Reviews tagging 'Grief'

I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death by Maggie O'Farrell

15 reviews

hanz's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-paced

3.0

Some of these stories are absolutely beautifully written and heartbreaking but the rest felt very disjointed.

In particular, loved (was appropriatel  angered) by the stories about her childhood illness and pregnancy.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Grief

Moderate: Murder and Rape

annakh16's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

This was an interesting and certainly unique read - unique because of the nature of the story, and also because Maggie O’Farrell has such a distinctive voice that this book certainly helped me understand better. The writing was vivid and compelling. It’s definitely more snapshots of moments than one overarching „philosophical“ narrative - just an observation, not a critique. I thought some stories were executed better than others (generally the longer over the shorter ones), but overall, they were all good. An insightful and „enjoyable“ book (re the storytelling, not the events). 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content

Moderate: Chronic illness, Infertility, Violence, Grief, and Miscarriage

Minor: Excrement, Murder, Sexual assault, and Pregnancy

annabunce's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

vanesst's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Infertility, Medical content, and Grief

qtcarolyn's review

emotional tense fast-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Blood, Miscarriage, Bullying, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Confinement, Infertility, Infidelity, Murder, and Vomit

Moderate: Car accident

Minor: Sexual violence, Dysphoria, and Animal death

anintrovertrambles's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Grief

lilawsahar's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

3.0

There are chapters that have you gripping the edge of your seat or bawling your eyes out and others where you are bored and ready for the next brush of death. And they get repetitive especially when you regret decisions made or thinking about how you can survive your situation. The author makes me want to go out and travel more. Live more. 

Note: It’s interesting to hear about the healthcare system in Europe. It is so different than Americas. But also similar especially when doctors brush off your needs and ignore your symptoms. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Death, Terminal illness, Medical content, Infertility, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Grief, and Chronic illness

edgaranjapoe's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

2.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Medical content, Death, Infertility, Child death, Blood, Medical trauma, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Chronic illness

Minor: Abortion, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Violence, Physical abuse, Bullying, Car accident, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Rape, Sexual violence, Ableism, Murder, and Gaslighting

pipss's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective tense slow-paced

4.0

Muito tenso...

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Blood, and Medical content

Moderate: Grief, Vomit, and Pregnancy

Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, Abortion, and Death

sshabein's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

After reading Hamnet (and absolutely loving it), I decided to check out Maggie O'Farrell's memoir from the library, and wow, what a book! She tells the stories of her life where she narrowly avoided death, and how those experiences shaped her. It isn't told chronologically, but in a way that definitely unfolds and flashes back in a really compelling way. Her writing is flush with description that never feels overwrought or superfluous.

Some of her brushes with death involve medical treatment, and my jaw quite literally dropped at what people, especially medical professionals, said to her during those times. From her childhood hospitalization from encephalitis to her many miscarriages after a difficult first birth, you'll be ready to fight a couple nurses and doctors ON SIGHT. That said, there is also the very moving moment where one mysterious medical person, about whom she never found out any information, really supported her when she needed it most. If you're a person who has medical trauma of any sort, you may want to check in with yourself before reading.

Between this book and Hamnet being among my favorites this year, I'm ready to delve further into her back catalog. I've had an ARC of Instructions for a Heatwave sitting around an embarrassingly long time, and I will definitely, finally read it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Chronic illness, Grief, Miscarriage, Violence, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Medical trauma