Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Someday, Maybe by Onyi Nwabineli

14 reviews

ttnnllrr's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

This book is about our main character, Eve, and her life after discovering her husband’s dead body after he took his own life on New Year’s Eve. Nwabineli really shows the reader the true, raw grief of losing a loved one, in ways I’ve never seen before. It’s horrible, awful, and gut wrenching, but so incredibly insightful into one of many ways grief can transform us. 

At the beginning of the book, Eve spends much of her time in bed and the rest throwing up in the toilet. She binge drinks and takes pills to keep her from the waking world, only to be haunted with nightmares about her husband Q, and her guilt for being unable to save him. 
We witness a loving, close knit family surrounding and supporting Eve every step of the way, no matter how many times she tries to push them away or cling too close. 

Eve’s mother in law, Aspen, who had already shown hatred for her simply because she is Nigerian and not the ‘rich white girl’ Aspen always wanted Q to marry, blames Q’s death on Eve and will not rest until what remains of Eve’s life is set aflame. 

Then, everything changes.

Eve gets in an accident and discovers that she is pregnant with Q’s baby. She must now come to terms with her future as a widow and a single mother, and get her shit together for her kid.

This book was hard to read at times, the grief truly just oozed off the page and Eve’s decision were sometimes hard to get behind. Another reason was the fighting between Eve and her sister, Gloria, because while I understand, I also don’t know how you get mad at someone who had just lost the love of their life to something so brutal as suicide. Like I said, it was frustrating at times, but I also think that’s what makes it a great representation of grief. It’s never meant to be light and easy, it’s hard and ugly and at times violent. 

I really appreciated the ending as well, because while it’s not quite a happy ending, per se, it’s clear that it’s headed in that direction at a realistic pace. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Mental illness, Racism, Drug abuse, and Eating disorder

michelle_my_belle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

From the very beginning, this book hits you with the harsh realities of grief and it just keeps it up. I loved how real and raw the emotions and thoughts were as well as the sprinkling in of humor. I listened to this on audio and the narrator was fantastic. There were a few points when the characters' actions didn't really make sense to me, or just didn't sit right. Overall, a very good read.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Medical content, Suicide, Blood, Bullying, Pregnancy, Racism, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Grief

Moderate: Drug abuse and Sexual content

Minor: Abortion and Miscarriage

catwhisperer's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Drug use, Grief, Mental illness, Death, Alcohol, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Vomit

kaylielongley's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is my first book via Storygraph, inspired by representation (ie, not Besos) and nuance within SG's rating system. I appreciate protag Eve's self-awareness how she depends on people through her hurting and healing over her husband's Q's suicide. Grief may feel like an individual experience but hope is usually found in the collective.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Suicide, Miscarriage, and Mental illness

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Infertility, and Pregnancy

currently_introverting's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Grief, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, and Suicide

booksandteawithmolly's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Mental illness, Grief, Death, and Suicide

Moderate: Racism, Blood, and Pregnancy

Minor: Abortion

erinoco's review against another edition

emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Drug use, Alcohol, and Mental illness

Moderate: Pregnancy and Addiction

nbreezy17's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Grief, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, and Death

akshade's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Grief, Death, Suicide, Racism, Pregnancy, Mental illness, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Gun violence

lauren_shilling's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book took me much longer to read than a book I would normally rate five stars, but honestly, this is definitely a new favorite of mine. It was so heartbreaking, but also such an honest portrayal of grief, especially the kind of grief the main character is experiencing. It was hard-hitting and absolutely stunningly written. The exploration of grief, the healing process, and everything the characters felt and did were so incredibly well done. I don't really know what else to say about this book except the fact that I think everyone should read this book (unless the subject matter is triggering to you) because of how honest and raw it is. Nothing is glossed over, and everything is fully thought out and explored to the depth it should be, no more and no less. You will feel for the main character the whole way through, but you will also feel for and understand the people around her. It is just a stunning book, and it is so heartbreaking. It is one of the best written and well-handled books I have ever read. This is almost definitely going to make it into my top 15 of the year.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Pregnancy, Suicide, and Death

Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use

Minor: Blood, Abortion, and Death of parent

This book is so heavy on trigger warnings, and they are expressed in detail. However, they are handled incredibly well in this book, but still be aware of them going into it, please! It's a beautiful book, but please do not read it if you are triggered by any of the content!