Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

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

18 reviews

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

erint's review

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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Racism, Eating disorder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death, Self harm, Child death, Mental illness, and Chronic illness

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders

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

svmreads's review

challenging dark informative reflective medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt and Suicidal thoughts

raincityreads's review against another edition

informative reflective sad medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

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

adriennne's review

informative sad

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Child death and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Self harm