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

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