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Reviews tagging 'Murder'
Strangers to Ourselves: Unsettled Minds and the Stories That Make Us by Rachel Aviv
3 reviews
brogan7's review
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
A remarkable book about how we construct mental illness, how we conceive of it and therefore how it manifests and how people suffer ...
A tough read, in many ways, yet always insightful and questioning all received truths.
I was particularly riveted by Naomi's story, it was so compelling and her struggles were so layered and complex, and I felt like raging sometimes, she's not mentally ill she has been socially and politically and economically done over! And she knows it!
Very thought provoking, including the less detailed but salient issue of the author herself and her decade of anti-depressants...what a crazy social experiment we are all a part of.
A tough read, in many ways, yet always insightful and questioning all received truths.
I was particularly riveted by Naomi's story, it was so compelling and her struggles were so layered and complex, and I felt like raging sometimes, she's not mentally ill she has been socially and politically and economically done over! And she knows it!
Very thought provoking, including the less detailed but salient issue of the author herself and her decade of anti-depressants...what a crazy social experiment we are all a part of.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Child death, and Murder
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.
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
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Confinement, Self harm, Suicide, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
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