Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason

62 reviews

rosalind's review against another edition

emotional funny 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Miscarriage, and Abortion

Minor: Vomit, Violence, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual content

serenachowna's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Mental illness

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Alcoholism, and Toxic relationship

bryelle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book is a really great but hard read. The main character is going through a mental health journey and in turn hurts a lot of people she loves. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Grief, and Death of parent

sydneybedell's review against another edition

dark 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, and Grief

frillsnspills's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Suicide, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, and Pregnancy

nialiversuch's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Miscarriage, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cursing, Grief, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse

meemawreads's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful

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

4.5

I’ve read many books that allowed me to watch a protagonist find themselves but it’s rarely been this honest or messy. This isn’t a story for the faint of heart: the main character Martha is mentally ill, her family is dysfunctional, her marriage is unhappy, and there is reference to suicidal ideation. I wouldn’t call the book “funny”, but I related to the family and their dialogue in a way that made me laugh a few times. Instead, I would say it was “smart and just east of devastating.” 
General spoilers ahead. 

I have a big hangup with the book, and that is the author’s stylistic choice to use “___” in place of what you find out at the end is a fictional, nonspecific mental illness the protagonist is diagnosed with. Normally that wouldn’t bother me, but this diagnosis is the inciting incident behind Martha confronting her mother about her knowledge of this shared illness, resenting her doctor husband for not noticing it first, realizing she could have and indeed wanted to be a mother. The diagnosis explains her past and informs her future. It took me out of the story to wonder what this mystery illness was and WHY the author kept it from us, and the choice didn’t pay off in a way that made up for how distracting it was.

I also felt the end stopped short of the devastation it could have wrought, which always disappoints me. I was gonna knock a whole tater off for how badly “___” bothered me, but this quote made me add a half-tater back: “I said, “I’m not. I want it not to be miserable. I just don’t know what non-miserable options exist if you don’t like animals or helping people. If you’ve wanted the things women are supposed to want, babies, husband, friends, house -“
“Successful Etsy business.”
“Successful Etsy business, fulfillment, whatever, and you didn’t get them, what are you supposed to want instead?” 
Ingrid said yes you can. “Even the women who get those things lose them again. Husbands die and children grow up and marry someone you hate and use the law degree you bought them to start and Etsy business. Everything goes away eventually, and women are always the last ones standing so we just make up something else to want.””
🥔🥔🥔🥔🍠/🥔🥔🥔🥔🥔

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness and Toxic relationship

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

lesenilpferd's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship

waybeyondblue's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Blood, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, and Miscarriage

Minor: Vomit

memily's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Infertility, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Chronic illness, Alcoholism, and Alcohol