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A review by em_thebookish_girl
Friends and Neighbours: A heart-warming journey of self-discovery by Ruth Torjussen
4.0
Friends and Neighbours is a lovely heartfelt read. At times, it will be narrated by a third person's perspective, you'll also get an insight from the side characters in this book. However, ultimately it will be navigated from the heroine's perspective, Jenny. We all know that everyone deals with grief or depression differently, Friends and Neighbours is Jenny's story. You'll be reading Jenny's journey, seeing her every day struggles; her battle with depression and grief. Her mental health is in a fragile state, and it deteriorates when her next door neighbour Dawn moves in. She dislikes Dawn, she finds her language foul and she cannot stand her. Prompting Jenny to snap easily, mainly at her husband and family; Jenny's mental health is deteriorating rapidly. However, after an certain incident, Jenny saw Dawn in a new light; she realised that she was being judgemental and Dawn needed help. It's an intriguing storyline, I have to admit, at first I did struggle a bit to get into the story. I liked how the author addressed pressing issues such as climate change, sexual abuse and domestic violence. The last 80 pages really picked up, and I like how it ended.
After her best friend's death, Jenny is struggling to move on. While everyone seems to be moving forward Jenny is stuck and she's deeply unhappy. She has a loving family, yet she feels so alone. Jenny is longing for a friendship, or a person she can relate to. The everyday mundane tasks weighs heavily down on her shoulders; she finds no joy. She desperately wants to break free from this negative cycle; to move past her depression and grief. Jenny works as a carer, and she knows that there are people who are less fortunate than her, health wise. And deep down she feels selfish for feeling like this, yet she can't help it. Jenny is fed up and she is determined to find her way, to be the person she used to be.
After her best friend's death, Jenny is struggling to move on. While everyone seems to be moving forward Jenny is stuck and she's deeply unhappy. She has a loving family, yet she feels so alone. Jenny is longing for a friendship, or a person she can relate to. The everyday mundane tasks weighs heavily down on her shoulders; she finds no joy. She desperately wants to break free from this negative cycle; to move past her depression and grief. Jenny works as a carer, and she knows that there are people who are less fortunate than her, health wise. And deep down she feels selfish for feeling like this, yet she can't help it. Jenny is fed up and she is determined to find her way, to be the person she used to be.