Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason

31 reviews

heathergeorge's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, and Addiction

Moderate: Drug use and Abortion

Minor: Medical content and Cursing

kellyloubishop's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Pregnancy, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Self harm, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, and Miscarriage

asbat's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Amazing writing and enjoyed the flow of the book. Reflection on everyday life with mental health and how this affects relationships. I wasn’t blown away as expected but made me think more about mental health and empathise with those suffering with it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Drug use and Drug abuse

edgaranjapoe's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Violence, Domestic abuse, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Medical content

Minor: Cursing, Medical trauma, Self harm, Cancer, Death of parent, Drug use, Suicide attempt, Car accident, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Grief, and Abortion

readersreadingnook's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Pregnancy, Grief, Mental illness, and Self harm

cloud_animals's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Pregnancy

Minor: Self harm, Violence, and Death of parent

smashamash's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Self harm

m_sotos's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I really appreciated Mason’s handling of the topic of severe mental illness in this text. I personally think that there is a LONG-standing trend in literature/several forms of media to unwittingly glamorize a tragic form of depression in young/beautiful /desirable women (Anna Karenina, Madame Bovary - women written by men). There is something mysterious and ‘beautiful’ about their ‘madness’/sadness that only serves to reaffirm their status in the texts as being somehow ‘special’ and unlike everyone else. This book could have easily slipped into that pattern, but it never does. Mason acknowledges that tendency in a subtle, not overdrawn way and even incorporates it into the characters’ own struggles in understanding the protagonist (Martha), who suffers from an often debilitating mental illness. I listened to this as an audiobook and loved it, but wish I’d been able to read some of Mason’s words/sentences on paper because there are specific lines that I think would have struck me even more powerfully than they did in the ear had I been able to see them and mull them over in my line of vision. An emotionally heavy read for sure, but so rewarding!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Mental illness

Moderate: Self harm, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Miscarriage, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

erin_forgie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I loved this book so much. 
I only really felt the bliss after

Martha’s diagnosis

 
It really delves into the sorrow straight away, so be prepared to feel a bit emotional. 
It had all the correct ingredients for a 5 star, just something was missing and I’m not quite sure why. I think maybe it was the writing style, I just sometimes found it confusing when someone was speaking as the writer would add extra details about what they had said, outside of the speech marks - and as someone who adores Sally Rooney, its not the lack of speech marks, its just the lack of fully feeling the conversation. 
*after a couple of months*
This book is a 5 star, I think about it constantly and I really appreciate what it has done 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Self harm, Pregnancy, and Abortion

Minor: Death of parent

eeviee's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is the kind of book you read to remind you of how much you love reading. The kind that you revisit from time to time and still feel gutted by. That one book you read at different stages of your life and find yourself identifying with another character you were least likely to feel any affinity with. It is a character study of a deeply flawed woman in an equally flawed relationship, and how she comes to mend herself in more ways than one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Grief, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Self harm, Abortion, Death, Emotional abuse, and Pregnancy