Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot

39 reviews

stevie's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation

nadinebean's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Self harm, and Abortion

Minor: Cursing, Racism, Grief, and Colonisation

hannaheiserman's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

mscalls's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

1.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

jayisreading's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

4.5

It’s always hard to review a memoir, considering how personal it is. For me, at least, it is never the content of what the author chooses to share that is under review. It generally tends to drift towards execution of whatever story it is that they want to share. In the case of Heart Berries, I can tell how much care Mailhot put into sharing such vulnerable aspects of her life, having dealt with so much pain. Considering this, it was such a delight reading her acknowledgments and seeing the absolute joy and support she has for and from her loved ones.

Mailhot thoughtfully writes about various events that occurred during her lifetime, musings of being an Indigenous woman, and white society; all of which were told in a nonlinear fashion. On the note of white society, I found her description of self-esteem being a white invention really profound, especially with her conclusion that it seemed like “identity capitalism.” Mailhot’s comments on what forgiveness meant in her culture and white culture also left an impression on me; how the latter sees it as “letting go,” while the former rejects the idea of framing pain like a problem with a solution.

When it comes to structure, admittedly, I wasn’t a fan of the nonlinear approach at first, but I realized how well it worked in this situation, considering the ways memory and trauma work. These rarely unfold in chronological order and, at least to me, it started to make sense to have the book structured the way it was. The lyricism of Mailhot’s writing ebbed and flowed. The times lyricism didn’t come through, it felt very rough around the edges, but it almost felt intentional. After all, thoughts are never that clean. The narrative wasn’t always easy to follow (and the overall structure being nonlinear doesn’t help), but in a way, I think that challenge is needed and thoughtfully questions what a memoir should be and how they are structured.

Overall, I found this to be a powerful memoir with raw emotions, leaving much for the reader to contemplate in such a short span of pages.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Abandonment

Moderate: Death, Eating disorder, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Forced institutionalization

whatannikareads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

probably one of the most well-executed books i've ever read. such a particular, poignant writing style that's unflinching, blunt, but emotional. can definitely understand why people would give it a 5/5. this is more of a me problem if anything--the book has many unspoken pockets of underlying meanings that require big brain and time to really dive into and process, and my pea brain and lack of free time prevented me from really sitting with the pieces, so i don't think i absorbed as much information as intended. but there are really powerful sentences in here that stand alone in their quality.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

atsundarsingh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

4.25

This was so, so hard to read. It was incredibly poetic, but also one of the rawest things I have ever read, and so painful. This is so intimate and personal, I almost can't believe the author shared all of this. Mailhot is so inspiring, and so intense. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Colonisation

teacupsandfirereads's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

3.5

This memoir is raw, unapologetic and unflinching. No matter now many times you read memoirs that depict the trauma of Indigenous peoples, each one is new and unique and showcases a different aspect. The prose that accompanied this story were perfectly paired. These stories need to be told, and heard.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Grief

bookdragon217's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

"Nothing is too ugly for this world, I think. It's just that people pretend not to see."

Heart Berries by Terese Mailhot is one of my favorite memoirs I read this year. I read this one back in July and it is only now that I can fully process some of my thoughts and feelings. Mailhot's writing is honest and raw and she holds nothing back. She bares all the ugliness on the pages but still leaves you with a semblance of hope. You're left contemplating about the complexities of the human condition and what it means to love so much that it hurts. You're also left wondering if it is possible to love someone fully when there is so much pain and trauma embedded in their loins. 

Mailhot takes you through her battles with mental illness, the history and trauma of Indigenous people, motherhood and longing to be loved. The book reads like an open wound as she picks away at the scabs and scars that are left behind from her trauma. You especially see this in the ways that she speaks directly to the pain she feels of not being seen and loved by her children's father and how that pain almost mirrors "madness".

The writing is absolutely exquisite. I highlighted so many passages that need further introspection. I will definitely reread this one because I feel like it will hit differently every time. What stays with me the most is how she writes about Indigenous women's pain and explains how humanity was born from pain. It is felt on every page. The quote I still think about is: "My people cultivated pain. In the way that god cultivated his garden, with the foresight that he could not contain or protect the life within it. Humanity was born out of pain." She's not afraid to speak about it and boldly calls it out. This book is one that haunts me because of it's unflinching manner and the way it bravely speaks truth to power. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Minor: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, and Abandonment

esmithumland's review against another edition

I knew nothing about this book except for the title, and I was surprised at how painful it was to listen to. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Colonisation