mads_reads_books's review against another edition

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informative reflective fast-paced

5.0


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flijn's review

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challenging emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

I'm in awe of this book. In exploring the lives and stories of people with mental illness, the author creates a radically humanizing perspective on the people she describes and through them, on others who suffer in similar ways and the people in their orbit. This humanization is the result of the sensitivity in the writing towards the shifting perspectives that are present in every narrative. They defy easy categirisation and judgment, and challenge you to reflect on the way the individual, the social environment, and the wider societal context interact. I love how the personal approach shows the complexity of modern life.

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teerah's review

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informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.0


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kellyofcali's review

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2.25

While I found a lot of the content interesting, I found myself confused about the purpose of this book, beyond a strange sense of fear and awe about what the mind can go through. The author seemed to send mixed messages about treatment and medication. I preferred her personal anecdotes to her philosophizing, and in the end came away a bit unsatisfied.

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mmccombs's review

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challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

At first I wasn’t convinced about this book, it seemed that exploring this topic by 4ish case studies was not enough and that it would be difficult to bridge them together. I couldn’t really get into Ray’s story at the start, but once I hit Bapu’s chapter I was immediately hooked. The journalism here is so well done, well researched and done with an immense amount of compassion for the complexity of these people’s stories. Aviv never claims a “right” way to approach mental illness while also critiquing the way western medicine/psychology has pathologized the human experience. I also enjoyed the balance of her own personal experience with mental illness, it brought a depth to the text that bridged the stories towards a thematically grounded conclusion. I think this is a book that could just keep going, there is so much to take from this piece.

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erint's review

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challenging informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

A really excellent book. I appreciated how much time Aviv spent on each story, and the compassionate lens she brings to the subject. I really appreciated her focus on the way that the categorization and diagnosis of mental illness can impact how individuals experience it. I also appreciated the diverse lens and the focus on the impacts of social, cultural, and economic factors like poverty and racism impact both the development and experience of mental illness and the level of understanding and care that people receive. I also appreciated the sensitivity and care with which she discussed the idea of "recovery."

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toephia's review

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dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5


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2or3godzillas's review

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challenging hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.25


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lowbrowhighart's review

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0


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flowergrrl's review

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challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.75

Aviv is among my favorite nonfiction writers, and her first full-length book reminded me why. The depth of her journalism and the thoughtfulness of her cultural commentary are unmatched. I did find myself wanting more of her own opinion, or perhaps more background on the political contexts surrounding madness. But Aviv stays in her lane--which is, here, the ways external narrative constructs interiority--and the result is nevertheless masterful. I recommend this book to anyone willing to expand their understanding of mental illness.

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