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4.34 AVERAGE
4.34 AVERAGE
astonishingly beautiful, kind, compassionate, loving, funny, tender, lacerating, wonderful. absolutely incredible.
I knew I would like this. A moving tribute to his parents. He writes about mental health and dementia so openly. I now want to watch every movie and show he's been in, especially the ones he admits he was terrible in.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
A beautiful love letter, absolutely captivating from start to finish.
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Dementia, Death of parent
Moderate: Eating disorder
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
emotional
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
In “I Love the Bones of You...” Christopher Eccleston discusses his childhood growing up in a working class family in Salford and the family dynamics therein; specifically his relationship with his father. Throughout he touches on his experiences with his own mental health issues (body dysmorphia, anorexia, and depression) and also his experiences coping with his father’s deteriorating dementia. The blurb (and title) made me think the book would focus his experience with eating disorders but he discusses it in such a way that it feeds into other aspects of his life and paints a far more complex account.
I listened to the audio book which Eccleston narrates himself. He has a very calm and straightforward demeanour throughout which feels incredibly honest and helped me really connect with the content and the author. I really feel his delivery was a key factor in my enjoyment of the novel. I only have a passing knowledge of Eccleston’s acting career and mental illness, or even the Northern working class (being a “soft Southerner” myself). But he truly helped me understand what his experiences have been and I learned a lot.
My only criticism might be that the book has a slightly disjointed narrative which can feel quite jarring to the reader. You become very invested in a specific moment in his life but then will be brought to a different point in his childhood. For example the author spends time discussing the time he spent in a psychiatric ward for clinical depression but then veer off to mentioning moment in his youth. To the reader this can feel as though you are being pulled out of a moment and not being given enough time to emote with the author.
Overall this is a compelling account of a man’s experiences growing up in a working-class family navigating into a middle class working career and how this has shaped him as a man. Blending with this is a truly honest account of living with life long mental illnesses and how these connect with out life experiences. I really enjoyed listening to this refreshing autobiography which highlights how our family environments can shape so many different elements of our lives. I’d recommend this to people from all walks of life.
I listened to the audio book which Eccleston narrates himself. He has a very calm and straightforward demeanour throughout which feels incredibly honest and helped me really connect with the content and the author. I really feel his delivery was a key factor in my enjoyment of the novel. I only have a passing knowledge of Eccleston’s acting career and mental illness, or even the Northern working class (being a “soft Southerner” myself). But he truly helped me understand what his experiences have been and I learned a lot.
My only criticism might be that the book has a slightly disjointed narrative which can feel quite jarring to the reader. You become very invested in a specific moment in his life but then will be brought to a different point in his childhood. For example the author spends time discussing the time he spent in a psychiatric ward for clinical depression but then veer off to mentioning moment in his youth. To the reader this can feel as though you are being pulled out of a moment and not being given enough time to emote with the author.
Overall this is a compelling account of a man’s experiences growing up in a working-class family navigating into a middle class working career and how this has shaped him as a man. Blending with this is a truly honest account of living with life long mental illnesses and how these connect with out life experiences. I really enjoyed listening to this refreshing autobiography which highlights how our family environments can shape so many different elements of our lives. I’d recommend this to people from all walks of life.
This was a thoroughly hearbreaking and enlightening audiobook. The audiobook is read by Christpher Eccleston, and I switched between reading and listening. Set up differently to any other autobiography I've read; comparing and reflecting on Eccleston's father's emotional breakdown and his own. Similar situations but very different times. Thank god mental health is taken seriously now more than ever but we still have strides to go.
Deeply personal and raw. Eccleston tells of his life, his struggles with mental health and body dysmorphia as well as his father's struggles with dementia.