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holasoyrohan's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
3.5
It's hard to adequately rate memoirs because they're so personal and can be unique in what a memoir means to the writer, and this was no exception. I took in Heart Berries via audiobook and unfortunately I find that specific narrator to just not do the books justice that they read. I also struggled a lot with the perspective as the reader being that of a toxic ex for most of the book, had to really make myself push through that aspect and finish the book. I'm glad I did, especially to hear the QA and the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia
Moderate: Self harm, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Eating disorder, and Mental illness
laurhi's review against another edition
4.0
"What I feel struck with is something smaller, in a less impressive world. I woke up today, confused, inside of something feminine and ancestral in its misery. I woke up as the bones of my ancestors locked in government storage. My illness has carried me into white buildings, into the doctor's office and the therapist's - with nothing to say, other than I need my grandmother's eyes on me, smiling at my misguided heart. Imagine their faces when I say that." (pg. 17).
"We fought for hours, and I didn't say that my mother had spent her life waiting for service." (pg. 24)
"In white culture, forgiveness is synonymous with letting go. In my culture, I believe we carry pain until we can reconcile with it through ceremony. Pain is not framed like a problem with a solution. I don't even know that white people see transcendence the way we do. I'm not even sure that their dichotomies apply to me." (pg. 28).
"I wanted him to see us and decide we were worth a play in our own right. I wanted him to see my mother, beyond a groupie, or a cliché or an Indian woman-because she was more. He didn't see her." (pg. 37).
"In moments like that, I remembered the ladybugs and mold. I remembered sour meat in the fridge and needing Mom to come home. I remembered what it was like to be nothing." (pg. 95)
"Pain is faster than light, and I wish people would not fault me for the things I can't forget or explain." (pg. 99)
"We fought for hours, and I didn't say that my mother had spent her life waiting for service." (pg. 24)
"In white culture, forgiveness is synonymous with letting go. In my culture, I believe we carry pain until we can reconcile with it through ceremony. Pain is not framed like a problem with a solution. I don't even know that white people see transcendence the way we do. I'm not even sure that their dichotomies apply to me." (pg. 28).
"I wanted him to see us and decide we were worth a play in our own right. I wanted him to see my mother, beyond a groupie, or a cliché or an Indian woman-because she was more. He didn't see her." (pg. 37).
"In moments like that, I remembered the ladybugs and mold. I remembered sour meat in the fridge and needing Mom to come home. I remembered what it was like to be nothing." (pg. 95)
"Pain is faster than light, and I wish people would not fault me for the things I can't forget or explain." (pg. 99)
dogswithnogs's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
5.0
Raw and emotional, read trigger warnings especially if you have children
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Alcoholism
libvin96's review against another edition
5.0
It's been awhile since I've completed a book in under 24 hours. This piece beautifully confronts the reader with powerful and undeniable images of mental illness, difficult relationships, abuse, and race. Amazingly raw and wondrously crafted.
knk2002's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
5.0