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3.37 AVERAGE
3.37 AVERAGE
I needed this book at a time when I didn't realize I needed it. I've loved this movement for years and I want my semicolon tattoo now more than ever. Thank you for giving me a reminder of the hope in this world and that I am not alone. ;
All my reviews can be found at: http://jessicasreadingroom.com
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May is Mental Health Awareness Month, so I feel reading Project Semicolon this month and reviewing it is perfect timing!
Amy Bleuel started Project Semicolon in 2013 to give hope and love for those who are struggling with mental illness, suicide, addiction, and self-injury. The semicolon is used because in literature it is intended to continue a sentence versus ending it. Using the semicolon, you show that you are choosing to continue on despite your situation. This is a symbol with so much meaning!
Project Semicolon is a non-fiction book that is comprised of many individual stories in their own words. These stories range from a few sentences to several pages. Some stories give details of their lives, some just touch on issues. It does begin with a disclaimer/trigger warning that these stories could affect you if you have suffered and advises to stop reading if this occurs. At the end of the book is various organizations’ information on who to contact if you feel you need assistance.
Project Semicolon is a book you do not have to read in its entirety, but you should and I did. It is a difficult read and one I took in steps to read. You can feel the anguish that all the authors have in sharing their stories. Some of the stories are ‘In Memoriam’, with those sharing stories after losing someone to suicide. I recommended reading all of Project Semicolon as the stories that touched me the most were in the second half of the book. The stories that affected me the most were:
Teresa S (page 256)
Hayleigh H (page 280)
Kristie C (Page 307)
(All were In Memoriam stories)
In addition to the stories shared, there are photos of the semicolon tattoo in its various forms throughout the book that are the storytellers’ own tattoos. That gives each story an even more personal touch. I would have liked more details in some of the stories: Some are so brief we don’t learn much about the person’s story. Some stories felt incomplete (which they of course could be as they may still be facing their monsters) and some felt impersonal and like an essay. I would have liked to learned more on their journeys and what helped them succeed.
Project Semicolon does also include Amy’s story in her own words. Despite starting Project Semicolon, Amy lost her battle with these issues on March 23, 2017 at the age of 31. Her legacy continues as Project Semicolon is still around helping those who need it today. Here is an article I found that address Amy’s death and how complex suicide prevention is. https://themighty.com/2017/03/project-semicolon-amy-bleuel-suicide-there-is-still-hope/
Amy’s story is here in her own words: https://story.projectsemicolon.com/2017/03/10/my-name-is-amy-bleuel-and-this-is-my-story/
Project Semicolon is definitely worth a read and is a great organization that is devoted to helping others overcome their battles they face. If you feel you need help please get it. You ARE worth it and your story isn’t over!
https://projectsemicolon.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, so I feel reading Project Semicolon this month and reviewing it is perfect timing!
Amy Bleuel started Project Semicolon in 2013 to give hope and love for those who are struggling with mental illness, suicide, addiction, and self-injury. The semicolon is used because in literature it is intended to continue a sentence versus ending it. Using the semicolon, you show that you are choosing to continue on despite your situation. This is a symbol with so much meaning!
Project Semicolon is a non-fiction book that is comprised of many individual stories in their own words. These stories range from a few sentences to several pages. Some stories give details of their lives, some just touch on issues. It does begin with a disclaimer/trigger warning that these stories could affect you if you have suffered and advises to stop reading if this occurs. At the end of the book is various organizations’ information on who to contact if you feel you need assistance.
Project Semicolon is a book you do not have to read in its entirety, but you should and I did. It is a difficult read and one I took in steps to read. You can feel the anguish that all the authors have in sharing their stories. Some of the stories are ‘In Memoriam’, with those sharing stories after losing someone to suicide. I recommended reading all of Project Semicolon as the stories that touched me the most were in the second half of the book. The stories that affected me the most were:
Teresa S (page 256)
Hayleigh H (page 280)
Kristie C (Page 307)
(All were In Memoriam stories)
In addition to the stories shared, there are photos of the semicolon tattoo in its various forms throughout the book that are the storytellers’ own tattoos. That gives each story an even more personal touch. I would have liked more details in some of the stories: Some are so brief we don’t learn much about the person’s story. Some stories felt incomplete (which they of course could be as they may still be facing their monsters) and some felt impersonal and like an essay. I would have liked to learned more on their journeys and what helped them succeed.
Project Semicolon does also include Amy’s story in her own words. Despite starting Project Semicolon, Amy lost her battle with these issues on March 23, 2017 at the age of 31. Her legacy continues as Project Semicolon is still around helping those who need it today. Here is an article I found that address Amy’s death and how complex suicide prevention is. https://themighty.com/2017/03/project-semicolon-amy-bleuel-suicide-there-is-still-hope/
Amy’s story is here in her own words: https://story.projectsemicolon.com/2017/03/10/my-name-is-amy-bleuel-and-this-is-my-story/
Project Semicolon is definitely worth a read and is a great organization that is devoted to helping others overcome their battles they face. If you feel you need help please get it. You ARE worth it and your story isn’t over!
https://projectsemicolon.com/
It seemed very repetitive and I lost interest as I neared page 200. Apparently a lot of stories were edited....so why were they all edited to be nearly the same?
A lot of the pieces in this book made me say to myself, "Holy cow, that's exactly how it feels for me, too!", but there were also a lot that didn't have very much positivity or even some sort of silver lining; they were just dark. This wasn't the greatest time for me to read this, so I definitely sped through it, though I plan to come back to it and take my time when I'm doing better. Definitely heed the trigger warnings before checking this book out.
Well, obviously this is not a fun read.
Major trigger warnings: anxiety, depression, self-harm, suicide, suicidal thoughts, abuse (sexual, emotional), addictions, borderline personality disorders, schizophrenia, bipolarity, eating disorders...
If you don't feel well, if you feel like your mental health is not strong enough at this moment, please do not read this book. Although it's filled with hope, people's stories of survival, it is also quite difficult to read it and can spiral you in a dark place. Please, be careful, treat yourself good, take care of yourself, be good to yourself, seek help when you need some, don't be ashamed, don't feel alone. You're not.
That being said. The book. It was an interesting read, I liked the variety of testimonies, I liked the pictures of semicolon that would come with the stories. Some stories deeply touched me. Some stories made me want to fight. Some stories made me scared or sad.
I just wish the book also had some awareness pages on different disorders as a way to inform people. Most readers want to read this book to understand themselves better, so I think a couple of pages to raise awareness would have been welcomed.
Major trigger warnings: anxiety, depression, self-harm, suicide, suicidal thoughts, abuse (sexual, emotional), addictions, borderline personality disorders, schizophrenia, bipolarity, eating disorders...
If you don't feel well, if you feel like your mental health is not strong enough at this moment, please do not read this book. Although it's filled with hope, people's stories of survival, it is also quite difficult to read it and can spiral you in a dark place. Please, be careful, treat yourself good, take care of yourself, be good to yourself, seek help when you need some, don't be ashamed, don't feel alone. You're not.
That being said. The book. It was an interesting read, I liked the variety of testimonies, I liked the pictures of semicolon that would come with the stories. Some stories deeply touched me. Some stories made me want to fight. Some stories made me scared or sad.
I just wish the book also had some awareness pages on different disorders as a way to inform people. Most readers want to read this book to understand themselves better, so I think a couple of pages to raise awareness would have been welcomed.
This is an updated version of chicken noodle soup. This will help anyone (not just teens) feel less alone.
I loved the idea of this book - but I felt that the execution of it was flawed. It felt heavily edited and stories started to run together as if they were written by the same person, over and over again.
Essentially the same story told over and over again. Bailed at around 1/3 the way through. I'm honestly mystified who this is supposed to help or how it would do so. But to each their own. If semi-colon tattoos work for you, who am I to disagree? All I can say is that this did nothing for me.
Very odd that the book made no direct mention I could see of the fact that Bleuel did in fact ultimately commit suicide. The book only says she "passed away." Dishonesty of this sort is not to the publisher's or editor's credit. Though I guess it makes the whole semi-colon tattoo a bit less, well, effective as some sort of totem than they're presenting it as.
Very odd that the book made no direct mention I could see of the fact that Bleuel did in fact ultimately commit suicide. The book only says she "passed away." Dishonesty of this sort is not to the publisher's or editor's credit. Though I guess it makes the whole semi-colon tattoo a bit less, well, effective as some sort of totem than they're presenting it as.
Although I like what this book intended to do, I feel like all of the essay's ran together and felt like the same author wrote all of them. It is also a very triggering book. Trigger warning for everything:Self harm, Suicide, Depression, Abuse ETC.