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moonyreadsbystarlight's review
4.5
The only real drawback of this was some of the discussion around autism in one of the essays. It felt very dated and I'm not sure how to feel about some of the discussion around functioning labels. So that is why I didn't give it a full 5 stars. The rest of the collection was really solid and very interesting.
Graphic: Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Domestic abuse, Ableism, Death, Suicide attempt, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Rape and Suicide
creativerunnings's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Ableism, Bullying, Confinement, Medical content, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Chronic illness, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
moonandmadness's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Mental illness and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide
Minor: Domestic abuse and Rape
anovelbeauty's review
5.0
Given my own internal rules about rating anthologies/poetry collections/etc. I probably shouldn’t be giving this a star rating. However, I wanted to give you a visual depiction of how much I loved this book so you would read the review and hopefully /the book/.
I think it’s important for everyone to read about the experiences of people who have gone through life differently than them, but it’s /imperative/ for those who are entering/in service and helping professions. As someone in training to work in the mental health field, I cannot limit myself to descriptions of mental illnesses in textbooks or a list of symptoms in the DSM if I hope to be a fully rounded clinician. It is so important to read first-hand accounts, to remind ourselves of the humanity and complexity of mental health and illness. The way Wang weaves her essays is not only beautiful in a purely literary sense, but it is beautiful because it is so human, so connective. She draws you into her world and shows you, as much as is possible, what it is like to exist in tandem with schizoaffective disorder, part of the collected schizophrenias. This is not, however, an entirely bleak book. There is hope throughput and Wang weaves humor and snark even into the hardest of moments. That being said, there are times where the book is hard to read or made me cry for her suffering. Regardless of what I felt at any given part of the book, it was continually emotional and impactful. While I would recommend this book to anyone, I think it is absolutely a must read for anyone in healthcare or public service. Build your understanding and empathy; read this book. Digest it slowly. Ponder it. Underline, annotate, and dogear if that’s your thing, just don’t ignore its value. Esmé Weijun Wang has laid her soul and her sufferings in this series of essays and it’s the least we can do to give her words the collective space they deserve in our minds (and bookshelves).
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Suicidal thoughts, Chronic illness, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Self harm, and Medical content
Minor: Suicide, Police brutality, and Pedophilia