Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women by Kate Moore

15 reviews

gisreading's review

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad

5.0

This book tears your heart apart for these poor women while leaving you amazed by their bravery, and frustrates you to no end at the selfish, greedy people that will do anything for money. It's entirely one thing to hear about the radium girls in passing as you grow up, hearing only the surface of what they suffered in their short lives. It's another to read in detail the horrifying way these women's lives ended, and the way so many people knew and ignored the dangers they knew radium possesses. It's yet another terrifying example of what money and power can do to cause innocent people their lives, while others prosper and turn a blind eye. These women will be forever loved and adored for all they have done for others, as well as celebrated for their amazing fight for justice. Rest easy, girls.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Terminal illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Mental illness and Miscarriage

oh_no's review

challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

5.0

absolutely awful content, wonderful book! honestly, if this wasn't non-fiction I'd classify it as a horror! I went through so many emotions while reading : shock, sadness, indignation, anger and sorrow for all those poor girls. my only complaint is that the story is at times hard to follow, sometimes the character have extremely similar, if not identical names. this can't be helped though, as this follows the story of real people. 

would recommend to those who have the stomach for it, regardless of whether they usually read non-fiction (I personally, do not!)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Grief

Moderate: Infertility, Mental illness, and Miscarriage

Minor: Abortion and War

aahrobot's review

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

I know others have said they don’t like how dramatic the author can be, but I think it makes it more interesting. I enjoy the facts, statistics, and quotes, but I really loved how Kate Moore showed us more of these women. Their lives, families, hobbies. I got to know each one of them, just as she had, and I think it adds more to the story. It makes this nonfiction story read like fiction. I learned things, felt things, and ultimately enjoyed the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Death, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcohol

o_watson's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

savreads28's review

dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

2.0

The book was very informative on the subject of the Radium Girls. There was almost too much detail and getting through the book is definitely not for the weak. I listened to a lot of it on audiobook. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

infinite_harness9030's review

dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

Moderate: Infertility, Terminal illness, Grief, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Murder, and Pregnancy

jonie_rich's review against another edition

dark inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

I thought this was beautifully written! Be that as it may, you’re going to have to be in a good headspace to read this. It is grotesque, heartbreaking, infuriating, and chilling. The post script genuinely caused me to gasp. I had to take a break a couple of days in and read something else for a little while. However, I absolutely recommend this book, especially if this is a subject or a time period that you’re interested in. The author clearly did her research. I learned a lot while I was reading it and found it very compelling.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

jasperkelley2015's review

emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.5

A book that is out of my usual comfort zone of reading. But I'm glad I stuck with it and finished this book. It is LONG but super well written. The women the book is centered around were fantastic choices. By the end, I felt like they were someone I could hung out with. It is a very difficult book to get through, and hearing these stories is not easy. But they are stories that need to be told!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy

irishrose7777's review

dark emotional sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

chezler24's review

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

I was finally able to re-read this book again after several years. I really enjoyed how care was put into showing the personalities and lives behind "The Radium Girls." Too often with historical accounts, individuals can be reduced to lifeless facts and statistics, but this author went out and sought to shed light on the humanity of the girls as they faced what occurred. The reader gets to experience the awe and joy of landing a coveted job as a dial painter, the confusion when multiple painters were failing mysteriously ill, the anger and determination of the court cases, and the triumph and drive in the court's final decisions combined with the girl's opportunities to help the scientific world that once threatened to bury them (literally and figuratively). This group of workers which could have been relegated to a simple footnote in history has a legacy that saved others regarding understanding the effects of radiation on the body, improving workplace environments, and creating legal precedents to help others get the justice they deserved. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Cancer, Death, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail