Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

What My Mother and I Don't Talk About: Fifteen Writers Break the Silence by Michele Filgate

17 reviews

caribbeangirlreading's review

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

3.0

Some of the essays were hard to read. Some were heart warming. A few were mediocre. Overall, though I found this to be a very cathartic read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Blood, Mental illness, and Adult/minor relationship

cady_sass's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

This is a heavy read. As with any anthology or collection of essays with multiple authors, some things are going to resonate and others are not. I think there is genuinely something for everyone here, whether your relationship with your mother is good or great or toxic or non-existent. A lot of tough topics are handled very eloquently and it may be tough to get through at times but it’s a worthy read. I’d recommend this to most people, I think you’ll find something that sticks with you for a long time to come. I know I did. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Cursing, Ableism, Racism, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Sexism, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Medical content, Physical abuse, Violence, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, and Suicide

sakisreads's review

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

3.5

What My Mother and I Don’t Talk About is a hard-hitting, (sometimes) harrowing set of essays written by a range of authors. I loved the ways in which it was so nuanced; even when some mothers inflicted harm, their children found ways to forgive. I read this with the knowledge that regardless of what pain people can inflict on their loved ones, the bond can still be so strong and well, relentless 😳 I found the essay by Nayomi Munaweera especially challenging 🥲 

All in all, difficult but definitely worth reading 👏🏼

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gaslighting, Rape, Body shaming, Child abuse, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Self harm, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt

its_j's review

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective relaxing fast-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Body shaming

Moderate: Mental illness, Death of parent, Homophobia, Fatphobia, Eating disorder, and Drug use

klor's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

3.5

Picked this back up ahain after I DNF-ed earlier in the year because I wasn't quite ready for it. The book has a rich variety of stories and authors and I find myself particularly drawn to the more reflective and longform ones. I enjoyed Thesmophoria, 16 Minetta Lane, and the last three stories (Her Body/My Body, All About My Mother, and I Met Fear on the Hill). I also had a soft spot for The Same Story About my Mother. It's insightful how I can relate my relationship with my own mother spanning through various moments in various stories. A lot of these are heavy and talk well into traumas but also in how complex love and relationships are. I probably still won't recommend it to my mother, but it did make me want to get to know her more, complications and all.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual assault, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness

adeliab's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Abandonment, Child abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Mental illness

Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, and Ableism

Minor: Pregnancy

florecita_lectora's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, and Grief

juliaaaaa's review

dark emotional hopeful reflective

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Rape, Mental illness, and Chronic illness

sjanke2's review

emotional reflective fast-paced

2.25

 

This collection started strong and waned from there. The ones I enjoyed are the only ones I remember (Alexander Chee and Alexander Chee). I wonder if each contributor got to pick the narrator who would read their piece, as I didn't care for a couple of the voices.

 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Racial slurs, Grief, Sexual assault, Self harm, Rape, Mental illness, Fatphobia, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Car accident, and Child abuse

sonjapardee's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring reflective medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Death of parent, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Pedophilia