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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
This was not a good audiobook. As an FYI, I think it would've been a much better reading experience than listening. Much of the book was declarative sentences that would've been staggering on the page.
A brutally honest memoir. Terese's writing is captivating and raw. It's structured perfectly with the content. A stunning beginning, I look forward to where she goes from here.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
challenging
dark
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Terese Marie Mailhot’s memoir, Heart Berries, is a beautiful punch to the heart. Every sentence and vignette is pure poetry but the pain of the author as she navigates her mental health, her abuse, her heartaches as a woman and mother and the voices of her Indigenous ancestors is gripping. Yet the joy or power of her writing maintains a sense of hope for this strong, gifted writer. The experience of this book – the prose, the short length, the heartbreak, the waiting for a man, the international pain – reminded me so much of Elizabeth Smart’s stunning prose poetry novel By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept from the 1940s. These are both two books that will stay on my shelf.
emotional
reflective
sad
Perhaps this was too literary for me?
The afterword - a question and answer that was in the audiobook but not the digital copy (at least, as was available to me), was the part I found most engaging from this book.
One Q&A line in particular stood out to me:
"Because I'm an Indian Woman, someone might call my work raw and disregard the craft of making something appear raw." because that line is what make me realize what felt off about the book, it felt overly crafted. It felt like a fake kind of raw somehow, and I struggled to engage with that. (Perhaps though, this is because I am not sophisticated in the writing craft)
But also, I think reading it as a book rather than an audiobook would've been better. Perhaps the audiobook would be better if it were narrated by the author. This hard to engage with quality could've been that the narrator's portrayal did not align with author's intentions.
The afterword - a question and answer that was in the audiobook but not the digital copy (at least, as was available to me), was the part I found most engaging from this book.
One Q&A line in particular stood out to me:
"Because I'm an Indian Woman, someone might call my work raw and disregard the craft of making something appear raw." because that line is what make me realize what felt off about the book, it felt overly crafted. It felt like a fake kind of raw somehow, and I struggled to engage with that. (Perhaps though, this is because I am not sophisticated in the writing craft)
But also, I think reading it as a book rather than an audiobook would've been better. Perhaps the audiobook would be better if it were narrated by the author. This hard to engage with quality could've been that the narrator's portrayal did not align with author's intentions.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
I don't know how to review this. It was a hard read. The book is pain, so check for trigger warnings and brace yourself.
Content Warnings
Minor: Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Self harm, Suicide attempt