A review by tuckeralmengor
How to Make Friends with the Dark by Kathleen Glasgow

5.0

Many thanks to Delacorte Books for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review

I got to meet Kathleen at the National Book Festival!!


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Oh my god. I don't think I have EVER read a book better than this one. It made me giggle. It made me cry. This is a book that everyone needs to read. And then read again. And again.

This book but me with a tsunami of emotions. Stronger than anything a book has ever made me feel in a while.

Grief is a very hard thing to put on to paper. I mean having someone you love die is one of the hardest things any human will ever have to face. I have been fortunate to only face it once. Even so, I know how painful it can be. I could relate to Tiger's pain. I know the feeling of not knowing what to do, what to say or who to turn to.

Even though, I've never experienced foster care of anything like that, I still felt Tiger's fear and sadness when she was put into the system. When I went through the process of admitting myself to Psych Inpatient, I felt out of control. I felt like my life had been taken away in one fell swoop.

For a rather large portion of the novel, Tiger is struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts. Even though it's never directly saud, it's heavily implied and rather obvious. This also broke my heart because I've been there. I know how it feels to get sick of people saying "Things will get better" or "Keep going"

One of Tiger's many frustrations and fears was being moved from home to home. I also could relate to this. As I said earlier, I am fortunate enough to live with the same family for my entire life. But while I was at the hospital, I was constantly being moved from room to room and the staff was changing. Every time, I felt comfortable with one set of staff, it would switch and I'd have to do it all over again.

Finally, I love the honesty in this book. Most books about mental health and death do say dumb things like "Things will get better" and "Keep going". This one doesn't. It says that life is hard and that's okay. It's okay to be in pain. The key is learning how to get through it.


Many thanks to Delacorte for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review

Resources:
Suicide Lifeline
HopeLine
TeenLine
If you are experiencing a medical emergency, please call 911 or visit your nearest emergency room

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