Reviews

Inferno: A Memoir of Motherhood and Madness by Catherine Cho

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ehtomb's review

challenging dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.75

This book had me feeling short of breath. Not a mother/never going to be but there was something so familiar in Cho’s words and the way she writes. A no chapters stream of conscious writing that was hard to put down. A complicated relationship to motherhood and mental health. I’m almost impressed she could capture these memories in her psychosis.

gemlobz's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative sad tense fast-paced

3.75

kaitlizcolby's review

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emotional reflective medium-paced

3.75

jess_mango's review

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4.0

Inferno is a powerful, raw memoir about a women's experience with postpartum psychosis. Catherine Cho was raised in a Korean American household. She married and had her first child. She and her husband decided to use part of their family leave to travel the US to visit relatives with their new baby. During this trip, Cho's mental state spiraled downward into a state of postpartum psychosis. She is checked into an institution. Cho is very open about her state of mind throughout her journey and it is quite scary at times. There are moments that she forgets who her husband is and that she even has a child.

In my opinion, this is an important read to shine a light on the mental health issues that women can face after giving birth to a child. Cho's writing took me right into her mind and I deeply felt her sadness that by the time she got out of the hospital her baby son wouldn't remember her. There were a lot of emotions. This would be a great addition to any women's studies or feminist bookshelf.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy.