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ruth24's review against another edition
3.0
Memoir is one of my favourite genres so I expected to like this book. I'm also a fan of depressing things, I mean The Bell Jar is one of my top 2 favourite books.
The main themes I noticed in the book were mental health, family and belonging.
The book follows the author Camilla Gibb through her life, starting with her childhood growing up with a father who struggles with mental health and alcoholism. The story continues through her own experiences with mental health issues and the relationships she has over the years as she travels and begins an academic career before becoming a writer. The bulk of the story is about how Gibb builds her own family, one completely different to the one she had as a child and finds love and belonging there, though of course real life is messy and not like the happy endings we find in books.
I liked the story but I did struggle to get through it at times. It was slow paced and depressing, but the short chapters and how the book is split into sections helped me to advance through it. Throughout the book I felt inspired and proud of Gibb for her honesty about her feelings, some of which would definitely be harshly judged by certain other people.
My favorite part was when she was in Ethiopia and I also liked that a lot of the book was set in Toronto as I recognized some of the places she went to.
I wouldn't say this book is one of my favourites, in fact it was between just OK and me liking it. Anyone who is interested in mental health, family and the different types of relationships we have with partners, family and friends would probably enjoy this book, provided they are not looking for a fast paced, happy-go-lucky story.
"I don't want to meet strangers for lunch or coffee or a glass of wine or dinner. I want to be reading the paper or doing the crossword with someone, as I used to do with Anna. She was sports, I was geography. I want to be in my pajamas and parenting with someone together. I want to be a family. I want to be years into a relationship, in that place where you are known and knowing and loving and loved - the place I thought I was."
The main themes I noticed in the book were mental health, family and belonging.
The book follows the author Camilla Gibb through her life, starting with her childhood growing up with a father who struggles with mental health and alcoholism. The story continues through her own experiences with mental health issues and the relationships she has over the years as she travels and begins an academic career before becoming a writer. The bulk of the story is about how Gibb builds her own family, one completely different to the one she had as a child and finds love and belonging there, though of course real life is messy and not like the happy endings we find in books.
I liked the story but I did struggle to get through it at times. It was slow paced and depressing, but the short chapters and how the book is split into sections helped me to advance through it. Throughout the book I felt inspired and proud of Gibb for her honesty about her feelings, some of which would definitely be harshly judged by certain other people.
My favorite part was when she was in Ethiopia and I also liked that a lot of the book was set in Toronto as I recognized some of the places she went to.
I wouldn't say this book is one of my favourites, in fact it was between just OK and me liking it. Anyone who is interested in mental health, family and the different types of relationships we have with partners, family and friends would probably enjoy this book, provided they are not looking for a fast paced, happy-go-lucky story.
"I don't want to meet strangers for lunch or coffee or a glass of wine or dinner. I want to be reading the paper or doing the crossword with someone, as I used to do with Anna. She was sports, I was geography. I want to be in my pajamas and parenting with someone together. I want to be a family. I want to be years into a relationship, in that place where you are known and knowing and loving and loved - the place I thought I was."
smalltownbookmom's review against another edition
4.0
Visceral. Raw. Deeply affecting. All things that make a great memoir.
kitkat2500's review against another edition
5.0
I remain a fan of Gibb's, having read a couple of her works of fiction in the past. This book is a memoir, a sometimes raw account of her difficult childhood, her struggles with depression, the heartbreak following the breakup with her partner, and managing life as a single mother. It is the purest expression of what makes us human: trying to find meaning in life's obstacles and joys.
izzy_21's review against another edition
4.0
I don't think I've ever read something so raw and honest
likecymbeline's review against another edition
3.0
I'm going to be reading a bit more of Camilla Gibb in the near future--she was one of the possibilities for a mentor in a creative writing course I'll be taking and I started here because this was the one I could get the fastest from the library.
Motherhood surrounds me lately--it almost seems catching--but the trials and suffering that Gibb experiences, while part of a journey and part of her growth, strike so deeply that it feels hardly fitting for me to recommend this to the new and expecting mothers in my life. It is like any book on grief, where when the pain or loss or fear is still too near it could hurt more than help. I believe that for many it would be better to read at some distance, providing perspective either before or long after.
Motherhood surrounds me lately--it almost seems catching--but the trials and suffering that Gibb experiences, while part of a journey and part of her growth, strike so deeply that it feels hardly fitting for me to recommend this to the new and expecting mothers in my life. It is like any book on grief, where when the pain or loss or fear is still too near it could hurt more than help. I believe that for many it would be better to read at some distance, providing perspective either before or long after.
andipants124's review
4.0
A bittersweet, beautiful memoir. I devoured it. Gibb is such a lovely writer.
cammallerin's review
3.0
While I didn’t l o v e the story or the author didn’t paint a likable picture for herself, I give it 4 stars because it was very interesting and I kept looking forward to reading it, anticipating getting into bed or sneaking a couple minutes during the 9-5 grind. A really fascinating host of life experiences that built a page turning memoir.
xsharonyang's review
5.0
Sarah Polley wrote "I can't remember the last time I read something so honest, tender, brutal and kind." and I have to agree.
Every time I picked up the book I felt like I was taken away from my life and pulled into Camilla's world which was filled with raw emotions. It seems unreal that one person had the experiences she had yet manage to still self reflect and discover her happiness.
The writing is brilliant. Gibb's way with words tugs at your empathetic mind and forces you to reflect on yourself as well. I am so glad I stumbled across this book randomly on a library shelf.
Every time I picked up the book I felt like I was taken away from my life and pulled into Camilla's world which was filled with raw emotions. It seems unreal that one person had the experiences she had yet manage to still self reflect and discover her happiness.
The writing is brilliant. Gibb's way with words tugs at your empathetic mind and forces you to reflect on yourself as well. I am so glad I stumbled across this book randomly on a library shelf.
nanajo's review
4.0
Joan Didion's "We tell ourselves stories in order to live" was a guiding light for Gibbs. Writing her story appears to have been the key to Gibb's survival from a series of life's challenges. Journaling is a tool for many but Camilla Gibb's decision to sharing it with readers has created a beautifully written intensely personal memoir that resonated with me. Being a huge fan of her earlier novel 'Sweetness in the Belly', I was particularly engaged by the section of the novel that describes Gibb's year living in Harar, Ethiopia with a traditional Muslim family.