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A review by maeverose
Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austin
This is a book I really should’ve dnfed for the sake of my mental health but for some stupid reason kept reading.
The main character, Gilda, is very mentally I’ll. Some parts of this book are really intense, and if you struggle with death ocd, anxiety, hypochondria, suicidal thoughts or alcoholism I’d be cautious about reading this. Gilda’s panic attacks are described in detail, and they’re very frequent. She also has a full on mental breakdown by the end of the book that is also described in detail and drawn out for a while. It isn’t explicitly stated at any point but she is clearly autistic/audhd coded, and it seems as if she is undiagnosed in the story, she questions why she is the way she is, and definitely doesn’t seem to be aware that she’s autistic. It was difficult reading her experiences, clearly seeing that she’s autistic but with her not knowing and struggling. It was relatable at times, but in an upsetting way more than a nice way. For me, at least. I can see how some readers would enjoy this and feel seen in the main character.
Funnily, like Gilda I feel other people’s emotions pretty strongly, so reading a book like this was probably a bad idea for me. I have similar anxiety and this was triggering for me. I nearly dnfed this several times because of it, and tbh I probably should’ve as it ended up just putting me in a bad mood. I kept reading because I really enjoyed the first half, it was still intense but in a more lighthearted dark humor kind of way (it reminded me of fleabag), but the second half is much more depressing and upsetting.
This book is a very accurate representation of ocd, anxiety, undiagnosed autism and mental illness. If you want that and can handle it, I’d recommend it, just please check content warnings first.
The main character, Gilda, is very mentally I’ll. Some parts of this book are really intense, and if you struggle with death ocd, anxiety, hypochondria, suicidal thoughts or alcoholism I’d be cautious about reading this. Gilda’s panic attacks are described in detail, and they’re very frequent. She also has a full on mental breakdown by the end of the book that is also described in detail and drawn out for a while. It isn’t explicitly stated at any point but she is clearly autistic/audhd coded, and it seems as if she is undiagnosed in the story, she questions why she is the way she is, and definitely doesn’t seem to be aware that she’s autistic. It was difficult reading her experiences, clearly seeing that she’s autistic but with her not knowing and struggling. It was relatable at times, but in an upsetting way more than a nice way. For me, at least. I can see how some readers would enjoy this and feel seen in the main character.
Funnily, like Gilda I feel other people’s emotions pretty strongly, so reading a book like this was probably a bad idea for me. I have similar anxiety and this was triggering for me. I nearly dnfed this several times because of it, and tbh I probably should’ve as it ended up just putting me in a bad mood. I kept reading because I really enjoyed the first half, it was still intense but in a more lighthearted dark humor kind of way (it reminded me of fleabag), but the second half is much more depressing and upsetting.
This book is a very accurate representation of ocd, anxiety, undiagnosed autism and mental illness. If you want that and can handle it, I’d recommend it, just please check content warnings first.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Animal death, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Lesbophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Death, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Eating disorder, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, Murder, Ableism, Self harm, and Suicide
Minor: Abandonment, Cannibalism, Excrement, Mass/school shootings, and Sexual assault
Graphic: Body dysmorphia, hypochondria, death ocd, intrusive thoughts, dissociation Moderate: medical malpractice (kind of)
Minor: metaphorical cannibalism