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Heart Berries
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Marie Mailhot
Guileless and refreshingly honest, Terese Mailhot's debut memoir chronicles her struggle to balance the beauty of her Native heritage with the often desperate and chaotic reality of life on the reservation. Heart Berries is a powerful, poetic memoir of a woman's coming of age on the Seabird Island Indian Reservation in British Columbia. Having survived a profoundly dysfunctional upbringing only to find herself hospitalized and facing a dual diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Bipolar II, Terese Mailhot is given a notebook and begins to write her way out of trauma. The triumphant result is Heart Berries, a memorial for Mailhot's mother, a social worker and activist who had a thing for prisoners? a story of reconciliation with her father--an abusive drunk and a brilliant artist--who was murdered under mysterious circumstances? and an elegy on how difficult it is to love someone while dragging the long shadows of shame. Mailhot "trusts the reader to understand that memory isn't exact, but melded to imagination, pain and what we can bring ourselves to accept." Her unique and at times unsettling voice graphically illustrates her mental state. As she writes, she discovers her own true voice, seizes control of her story and, in so doing, reestablishes her connection to her family, to her people and to her place in the world.
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Eggs
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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“Nobody wants to know why Indian women leave or where they go. Our bodies walk across the highway from the dances of our youth into missing narratives without strobe lights or sweet drinks in our small purses, or the talk of leaving. The truth of our leaving or coming into the world is never told.”

#NFIndigenousPeople

#SpringSkies

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

GatheringBooks Omg this was one of my most heartbreaking reads a few years back. Reviewed it then, and it still haunts me. 6mo
Eggs I agree, unforgettable & beautifully written 6mo
51 likes2 comments
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Blueberry
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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Eggs Really loved this book! 12mo
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Great tattoo 🫐 12mo
Blueberry @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Thank you 😃🫐 12mo
43 likes3 comments
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MeganLindell
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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Panpan

⭐️⭐️

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MerlinTheSlightlyAwkward
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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Pickpick

“Crafting the truth to be as bare as it feels was important…. Memoir, for me, functions as something vulnerable in a sea of posturing.”

Her skill is incredible, I‘m floored. Reading the afterward is at least as good as the rest of the memoir. The volume appears short, at 142 pages, and it took weeks to read. Her questions open a lot of doors, and none are easily answered.
#memoir #nonfiction #teresemariemailhot #mailhot

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CuriousG
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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Pickpick

"I feel dormant watching you live fuller than I can. I worry I am a cavern."

I feel this book needs a reread sometime when I'm better able to dive into the intense emotional journey. Excellent, just a bit of overwhelming for me right now.

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CuriousG
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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Just settling into what is sure to be an amazing evening of reading and snacking on chocolate (to be fair, I've already started on that part 😄). Amazing #jolabokaflodswap package @TheLudicReader - what great choices and thank you for the extra goodies as well! Happy #Jolabokaflod everyone!

TheLudicReader I am so pleased you like everything. Merry Christmas. 3y
30 likes1 stack add1 comment
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acw
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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Pickpick

Emotionally taxing, but so much to unpack. Each sentence has so much impact. It was good, but was difficult to digest - trauma is never easy to read.

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mariaku21
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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Mehso-so

This was a hard book to rate because it's rating an author's life and memories.

Here is a memoir that depicts all for the murky grey that people can be. This was angry and had every right to be and in that anger, there was a glimmer of something burning brighter.

......

#popsugarreading #readingwomanchallenge #readharder

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allureofbeauty
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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Getting ready to start this for my next book club. I swear I had this in physical form but I can‘t find it for love nor money. Yay for ebooks sometimes am I right? Lol
Also yay for apple fritters.

#heartberries #memoir #teresemariemailhot #applefritter #donut #bookclub #ebook #bookclubs

16 likes1 stack add
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Reagan
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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Pickpick

Yowzas! This short memoir packed a punch. Poverty, sexual abuse, foster care, mental illness AND Paul Simon in a cameo. Her writing is sparse but also no fat anywhere. Not an extra word to be found. It was a very interesting read and I will definitely read more of her work.

62 likes1 stack add
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Gillyreads
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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Pickpick

I am so blown away by the skill of Terese Marie Mailhot, to craft such a short book out of so very much. The writing is remarkable. I genuinely don‘t think I have the words to explain how this book ripped me open. Roxanne Gay said " these essays are too intimate, too absorbing, too beautifully written, but never ever too much. What Mailhot has accomplished in this exquisite book is brilliance both raw and refined, testament."

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GatheringBooks
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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#LovePrevails Day 5: Here is my #FebruaryTBR - the NYRB title is for our #NYRBBookClub

Eggs Heart Berries was unusual but good! 4y
rubyslippersreads @TheKidUpstairs I‘ve had it on my TBR for ages. 4y
Suet624 Heart Berries has stayed with me for such a long time. Quite the book! 4y
51 likes4 comments
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JoyBlue
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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Bailedbailed

Bailed at 20%. Not for me, at least at this time.

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TinaFaa
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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Pickpick

After a 5 month hiatus, I'm back with a great read. This. Is. Profound. The way she describes our shared pain is nothing short of majestic. There is something exclusive in Indigenous woman pain, something in the way we feel and express pain that can be felt and expressed by no other. This book speaks of that exclusivity in a manner that we Indigenous woman understand in our soul. I honestly wanted this to last even longer. 🧠🤓📖🍵

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nelehelen
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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Pickpick

Beautiful memoir with poetic prose that examines relationships through the lens of a woman working through her trauma. And there is so much trauma for an indigenous woman. Stream-of-consciousness and non-linear style writing might not be for all, but still an important one to read.

34 likes2 stack adds
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BookNAround
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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Panpan

#unpopularopinion As short as this memoir is, I really struggled to get through it. Mailhot faced a lot of terrible things but the non linear narrative, the stream of consciousness, and the fragmented writing combined to make this an excruciatingly slow read. Full review at https://booknaround.blogspot.com/2020/11/review-heart-berries-by-terese-marie.ht...

Hazel2019 Oh no! I just purchased this one and now I‘m looking through reviews just out of curiosity. This fragmented writing you describe is definitely NOT something I enjoy but there must be a lot of people out there that do. I‘ve DNFd some books written in this way, we‘ll see how this one goes... 4y
53 likes1 comment
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alisiakae
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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Pickpick

“I was the third generation of the things we didn‘t talk about.”

Trauma can leave memory messy and disjointed, and Terese Mailhot‘s memoir reflects this. It is not straightforward, but unapologetic, which made me love it all the more. Her writing is incredibly intimate, as she writes of mental illness, abuse, motherhood, survival, and loss.

#NFN2020 #nonfictionnovember

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Auntynanny
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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Pickpick

What a beautiful memoir! I have been looking forward to reading this for months and I'm so happy that I finally did!

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MargaretPinardAuthor
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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Oof, this is some hard row to hoe in terms of trauma to sort through even identifying. It comes across as powerful but broken, and i‘m not sure it‘s a good time for me to read this...feeling pretty fragile already...

Blueberry I hope you feel better. 4y
MargaretPinardAuthor Thanks @Blueberry it helps that I see you are a theatre buff! Some sort of theatre community online is one of my coping mechanism projects right now 🤗 4y
33 likes2 comments
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MargaretPinardAuthor
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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The dawn. Thought t would be a good stand-in for my speechlessness over this book. Intricate.

#pdx #sunrise #cloudview #quarantinereading

SamAnne Ah, my old city! And yes, intricate. I was both irritated and wrapped into this book! 4y
36 likes1 comment
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Kazzie
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Marie Mailhot
Pickpick

Amazing story!

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Eggs
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Marie Mailhot
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T. M. Mailhot‘s #nemesis was an abusive childhood, and a neglectful, inaccessible mother

#beautifulwords
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @OriginalCyn620

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks I‘ve have one of those!! 4y
OriginalCyn620 Sounds heartbreaking but the cover is pretty. 4y
Eggs @OriginalCyn620 yes 💔 but it moves into hopeful toward the end and the writing is poetic 4y
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Emilymdxn
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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#happycanadaday everyone! @KVanRead

I‘m a bit of a Canada fangirl fyi. My bf did his masters there and while being long distance was tough sometimes, I spent a year looking forward to trips to Canada, travelling in Canada, having Montreal as my computer background... Toronto and Montreal particularly are the site of some of my happiest memories!

1. Tagged, my favourite Canadian book by a breathtaking First Nations author

Emilymdxn 2. Leonard Cohen, depressing king of my heart. 3. Gotta be poutine, I don‘t even like it very much but when I visited Matt there for the first time he took me out for poutine my first night, it was the Canadian food he always talked about. @megabooks wanna play? (edited) 4y
KVanRead Thanks for playing! What a lovely story. Makes me happy ❤️😊 Stacking that book and Leonard has a piece of my heart wherever he may be 💔 4y
KVanRead Oh and poutine is the one food I can never wait to have but that always feels me with remorse after eating 😂😂😂 4y
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Josee.lit.a.lu.et.lira Poutine is a classic 😅 @KVanRead the remorse also ☺️ @Emilymdxn do you remember which province/reserve she writes about? 4y
Megabooks You are wonderful!! 😘😘 4y
OhBOOOOK Is poutine the same as disco fries? 4y
Emilymdxn @Josee.a.lu.lit.et.lira it‘s about her childhood growing up in British Columbia, and she‘s from the Nlaka'pamux nation 😊 4y
Emilymdxn @OhBOOOOK I think it‘s similar! The gravy and cheese curds is the basic version then people add all kinds of extra stuff as well 4y
Josee.lit.a.lu.et.lira @OhBOOOOK I never heard of disco fries, what are they? Where are they called that? 4y
Josee.lit.a.lu.et.lira @Emilymdxn thank you, I just added it to my stack for the #ReadCanada Challenge. (edited) 4y
Emilymdxn @Josee.a.lu.lit.et.lira I really hope you like it! It has some very dark stuff in it so I‘d recommend looking up trigger warnings if that‘s something you do 💖 4y
OhBOOOOK @Josee.a.lu.lit.et.lira apparently, they‘re the same! We call them “disco fries” in New York. We also have something called “disco naps” — it‘s the nap you take before going to a night event so you look extra glamorous upon entrance 😂 4y
Josee.lit.a.lu.et.lira @OhBOOOOK 😅 I like disco then!!! Thanks. 4y
63 likes2 stack adds14 comments
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Eggs
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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Pickpick

Personal truths are never linear and often messy. Mailhot‘s poetic prose is astounding and revelatory; one cannot help but be moved by her story.

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CaitlinR
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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Pickpick

A painful and astonishingly powerful memoir. I needed to read the essays slowly, and finally only during daylight hours. As an alcoholic in recovery, and a woman who struggles with cyclical depression, it was at times triggering, but Ms Mailhot‘s discussions of
her experiences are painful, powerful and ultimately affirmative. What a gift!

Geenie ❤️ your transparency. 💕 5y
Suet624 This is a beautiful review for a stunning book. 💕💕 5y
CaitlinR @Yoshi-and-a-book, @Suet624 Thank you both! 5y
28 likes3 comments
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MsLeah8417
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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Pickpick

🌟🌟🌟🌟

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GypsyKat
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Marie Mailhot
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Pickpick

Raw, and brutal, and beautiful, Ms. Mailhot writes openly about her struggles with poverty, mental illness, sexual and physical abuse. This memoir is a collection of essays, but written like poetry. This was disturbing at times, and heart wrenchingly beautiful at others. This is one that will stay with me.

TieDyeDude This one blew me away! 5y
76 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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youneverarrived
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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Mehso-so

I think I would have loved this in my late teens/early twenties. It‘s got a poetic feel to the writing that I like and I appreciate the book on that level, as well as admiring the author for writing her story. Still, it lacked something for me - I didn‘t connect to it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Crazeedi Great background! 5y
julesG You find the best spots to take pictures. 5y
youneverarrived @Crazeedi it‘s York Minster 😁 5y
See All 7 Comments
youneverarrived @julesG aw thanks it helps that York is pretty ☺️ 5y
LeahBergen Another beautiful photo! 😘 5y
youneverarrived @LeahBergen thank you lovely 💛 5y
Crazeedi @youneverarrived 💞💞💞 5y
68 likes7 comments
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NeedsMoreBooks
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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Pickpick

This might be my 2nd to last read for #NFNov. This memoir is from the perspective of the Canadian First Nations author who describes her relationship with her Caucasian cheating husband, her three sons from two fathers, her grandmother who was a healer, her abusive artist father, and her mother. This was written like a stream of consciousness so it was a bit difficult to understand in some places. Total books read for #NFNov= 24 #total= 236

Come-read-with-me @NeedsMoreBooks This sounds good! Thanks for the recommendation- it‘s stacked! 5y
NeedsMoreBooks @Come-read-with-me you are welcome and thanks for the stacking it ❤️ 5y
Clwojick 6 pt. 5y
30 likes1 stack add4 comments
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Kalalalatja
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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Mehso-so

Sorry book, it is me, not you! I never read ebooks, but I decided to try with this because I got it through my library. But the format didn‘t help me take the content in, I just kept swiping the pages. I need to reread it again at some time, because Mailhot writes beautifully and poetically about tough subjects, and her words need to be taken in, thought over and felt, and I wasn‘t able to do that at the moment.

#IndigenousAuthor #Booked2019

Cinfhen I‘m surprised this book didn‘t resonate more strongly with you. I get it though about reading an Ebook. There is definitely a level of detachment. 5y
Kalalalatja @Cinfhen I‘m surprised, too! Some of it hit me right in the gut, which makes me think this is more a timing-and-format-issue more than it being the book‘s fault. I think I need to reread it in print or audio at some point, to really appreciate it! 5y
Pricel101 Ebooks and audio have to be in the right application, do you agree? This is the kind of book where every once in a while you have to look away and think about what you just read. 😓 5y
marleed When well written books don‘t rank above a solid B (4 stars), it really causes me to reflect because I often think it says more about me in the moment than the book itself. 5y
CaroPi I did this one in audiobook and also got mixed feelings 5y
63 likes5 comments
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Kenny
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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I‘ll be posting My Favorite Books of 2019 soon, but I need a few more weeks to get that ready—so I thought I‘d re-share My Favorite Books of 2018. Here are books 7-12. #KennyCobleBookAwards #BestBooks2018

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lovelybookshelf
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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Pickpick

I listened to the audiobook and was not a fan of the narrator. She read Mailhot's words with a flat, almost bored inflection throughout. That's a shame, because Mailhot's writing is absolutely stunning. So much so that I could feel the beauty of the phrases despite the narrator. This is a compelling, vulnerable, honest memoir. (CW for childhood sexual abuse and neglect, mental illness) #nativeauthors

rachelm Good to know! 5y
13 likes1 comment
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KatieDid927
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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Day 4 - Beautiful cover for a beautiful book.

#7days7covers #covercrush

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underground_bks
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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Pickpick

This brutal, heart-tenderizing memoir was not what I expected from the sweet cover! Mailhot writes gorgeously and with a fierce, direct vulnerability that‘s almost unbearable at times, whether recollecting her mother‘s death, her institutionalization, or losing her son in court. Mailhot bares the heart of the “difficult woman,” and as someone who has also borne that title, I thank her for these heart berries—they come straight from the chest.

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ellarebee
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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Finished R is for Rocket. Switching mediums up by listening to an audiobook - Heart Berries by Terese Mailhot. I‘ll admit to backburnering this because I received a copy around the time the Sherman Alexie sexual harassment allegations came out (he wrote the introduction). Onward, I go! #24in48

Megabooks I read this book yesterday. It was quite good. 5y
8 likes1 comment
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Caterina
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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"Her name was Adrienne, like a poet I loved. A woman of exclusion, who loved women enough to give her work solely to them. Adrienne was part of a continuum working against erasure."

What a coincidence that I had a book of Rich's poetry sitting right next to me as I read this paragraph in Heart Berries! #newyearwhodis @Emilymdxn

Tired and sore today, so I'm loving my reading break from packing for the move to California. 2.5 hours for #24in48.

Emilymdxn That‘s amazing! Hope the move is treating you okay, I know how exhausting they can be 😢 5y
57 likes1 comment
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Megabooks
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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Pickpick

Now here is a real book about mental illness (and other things - TW for child abuse, abuse in general, suicide)! Chapter 5 is why I‘ll never have kids. This book is just a squeak off amazing. Highly recommend. 4.5⭐️

#24in48 book 3
#booked2019 #indigenousauthor
#bfcr2 book 21/28 #goteam

Now I start all over with three new books!

wanderinglynn Way to go! 🙌🏻 5y
Megabooks @wanderinglynn Thanks!! 😘😘 5y
cewilf Woohoo! I haven‘t started reading for 24in48 but will be soon! 5y
See All 10 Comments
Megabooks @cewilf Yay! Glad you‘re joining in! 5y
rockpools Still stormin‘ on the books! 5y
Megabooks @RachelO 👍🏻👍🏻🎉🎉 5y
Cinfhen I‘m guessing #IndigenousAuthor ??!? And yes, this book was PAINFUL but so beautifully written 5y
Megabooks @Cinfhen Very painful and beautiful! You are correct about that and the prompt! I hope your vacation is going well! 😘😘 5y
Cinfhen Wonky WiFi, jet lag and trying to please dozens of people is making for some bad reading juju😬but I‘m happy to be amongst friends & family 💕 5y
BarbaraTheBibliophage This was my #indigenousauthor pick also. It‘s so tough ... but really well crafted. Good job! 5y
95 likes2 stack adds10 comments
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Cinfhen
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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#LilithJuly Catch up from yesterday ~ went with the song lyrics. This memoir by Terese Mailhot, a gifted Indigenous writer beautifully shares her painful beginnings. Her unhealthy #foundations lead to many poor decisions and toxic relationships. Not an easy book to read but her raw honesty will blanket you.

KarenUK Perfect choice.... this sounds like a tough read... 💔 5y
105 likes1 comment
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CaroPi
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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Mehso-so

Is my first reading in the #bookfitnesschallenge #bfc it was short #audiobook. I like some parts but others... I am not sure if I will like it more if I read it. Have very mixed feelings about it. Has anyone else read it? Is just me?

Suet624 I read it and I can imagine that listening to it would not be as impactful. I reallllly liked the book. 5y
17 likes1 comment
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Blueberry
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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My current read.

Megabooks Love the photo! 5y
Blueberry @Megabooks Thank you ☺ 5y
63 likes3 stack adds2 comments
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Aswenson
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Marie Mailhot
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Loved my reads this month. The Bear and the Nightingale was a favorite. 💕 #swensonreads #swensonreads19

StillLookingForCarmenSanDiego Great job! 📖💖 6y
45 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Canndor
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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Mehso-so

This memior was my #Booked2019 pick for #indigenousauthor.
There were things I enjoyed about it, mainly the depth and rawness of her emotion.
I am giving it a so-so because it was pretty hard to follow, jumping around in time. It is written like a letter to a past love and took some liberties with shared knowledge that left me feeling like I was missing something or not understanding fully.
@Cinfhen @4thhouseontheleft @BarbaraTheBibliophage

Cinfhen This was a very raw read but I‘m glad it wasn‘t longer because it was too uncomfortable 6y
22 likes1 comment
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MelissaSue81
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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Panpan

I feel bad panning this.. the author clearly has talent in writing and had clearly experienced much pain. But the back and forth between past and present had me confused most of the time and I truly could not relate to anything in this memoir. Maybe it would work for another reader, but not for me. #booked2019 and #readingwomenchallenge #indigenousauthor

Cinfhen I found this memoir very raw and difficult/ painful to read. I can see why the structure would confuse you. I was just amazed at her ability to create so much feeling by simply using words. Her prose was very poignant. Good choice for indigenous author. 6y
61 likes1 stack add1 comment
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elisebarker
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Marie Mailhot
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Pickpick

It‘s a pick for me because Mailhot‘s writing is so powerful and impactful, but her story made me really sad. It made me sad because she seems to be trying to prove she‘s okay now, but really she still seems very angry. I‘m surprised she and her husband are still together to be honest.

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Kathrin
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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Mehso-so

Didn‘t love this... Reading some other reactions it might have been because I listened to it.

I truly think she is a great writer, but this book lacked in clarity for me, especially because it‘s a memoir. I would like to read fiction by the author.

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Suet624
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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I‘m so excited for Mailhot. A well deserved award for this stunning book and $50,000 in prize money. Here‘s hoping she‘s working on her next book. PS: If you decide to read this book (and I hope you do) I hear the audio version is not the way to go.

thebluestocking Interesting. I did read this on audio and did not love it. I wonder if I would have liked it better had I read it in print. 6y
Suet624 @thebluestocking oh bummer. I heard the narration was awful. This book and Freshwater were my favorites of last year. 6y
51 likes2 comments
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flying_monkeys
Heart Berries: A Memoir | Terese Mailhot
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“Memoir, for me, functions as something vulnerable in a sea of posturing.” Terese Marie Mailhot, Heart Berries

#QuotsyMar19 @TK-421

I‘m in awe of anyone #brave enough to share their personal story w/ the world. A memoir by a woman of color or Indigenous woman takes even more courage. (Roxane Gay‘s Bad Feminist is another example that comes to mind.) I feel grateful for these women who are willing to share so much of themselves with the public.

gradcat This quote is really beautiful to me; the sentiment is so powerful for me because posturing seems to be so common these days. Thanks for this, truly, thank you for this post. 👏🏻 🙏🥰 6y
17 likes1 stack add1 comment