Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

The Opposite of Butterfly Hunting: The Tragedy and The Glory of Growing Up by Evanna Lynch

16 reviews

holliejoy's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder

Moderate: Medical trauma, Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Bullying, Medical content, Chronic illness, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, Mental illness, and Self harm

enygirl's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, and Eating disorder

silver_lining_in_a_book's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

 

'It will get easier’ is probably the most offensive thing you can say to someone in the grip of pain. You are borrowing from a future that isn’t promised, a future that depends entirely on their endurance of the pain. You are taking for granted a well of strength within them that they may not possess, fast-forwarding through the ugly bits that you don’t want to watch but they must live through, nonetheless. ‘It will get easier’ is not a helpful thing to say to someone for whom only the present moment can exist, so vivid, so intense that it’s not possible to imagine a moment beyond it. The future doesn’t matter to someone enduring an unimaginable pain, so let’s not entertain that childish fantasy. All that matters is the pain that is consuming you in this moment, that you grit your teeth and try to survive it. You invalidate the pain and the damage it inflicts when you hasten to skip past it to a brighter tomorrow. Sometimes things are just unremittingly shit and the only respectful thing to do is to stand next to the person going through it and scream along with them.

Words cannot express how seen Evanna managed to make me feel through the retelling of her own hardships, but I know that had I read this book even a year earlier, it would not have been beneficial for my mental health at the time. Although, Evanna takes great care to be sensitive in regards to the topics she discusses, this is to its core an honest and raw depiction of mental health disorders and the process of growing up. Evanna can at times be painfully cruel to herself and she appears to feel little shame in portraying the way she acted during the toughest times in her life, which - while making this book very valuable and unique - at times makes this book very difficult to read.

Overall, I love the courage the author has shown in writing this book and, at least for me, this is a very very valuable memoir.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Medical trauma, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Medical content, Body shaming, and Forced institutionalization

rosaryoleander's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

This is one of the most traumatic books I have ever read and for that reason, I could not possibly recommend it to someone unprepared. And yet I feel like I must recommend it to fathers wondering about the inner workings of their teenage daughters, to women who grew up. Because this book recounts with agonising accuracy the feeling of being young, of bridging that gap between childhood and adolescence, and the utter hopelessness of realising the dreadful loss of innocence. 

Evanna Lynch explores the absolute darknesses of the human soul, of the malignant self hatred of feeling worthless, and she does it without sympathy and pity for herself, but with a shrewd, cold, cruel analysis of her younger self. There are no frills to this story. It is dark and disturbing and heartbreaking to hear how much one so seemingly lovely hated herself. 

But that is the brilliance, because that us what evokes the memory of those places in oneself. 

This book is not an easy read. But it has heart, and hope and understanding of the self, and in the end there is grace. It may not be wonderful, but it is essential. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Medical content, Body shaming, Body horror, Eating disorder, Self harm, Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, and Emotional abuse

bettysbookishworld's review against another edition

emotional informative medium-paced

5.0

Evanna talks about her story about eating disorder in a very raw manner that made me feel emotions and it made the subject more difficult to listen to. However, I truly think it's an important read about what being anorexic really means and how difficult it is to fight it. I'm glad that Evanna shared her story without glamorizing it but rather showing the harsh reality of dealing with eating disorders. 

I highly recommend listening to the book, as it's narrated by Evanna herself and her voice is full of emotions and very soothing to listen to.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Eating disorder, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Abandonment and Fatphobia

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

sharleight's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Medical content, Medical trauma, Self harm, and Mental illness

Moderate: Body shaming and Confinement

lauren_miller's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

this is a very hard review to write.

I absolutely adore Evanna's writing—it is visceral, evocative, creative, whimsical, playful, and honest. and because I love her voice, I found the material, as rough and heart-wrenching as it was, bearable and even at times amusing.

there is nothing amusing about the subject matter in this book. it is written by someone formerly defined by and forever to be associated with anorexia. it is not written lightly, which i think should be appreciated. it does not shy away at all; the mind of someone with an eating disorder is exactly as this book portrays—angry, ashamed, depressed, manic, obsessive, cruel, yet at the same time incredibly passionate, playful, mischievous, lively, thoughtful, sensitive, and even kind. this book is not necessarily for the disordered eaters, but for the outsiders—the parents, family, friends, colleagues, bystanders, and general public that will never truly understand what it means to be in or out of control of one's body. it is a messy and poignant look at the thought patterns, buried far beneath one's physical appearance, that dictate every aspect of a disordered eater's life with such seductive and dark finesse...

...and the reality that these thoughts never go away. an eating disorder can be treated (ethically, I pray) and the recovery label "achieved," but just like any chronic illness, will never truly leave the person.

and that's ok.

Evanna is proof that choosing recovery—making those hundreds of small decisions every day to choose health and happiness over control and "peace of mind"—is hard but possible. I respect and admire that immensely.

I admire this book a lot and hope this is not the last we've seen of Evanna as a storyteller.
5 out of 5 stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Suicide, Chronic illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

puckeverlasting's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

This was an insightful and enjoyable listen. Evanna's voice is charming and a pleasure to listen to, and the narrative and language used flowed well. She didn't attempt to sugar coat nor did she sensationalize. This is a must read for anyone who has struggled with an eating disorder. Excellent overall, and a beautifully done memoir.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Body shaming, Bullying, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Dysphoria, Mental illness, Medical trauma, and Self harm

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

Heed the warnings at the beginning of the book if any of the topics will be triggering, nothing is shied away from

ajnagle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Chronic illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Body horror, and Forced institutionalization

bluebookbitch's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder

Moderate: Self harm, Medical trauma, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Medical content, and Mental illness