Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - Sorrow and Bliss

Devastating and moving yet witty and snappy. I ate up this book in 4 days, and wish I could do it again for the first time. It’s a beautiful narration of mental health, loss, identity, and family.

Content Warnings

lydiature_'s review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I’ll be honest. The amount of times I DNF’d this in 1 month is embarrassing. But here I am, giving this book 5 ⭐️. I can barely write this review without crying. This was one of the most touching, emotional books on mental illness that I have ever read or come across. It’s so REAL. Martha wasn’t a character with a bunch of random symptoms that the author googled. She was a real person with real depression and apathy and irritability. You know how hard it is to pull off a character like that? To make them not be stereotypical or a caricature? Really difficult. So I really want to congratulate Mason on that.

This book was truly a whirlwind. I thought this would just be about an older woman who was depressed. But it became so much more than that. Martha took us on a long journey, one where she showed us her childhood, her adolescence, her adult years that were embedded in sadness, her growing love for Patrick, their special marriage, the slow destruction of their marriage. Honestly, my favorite bits were about her and Patrick. I think through her flashbacks with Patrick, I was better able to understand them both. We have Martha, who seemed consumed in her illness. And we have Patrick who stood beside her all those years, literally absorbing her illness. They were flawed. Neither was perfect.

The structure was genius. It was told in a series of fragments, starting with the ending of Martha and Patrick’s marriage. And it ended around that time. I really love circular endings, because by the time you’re done (if it’s well-written), I’m emotionally attached to all the characters. And this proved to be the case for this book.

Another thing I loved about this was the family aspect. Obviously, Martha’s family was completely flawed. Sometimes they were nice, and other times they were too harsh and abrasive. It made me think about how we as a society respond to people with mental illnesses. Some of us are empathetic and understanding, trying to be there for a person (like Peregrine). Some of us are understanding, but are almost afraid to address the elephant in the room (Martha’s father). Some of us don’t want to get down to the root, get dismissive, but later on become sympathetic (Martha’s mom). Some of us, having grown tired, give up (Patrick and Ingrid). And some of us lack complete sympathy and blame the victim (Jonathan). I think it’s so special that Mason really embodied society’s response to mental illness in every single character. Genius.

It was beautifully written. Although the tone was very melancholic and bleak, humor was sprinkled throughout. I really loved this book. I cherished my time reading it. I wanted to take my time to really just sit in it, but I also wanted to see what happened—not because I viewed Martha as entertainment, but because I wanted to see her growth. I wanted a note of redemption for her.

Mason did a FANTASTIC job. I’m very curious to read more from her. I HIGHLY recommend this. Please read it.

🚨SPOILERS 🚨

What I found interesting was Martha’s inability to be honest with herself. When she found out her real diagnosis, she refused to actually write out the name of the disease. But it was only around that time when she was able to admit to herself and to others that she really wanted to be a mother. That, despite her words, she wanted children. What shocked me was when Patrick said that he knew already, that babies (and her nephews) were all she talked about. It’s so interesting because in her flashbacks, she hardly talked about babies themselves. She hardly ever talked about motherhood. So she hid that from herself. Only when Patrick left did she start talking about children—mentioning a child or a baby in passing. She was allowing herself to be honest in the inward places.

Content Warnings

edgaranjapoe's review

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Content Warnings

laurafrances's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

katierobertsonshaddix's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

Content Warnings

coffeespooncait's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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jamarie's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

nzmerchant's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

I love that for once, mental illness was not romanticised or glamorised. This book cast a very real and raw depiction of life with someone who has a mental illness. It was a tough read especially watching Martha’s outburst and how she was self destructive in some instances. But it sent a very important message about how people with mental illness are not condemned to a life of being alone and unloved. I think ultimately what helped Martha

in addition to her finally accurate diagnosis was the harsh reality presented by her family members. And her ability to take her ego down a notch and make amends.

For that I really respect her as a character and feel inspired.

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