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pr_aniya's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
One of my reading intentions for 2024 is read more widely. I found this book on Libby last year and decided it would be a good time to now. I am so happy I stubbled across this book because I devoured it and it slightly broken me in ways a good book does. Molly is raw and open when she writes about her experience of being physical disable with cerebral palsy and how it effects her relationships with parents, lovers, travel, grief and her body. Her writing is so good and she describes a specific perspective but the emotional heartbeat transcends to feelings that left me needing a crying break between essays.
It is clear that the essays are a collection from other publications as there is repeated themes and topics, but she explored so many ideas each time.
It is clear that the essays are a collection from other publications as there is repeated themes and topics, but she explored so many ideas each time.
I blame [my body] for making me feel selfish all the time, because my attention is turned so thoroughly inward, attending to its needs. I blame it for my fear that my writing will always be narrow, hemmed in by its hurt and relentlessness. I blame it for screwing with my plans, for always demanding revision to fit its stringent reality. I blame it for the fact that I'm alone here, though I chose it... Above all, though, I blame my body for the fact that, after all these years, I'm still grieving a plain stupid grief that I can't hide. I blame it for being itself, for existing to be ruined and repaired.
cmorrisclark's review
5.0
After reading Molly McCully Brown's works, I started buying copies of her work for friends. So that says a lot. Tender, insightful and thoughtful essays about our bodies, belonging and community.
pokeypapaya's review
5.0
i have no words for how incredible this book truly was. the first three essays were required reading for a writing course I’m taking and i was so struck by them that i had to read the whole book. brown has such an incredible talent for poetically capturing the nuance of her experiences and musings. her explorations of literature, family, religion, and disability were enlightening. almost every essay gave me chills, and many brought me to tears. i’m not sure i’ve ever felt so seen by a piece of writing. this book cut me to my core and i’m sure i will keep returning to it. grateful to have stumbled across it
molly_dettmann's review
4.0
Beautiful and insightful writing, these essays give the reader a look at what it is like to live, write, love, have faith, and more while living with cerebral palsy, as told by Molly McCully Brown from her own personal experience. They’re essays that talk about a lot of different topics, but because of the personal nature that is still the heart of each one, this book reads almost memoir-ish to me. As a collection of essays some parts get repetitive since some were published individually before. My favorite essays were The Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded and The Broken County: On Disability and Desire.
novelesque_life's review
4.0
RATING: 4 STARS
I heard about Molly McCully Brown from a poet friend, so went looking for her poetry collection [b:The Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded: Poems|30299014|The Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded Poems|Molly McCully Brown|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1464994915l/30299014._SX50_.jpg|50780677]. As I was searching the library catalogue, I found that Brown recently also wrote a collection of essay. So, I put a hold on both. I started this cute smaller book and wow, Brown is definitely a poet. Her language in this book is delicious with imagery. Brown discusses many topics in this book, but her advocacy on disabilities is high among them. With her imagery she is able to give her readers more than just a little look into her life. I do not have a "disability" but have been really advocating on my own behalf regarding my mental health. There were aspects of Brown's journey that comforted me in knowing I am not alone with thoughts of loneliness. If poetry is not your thing, but you enjoy memoirs, creative nonfiction or essays you might want to slip this in your TBR list.
I heard about Molly McCully Brown from a poet friend, so went looking for her poetry collection [b:The Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded: Poems|30299014|The Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded Poems|Molly McCully Brown|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1464994915l/30299014._SX50_.jpg|50780677]. As I was searching the library catalogue, I found that Brown recently also wrote a collection of essay. So, I put a hold on both. I started this cute smaller book and wow, Brown is definitely a poet. Her language in this book is delicious with imagery. Brown discusses many topics in this book, but her advocacy on disabilities is high among them. With her imagery she is able to give her readers more than just a little look into her life. I do not have a "disability" but have been really advocating on my own behalf regarding my mental health. There were aspects of Brown's journey that comforted me in knowing I am not alone with thoughts of loneliness. If poetry is not your thing, but you enjoy memoirs, creative nonfiction or essays you might want to slip this in your TBR list.
madisg's review
4.0
in this collection of essays, brown writes more than once about representation, about the profound experience of seeing herself in the writing of others, and the importance of writing the kind of thing other disabled people can recognize themselves in.
i read her essay “calling long distance,” included in this collection, in my dorm room in the spring of 2019. i was in a raw time of my life — for the first time, it was occurring to me that the sunk-in-my-bones feeling of what i now know as disability was shared by other people. i was nervous to use the word “disabled,” thinking maybe it didn’t apply to me. the way brown described being in pain at a party bit right at my heart. i could’ve written the words i was reading. it wasn’t the only data point i was working off of, but reading that essay pushed me over the edge towards knowing i was disabled, too.
similarly, this collection found me at a time in my life where i needed the author’s honest clarity about being alive in a different body. i have so much gratitude for her work, and i can’t wait to return to this again throughout my life.
i read her essay “calling long distance,” included in this collection, in my dorm room in the spring of 2019. i was in a raw time of my life — for the first time, it was occurring to me that the sunk-in-my-bones feeling of what i now know as disability was shared by other people. i was nervous to use the word “disabled,” thinking maybe it didn’t apply to me. the way brown described being in pain at a party bit right at my heart. i could’ve written the words i was reading. it wasn’t the only data point i was working off of, but reading that essay pushed me over the edge towards knowing i was disabled, too.
similarly, this collection found me at a time in my life where i needed the author’s honest clarity about being alive in a different body. i have so much gratitude for her work, and i can’t wait to return to this again throughout my life.
ameliasbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
Very raw, honest and insightful essays. Not in a linear structure and sometimes a bit too repetitive. Reads like a collection of pieces that have been published in other publications before.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Chronic illness, Medical trauma, and Medical content
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Grief, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicidal thoughts