of good advice on how to move forward with "the beast " in your life.
obliquomancer's review against another edition
3.0
A compellingly well-written memoir.
This was the first book I'd ever read which fully expressed how it feels to have depression - not just the 'grey cloud' of apathy and numbness, but also the intense episodes of self-loathing and self-destructive behaviours - and as such was enormously reassuring and even healing for me personally. While I'm tempted to recommend it to others struggling with depression, its accounts of compulsive behaviour, self-harm and domestic abuse would, I imagine, render it extremely triggering for many people.
(Which means that it's probably best aimed at people looking to understand depression in *others* - although the extreme nature of some of Thompson's experiences may lead some to assume that the author's depression was *caused by* the negative influences in her life - whereas many people suffer depression for no discernible reason & in fact having no concrete 'origin' is a leading cause of frustration in those affected by mental illness! It does, however, serve as an excellent chronicle of the thought processes and peculiar logic typical of depression.)
This was the first book I'd ever read which fully expressed how it feels to have depression - not just the 'grey cloud' of apathy and numbness, but also the intense episodes of self-loathing and self-destructive behaviours - and as such was enormously reassuring and even healing for me personally. While I'm tempted to recommend it to others struggling with depression, its accounts of compulsive behaviour, self-harm and domestic abuse would, I imagine, render it extremely triggering for many people.
(Which means that it's probably best aimed at people looking to understand depression in *others* - although the extreme nature of some of Thompson's experiences may lead some to assume that the author's depression was *caused by* the negative influences in her life - whereas many people suffer depression for no discernible reason & in fact having no concrete 'origin' is a leading cause of frustration in those affected by mental illness! It does, however, serve as an excellent chronicle of the thought processes and peculiar logic typical of depression.)
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