Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott

13 reviews

javafenn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book was tough and I almost didn’t any to finish it but I’m glad I stuck with it. The book is heavy and also incredibly confusing for a good portion of it but it’s all clarified with the final 1.5 hours of listening time. The final part really brought everything together and wove Alice’s glaringly obvious mental illness with her ability to traverse her people’s stories and legends. The book is heavy though. She clearly has postpartum psychosis which is finally mentioned towards the end but even as the reader you think maybe she doesn’t sometimes. It’s a book you need to be in a secure headspace for but it’s a good book. The ending was great and I’m ultimately glad I listened on. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

toadfairy's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gore, Racism, Blood, and Grief

Minor: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Colonisation

awebofstories's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Cultural appropriation

minniepauline's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Colonisation

Moderate: Addiction and Alcoholism

fiaharringbook's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was a life-changer for me. It was like Get Out but make it Indigenous Canadian, meets Everything Everywhere All at Once or Interstellar. The scope of imagination, creativity and originality in the way this story was told was gob-smacking. My favourite book of the year so far, absolutely bloody exquisite, I cannot recommend enough.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism

jessicakornelsen's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Drug abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, and Classism

realityczar's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cannibalism

pomoevareads's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

And Then She Fell by Mohawk author Alicia Elliott is both simple and complex in its structure. It begins with a Mohawk woman (Alice) marrying a white man who studies indigenous culture, moves off the rez to a posh Toronto neighbourhood and has a baby. Alice struggles to connect to her daughter and descends into a psychosis where she believes others are out to take her daughter away from her. Then the story changes to one that takes place inside the time space web where each string is a different path and has a different outcome. The story becomes more difficult here as the characters mingle within the multiverse. Alice is guided to complete writing the Haudenosaunee Creation story which will affect future generations. Although future is also now, complex as you might see. 

For personal reasons, this book took me almost a week to finish reading and likely because of this I dropped parts of the thread now and then. Elliott writes in her acknowledgements that she has her own personal story of being disconnected. I felt the urge of the character of Alice within the prose as she battled against herself. 

I enjoyed reading the author’s matrilineal characters’ stories and how each woman was supported by the others. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Addiction, Racism, and Alcohol

drownedinfictionx's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

L

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, Dysphoria, and Classism

brit_is_reading's review against another edition

tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

To be totally honest, I nearly DNF'd this more than once in the time it took me to read. But once I hit about 64%, I decided to see it all the way through.

 While I was interested in the themes that Alicia Elliott was exploring in the first half of the book, I found the back half to fully descend into madness (which, I understand, is part of the plot), but was largely difficult to follow and understand.

I don't think I'm unable to explore dense material, but it just came across like there were so many interesting ideas here, and just one or two couldn't be decided upon - so it had to be all of them.

The end in particular, while I found it to be sweet as an idea, felt wholly out of place in comparison to the rest of the novel.

If I had to do it all over again, I’d probably skip this one. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child death, Racial slurs, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation

Minor: Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Cannibalism, and Pregnancy