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kevinmccarrick's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
laurenbookwitchbitch's review against another edition
4.0
“Battles, governments, laws, leaders-borders-come and go. but the land and its sacred places remain unmoved and unchanged in their core…There are still places on this earth that sing of all that came and left, of all that is still here and of all that is yet to come. Placed that have been touched, warmed, by the pretense of something. By its heat, by its breath, by the beat of its heart. Places that hold on to their surface of a shadow-trace left behind by something we can still sense but no longer see.” Kerri Ni Dochartaigh writes with luminous poetry and beauty in her book, “Thin Places: A Natural History of Healing and Home.” She traces Irish history from the ancient Celtic nature-centered way of life to the tumultuous violence of political, religious and sectarian conflict of the Troubles; all while narrating her personal journey as a child of Ireland and her efforts to heal. Her writing is deeply poetic, rich and conjures a gorgeously detailed portrait of the wild Irish landscape. She tackles questions of Brexit, the future of a divided island and language preservation efforts all while tying these contemporary issues to the ancient natural world of stone, sea, and “in-between places.” Liminal places, and she argues that Ireland itself, and its people exist in this liminal space through the country’s sordid, complex history.
annick's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
Chapter five was when this book finally clicked for me. Beautifully sad and heartbreaking moments of reflection.
I loved so many phrases that I took to underlining the book as I went.
I was deeply moved by the lyricism and soft/quiet of the sadness and loss she speaks of. It moved me and yet amplified my own sorrows.
The writer style is one of repeating phrases (‘I think about…’) and recurring nature themes (various birds, insects, wildlife, as well as wind, river, sea, light and shadow)
The final few chapters weren’t as strong
I loved so many phrases that I took to underlining the book as I went.
I was deeply moved by the lyricism and soft/quiet of the sadness and loss she speaks of. It moved me and yet amplified my own sorrows.
The writer style is one of repeating phrases (‘I think about…’) and recurring nature themes (various birds, insects, wildlife, as well as wind, river, sea, light and shadow)
The final few chapters weren’t as strong
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Alcoholism, Mental illness, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship
annick's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
Authors voice adds resonance to the writing
ismiselaura's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.75
jamieastone's review against another edition
3.0
I struggled with whether to give this 3 or 4 stars--at different points in the book, I could have gone either way. There is a lot to love about this book and a lot that I was interested in--memoir, learning about what it is like to live in Ireland, and nature writing. However, this was very difficult to read because the author experienced so much trauma and violence growing up in Ireland during the Troubles. Much of the memoir is focused on her dealing with that trauma, and it isn't until the very end that there seems to be any kind of redemption for her. I struggled a bit with the timeline--this is not told in chronological order, and sometimes that left me confused and/or wanting more details about the events she shares. I also think that mixing memoir with nature writing felt a bit off at times, and it sometimes left me feeling disjointed and disconnected from the author's story. I feel like I learned a little about Ireland and I'm glad I read this, but in the end the story was so bleak that it was just really hard to read.