Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

Strangers to Ourselves: Unsettled Minds and the Stories That Make Us by Rachel Aviv

11 reviews

nopebook's review

challenging dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Self harm, Death, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, and Eating disorder

shakakan's review

dark emotional informative slow-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Forced institutionalization, Suicidal thoughts, and Abandonment

beanusminimus's review against another edition

reflective

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Ableism, Addiction, Abandonment, Abortion, Eating disorder, Chronic illness, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, and Mental illness

mads_reads_books's review against another edition

informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Eating disorder

Moderate: Body shaming, Addiction, and Ableism

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Self harm, Addiction, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Physical abuse, Mental illness, Medical content, Grief, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Chronic illness, Forced institutionalization, Eating disorder, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death, Confinement, and Alcoholism

kellyofcali's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Chronic illness

Moderate: Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, and Death

Minor: Pregnancy, Medical trauma, and Medical content

mmccombs's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Self harm

toephia's review

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Drug abuse, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, Addiction, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Mental illness

2or3godzillas's review

challenging hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Eating disorder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Suicide attempt, Forced institutionalization, and Abandonment

lowbrowhighart's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, and Mental illness

Moderate: Self harm, Suicide, Grief, Sexism, Confinement, Dysphoria, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Fatphobia, Racism, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Child death, Death, Body shaming, Medical content, and Pregnancy

flowergrrl's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Confinement, Self harm, Suicide, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis