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amandapaige14's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, and Mental illness
stevie's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Incest, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, Self harm, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Grief, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Racism, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Colonisation
mscalls's review against another edition
1.75
Graphic: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Violence
atsundarsingh's review against another edition
4.25
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Grief, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Violence
margothere's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, and Self harm
aarora's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Suicide, Abandonment, Abortion, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Self harm, and Panic attacks/disorders
bookdragon217's review against another edition
5.0
Heart Berries by Terese Mailhot is one of my favorite memoirs I read this year. I read this one back in July and it is only now that I can fully process some of my thoughts and feelings. Mailhot's writing is honest and raw and she holds nothing back. She bares all the ugliness on the pages but still leaves you with a semblance of hope. You're left contemplating about the complexities of the human condition and what it means to love so much that it hurts. You're also left wondering if it is possible to love someone fully when there is so much pain and trauma embedded in their loins.
Mailhot takes you through her battles with mental illness, the history and trauma of Indigenous people, motherhood and longing to be loved. The book reads like an open wound as she picks away at the scabs and scars that are left behind from her trauma. You especially see this in the ways that she speaks directly to the pain she feels of not being seen and loved by her children's father and how that pain almost mirrors "madness".
The writing is absolutely exquisite. I highlighted so many passages that need further introspection. I will definitely reread this one because I feel like it will hit differently every time. What stays with me the most is how she writes about Indigenous women's pain and explains how humanity was born from pain. It is felt on every page. The quote I still think about is: "My people cultivated pain. In the way that god cultivated his garden, with the foresight that he could not contain or protect the life within it. Humanity was born out of pain." She's not afraid to speak about it and boldly calls it out. This book is one that haunts me because of it's unflinching manner and the way it bravely speaks truth to power.
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Abandonment, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Violence
esmithumland's review against another edition
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence
memorable's review
Graphic: Abandonment, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Genocide, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Violence, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, and Pedophilia
nmp's review against another edition
4.5
Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Violence