Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich

2 reviews

dustghosts's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

3.75

+ a thoughtful, personal, and empathetic reflection on the carceral system, and specifically the death penalty, couched in memoir and a specific case. by speaking on her own story and the case that complicated her point of view, the author captures the intricacies and emotional impact of the debate over the death penalty on victims, perpetrators, and the civil servants tasked with the decision to put someone to death without grandstanding or lecturing. this is not a gentle piece of writing, but larger themes are carefully handled in a way that feels true and appropriately weighty, almost too subtle.

o lots of reviews mention the authors tendency to imagine/picture real moments of the true crime to paint a scene. this is an element of the true crime genre that always bothers me in the way that it creates fantasy/fiction of real, horrifying events. but i do think it’s worth mentioning that it’s exactly that: a touchpoint of true crime as a genre, starting at least as far back as Truman Capote. this author using the genres tropes to speak on her own trauma and the complicated, divisive discussions around

pedophilia and crimes against children

and how we punish those crimes feels, to me, more genuine and introspective than more sensationalistic applications of the same trope. I think it’s more complex than the impulse to dismiss the book out of hand as excusing or explaining the perpetrator’s actions. it’s a book that challenges empathy, and which was obviously challenging for the author to mire through, too. I think the author asks questions about communal culpability, forgiveness and love/care and how the two are not the same, the failures of the justice system and the availability of mental health assistance, our fascination with finding the root of blame— and so on that make things more difficult than a yes or a no on the question of morality.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

sorcha's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Grief, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Mental illness, and Self harm

Minor: Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy