sanderijng 's review for:

Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason

5.0

dark emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

oh god. oh god. i knew i would love this based on the description but i wasn't expecting for it to hit THIS hard, and i kind of wish it didn't resonate with me this much because well, when you've read the book you will understand, but i am very grateful to have found this book. it's raw, honest, and realistic in its depiction of mental illness, in a way that i haven't encountered in many books before, even though books on mental illness are sort of my whole thing. although martha isn't, like she thinks herself, a monster, she is not particularly good to the people who love her the most for a big part of the book, and the book doesn't shy away from showing the devastating impact her mental illness has not only on herself but also on those around her. it is painful and confronting and yet there is also so much love and hope in this book. this book shattered me in pieces but also slowly and carefully stitched me back together and left me feeling broken yet completely whole at the same time. i think i just needed to read this.