Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

Lord of the Butterflies by Andrea Gibson

19 reviews

noura's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-paced

3.0

To annotate a poetry book is like wanting to create pockets of time to come back to every time you feel like existence is a burden you can no longer bear.

Andrea Gibson excels at that. That said this collection was not one that I can see myself coming back to often or even remembering what I read.

Anyway, pick up the audiobook if you get the chance because it being narrated by the author gave it an extra star. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Transphobia

mmontgomery's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

This wrecked me a lot. I’m a bit of a mess over here writing this. Everyone should read it immediately. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Addiction and War

Minor: Islamophobia and Murder

hwerle's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Mass/school shootings, and Suicide attempt

denaliann's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and War

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Gun violence, and Mass/school shootings

hadiii's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

2.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Gun violence, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

madamegeneva's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

Beautiful, sad, and hopeful all at once. “Orlando” and “America, Reloading” were heartbreaking dedications to America’s gun violence crisis - “Orlando” in particular made me emotional. 

My two favourites were “Fight for Love” and “Living Proof”. “Living Proof”’s story of the author and the man on the bridge intertwined was extremely moving to me. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Gun violence, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

katharina90's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

5.0

I have so much love for Andrea Gibson and there are many poems and lines in this collection that I keep coming back to. "America, Reloading" in particular is incredibly powerful.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Addiction, Confinement, and Transphobia

rgbees's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Mass/school shootings, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, and Police brutality

just_one_more_paige's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0

 

I decided to pick up a poetry collection during April, in honor of National Poetry Month, and though it took me so long to get to it that this review is getting posted in May, I'm really glad this was the one I chose. It was a random selection from my library's Poetry Month display....I had never heard of it before, but the cover and title (that play on Lord of the Flies definitely had me curious), just caught my attention and, not having any frame of reference for poetry really (with my once/year attempt to read a collection), I went for it. 

 

In Lord of the Butterflies, Gibson addresses a number of salient "hot topics," covering more personal items like gender and sexuality and love and relationships, as well as more politically leaning ones, like gun violence and mental health and refugee crises and the general dangers of the extremity of conservatism in the US. While a few of the poems here were a bit lighter, dealing with finding love and the joy in small everyday moments of connection in relationships, the majority of this collection was intense to read. Gibson's language includes quality word play and rhythm, association and metaphor, but all of it in a much more transparent and accessible way than some of the previous collections I've read (looking at you, Citizen). All their meaning and themes are clear, and evoke incredible emotion (see listed below my list of favorite poems, with short snippets about why and their emotional impacts), blending art and activism in a "for everyone" kind of way. 

 

There was a blurb for this collection that I read that said something like: it's an “oscillating between activism and love.” And I don't think I could say anything more spot on, as a description for this experience. At times there was almost some whiplash in the hardcore back and forth between those two perspectives. But like, the good kind of whiplash...if that exists? I was very invested. Also, I can definitely see in these poems the background Gibson has in spoken word performance - these would lend themselves to that style of performance very well. Overall, this is a great collection for a "I'm not sure I 'get' poetry" type reader (so, me, haha).  

 

Favorite Poems: 

"Good Light" (especially part one) 

"Diagnosis" (though all the short poems packed a major punch) 

"Radio" (the word play and meaning and rhythm and the way it highlights the little moments in a life together is so touching) 

"Weather" (this feels like a high quality spoken word poem; I love it’s flow, and the tying together of memory moments and thematic element of cold/snow) 

"America, Reloading" (with its words twisted together in multiple meanings and metaphors mixed with unbridled truths; HARD to read, ooof) 

 

Quotes: 

"I suffer / from unrequited self love. / I love myself, but I don't / love myself / back." ("Diagnosis") 

“Understanding why we're bad at love / doesn't necessarily make us good at it.” (from "Bad at Love") 

“Some people fall out of love. / I jump /to feel the safety / of the parachute.” (from "Bad at Love") 

“...Imagining until we grieve. / Grieving until we act / like we know what kind of laughter / is the sound at the beginning / of the end of the world.” (from "Until We Act") 

“But no one heals what they refuse to look at.” (from "Daytime, Somewhere") 

“…that our veins are absolutely strings / tied to other people's kites, / that our lives are that connected.” (from "Living Proof") 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence

Moderate: Child death, Death, Mass/school shootings, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Addiction and War

katharina90's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

5.0

I have so much love for Andrea Gibson and there are many poems and lines in this collection that I keep coming back to. "America, Reloading" in particular is incredibly powerful.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Addiction, Confinement, and Transphobia