Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir by Akwaeke Emezi

25 reviews

readingthroughinfinity's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

4.75

This is the most unique, compelling memoir I've read in many years. Through letters to their close friends and family, Akwaeke Emezi discusses their experience of being trans and getting surgery, their mental health, writing, chronic pain, the publishing industry, their identity as a god or ogbanje, and their spiritual connection with this world and with death. This is a fascinating read and one that introduced me to so many new concepts and ideas. Emezi really is a transcendent writer.   

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Mental illness, Blood, Body horror, and Medical content

Moderate: Child abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Dysphoria, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Homophobia, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and Infidelity

becauseidontknow's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

hogsandwich's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.5

Theyre definitely a genius. Theyre also, I suspect, very difficult to be around.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Medical content, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia

Moderate: Self harm

divyab's review

emotional reflective slow-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Medical trauma and Transphobia

merin_aran's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Dysphoria, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence

librarysoflyss's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0

one of the most tender, & raw books i've ever read. lucky to exist at the same time as akwaeke emezi and their beautiful words and stories

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual assault, and Transphobia

gagne's review

reflective slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Abandonment, Dysphoria, Grief, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Medical content, Self harm, Terminal illness, and Transphobia

nicolaaa's review

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Blood, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Transphobia, and Violence

Minor: Animal cruelty and Infidelity

melaniereadsbooks's review

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0

Akwaeke Emezi is such an amazing writer. I honestly can't even express how perfect their writing is.  This book is so guttural and deep and meaningful.  It is difficult and thought-provoking and I am so glad I read it. I can't wait to see what they come up with next. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Mental illness

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Rape

foreverinastory's review

dark emotional inspiring tense

5.0

I have no words.

I've had the pleasure of reading both Freshwater and The Death of Vivek Oji so I knew I would be inhaling Emezi's memoir as soon as I could. Dear Senthuran has solidified Emezi as one of my favorite authors of all time. Any time they come out with something new, I will be reading it immediately.

This memoir is not an easy book to read. Emezi has chronic depression and has lived through several suicide attempts. Reading about their struggles and how being an author on tour only exacerbated their depression is something readers and fans almost never see. We see the shiny, polished author who puts their best face forward during the extent of the tour where as many cities as possible are crammed in.

So much of this book is about pain. But it's also about becoming who you are. The thing I related to the most was Emezi's struggles with gender and defining exactly what their gender was. Plus dealing with dysphoria and taking steps to treat it. They also discuss how this impacted their relationship with their mother.

This book took a knife to my soul and it felt like someone finally understood the thoughts in my head I haven't been able to verbalize. Read this book as soon as you can.

CWs: Death, emotional abuse, homophobia, medical content (gender affirming surgeries), misogyny, racism, religious bigotry, sexism, self harm, sexual content, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts, toxic relationship, transphobia, body horror, mental illness (depression). 

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia