Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life by Lulu Miller

34 reviews

chromatography's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism

Moderate: Racism, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts

alpal2020's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny reflective sad fast-paced

A fascinating story well told. The author intertwines her struggle to find meaning in life with the unwavering, unself-reflective confidence a pivotal scientist had in his.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Ableism, Mental illness, and Racism

sierrabowers's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

4.0

If you like reading about science and taxonomy, this would be a good book for you. If you’re loosely interested, maybe you would as well. I am not interested in these subjects but the way the author tied the subjects into her own story about life and how the universe is not as it seems… well I was interested to know why fish don’t exist. It was good book! Definitely not what I was expecting but it was enlightening and relaxing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Suicide attempt, Car accident, Death, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Racism, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Slavery, Suicide, Homophobia, Infertility, Pregnancy, Classism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Ableism, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gun violence, Medical content, Physical abuse, and Police brutality

averydappercat's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

This book has validated a feeling I've had for a while. I've been wanting to diversify the kinds of books I read in the past year or so and in doing so, started reading classics, nonfiction, and horror (genres I never used to read). This book felt the bridge that connected my foray into nonfiction and give me a much bigger understanding of things I did not expect to gain an understanding of. I expected this book to give a specific kind of catharsis and though I did not get that, I think I got something more profound that will stick with me in life moving forward.

I can't add this content warning in the tags because it's not on there for some reason, but content warning for

eugenics.

It really just shows up in the most unexpected places. It's not explicit and the topic is handled very well, so if you want to be in for a surprise and know you don't have triggers, then I recommend that you don't open the spoiler tag. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder and Mental illness

grey_jayne's review against another edition

emotional informative mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

3.75

I think the hype got to me on this one. It's good but I found it too meandering from the central premise at times. I did enjoy listening to it read by the author tho...and how she shared her queerness. Worth checking out.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Medical trauma, Racism, Classism, Colonisation, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, and Mental illness

Moderate: Police brutality

rin_dawg's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Rape and Pedophilia

confuzzledsheep's review

reflective medium-paced

3.5

If you are not a biologist, or even yet a Taxonomist, and want to reflect deeply on one's own sadness in the story of the author and David Starr Jordan, then this may be helpful for you. As a depressed biologist who's been long disillusioned with the myth of a Sole Genius Scientist and has already had many of the discussions within this book, I will rate it as passing. I found this book lacking in detail on David Starr Jordans life that I expected it to have- furter discussion of the problems with the Holotype model of taxonomy, the sheer brutality of scientific discovery during the time period. This book touches on those, but never gets as deep as it could. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Mental illness, Ableism, Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, Colonisation, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Death

Minor: Domestic abuse, Child death, and Child abuse

librarymouse's review

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

About a third of the way through this book, having googled David Starr Jordan, I was ready to finish this, as a hate reader if need be. Jordan was, without question, a horrible man. The atrocities he inflicted upon the world with his promotion of eugenics outweigh any good he may have done as a scientist by multiple orders of magnitude. Seeing Lulu Miller's hero worship of the man was off-putting, the more I learned of him. However, I ended up really enjoying this book as I read on, as Miller explores her own life alongside Jordan's, she brings along the reader. We learn of the atrocities he's committedin the same order she did while conducting the research for this book. It's still hard to have the hero worship of the young Jordan, with his love of stars and rescy jokes, when faced with the knowledge of his role in the American Eugenics movement.

Jordan's hands-on malicious acts, like his touring endorsement of eugenics and the possible murder by poison of his benefactor are completely bonkers. I am constantly amazed that people Revere him, while simultaneously understanding, as I, too have been in awe of the young man he once was.

This book breaks down every facet of Jordan, from his political, religious, and social beliefs; to his family life, addressing each idiosyncrasy with data driven research.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Grief, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Racism, Child death, and Homophobia

cornfusedsnow's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Murder, Mental illness, Medical trauma, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Infertility, Rape, Self harm, and Sexual assault

maddiearthur's review

emotional informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Colonisation, Infertility, and Ableism

Moderate: Child death and Biphobia

Minor: Self harm