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A review by mackreads324
Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austin
3.5
Austin introduces us to a relatable heroine plagued with anxiety and depression, who stumbles through her life’s awkward trajectory of accidentally accepting a job in a Catholic Church as an atheist lesbian. The story then turns into an almost-amateur detective “who dun it” into the murder investigation of the woman whose job she filled.
Although Austin’s story is full of wit and humor (it’s giving Fleabag), it also paints a very real picture of mental illness and provides astute observations on the human experience. There’s a lot to find relatable here: from Gilda’s “depression cave” of a house, her intrusive thoughts, her experience with imposter syndrome, and her family’s denial of their glaring mental health struggles. And although parts of the story were cheeky or even humorous, Gildas mental spiral does at times seem very concerning, traumatic, intense.
I know that not every story needs a complete resolution, but I do feel like this one left me desiring something more. How would father Jeff react to finding out her truth? Will Gilda ever seek the professional psychiatric help she desperately needs? (One of my particular hills I tend to die on….if you’re going to depict mental illness in your book, convey it responsibly. Yes gilda seems to have a “happy ending” at the books close, but are we supposed to infer that is a result of an “epiphany”after her stay in jail, and not from legitimate mental health resources?)
Although Austin’s story is full of wit and humor (it’s giving Fleabag), it also paints a very real picture of mental illness and provides astute observations on the human experience. There’s a lot to find relatable here: from Gilda’s “depression cave” of a house, her intrusive thoughts, her experience with imposter syndrome, and her family’s denial of their glaring mental health struggles. And although parts of the story were cheeky or even humorous, Gildas mental spiral does at times seem very concerning, traumatic, intense.
I know that not every story needs a complete resolution, but I do feel like this one left me desiring something more. How would father Jeff react to finding out her truth? Will Gilda ever seek the professional psychiatric help she desperately needs? (One of my particular hills I tend to die on….if you’re going to depict mental illness in your book, convey it responsibly. Yes gilda seems to have a “happy ending” at the books close, but are we supposed to infer that is a result of an “epiphany”after her stay in jail, and not from legitimate mental health resources?)