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ashleydlee88's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
annaavaa's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
bookysue's review against another edition
4.0
A poignant but real story of grief and the confusion one feels after a suicide. I particularly related to her description of her mother, and thus, despite not having a father who committed suicide, I felt the story eerily familiar and personal.
aszwyd's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
I was deeply captivated throughout the memoir. As the author unpacks more and more details about her father’s life, looking for clues to help understand his suicide, you really start to empathize with her father’s apparent wins and losses. The non-linear story telling puts you in the author’s shoes - you can almost feel the sense of discovery as you try to draw connections between observations big and small, piecing together his life one little bit at a time, clinging to small revelations along the way. At times the non-linear storytelling can be a little confusing, as you try to understand the different time frames and characters, but otherwise I thoroughly enjoyed this read.
mxmlln's review against another edition
3.0
Mixed feelings. The book starts out very well, so the first 3rd is great. However, a lot of the other parts are weak. Some of the chapters were written for different publications and do not seem to flow well with the book as a hole.
The only other worthwhile part was when the author starts connecting with other suicide victims.
Still, this is probably the best non-fiction book I have ever read.
The only other worthwhile part was when the author starts connecting with other suicide victims.
Still, this is probably the best non-fiction book I have ever read.
kristinisreading's review against another edition
4.0
When I started this book, it had a structure, that of the indexed style, that I thought didn’t work. In the beginning sections, the prose was too much a standard narrative of what happened in the days around the suicide. I set it down and when I came back to it, the book shifted and the structure worked much better as the different sections took on more variable style and content, always circling the father's death. The thoughts and ruminations around the suicide and all the unknowns that are left are very effectively portrayed.
terrimarshall's review against another edition
5.0
I know suicide is not an uplifting topic, but I really liked this book. It's a memoir by a woman whose father committed suicide unexpectedly, and the family never really knew why. This author tries to make sense of the whole thing and the impact it had on her and her family. I thought it was fascinating.