Welcome to Litsy!

I read this book for the #ReadHarder2021 task “a book that demystifies a common mental illness“, but I'm honestly torn about that. Ikpi writes beautifully about her experience with bipolar disorder, but I don't feel any less mystified than I did before reading it. I think the experience of mental illness might just be impossible to demystify to people who don't have that particular illness.

Families are complicated. This collection of essays will bring up more than a few feelings for anyone who loves their dysfunctional family. So many things to talk about in therapy! So interesting to hear an unreliable narrator in a memoir, who owns that her memories may be flawed but they've shaped who she is. Descriptions of mental health issues were frank, which the world could use more of!

I‘m always worried reading memoirs about mental illness because they seem to stir my own broken brain in uncomfortable ways and this was no different. Beautifully written, emotionally raw and brutally honest, my crazy definitely responded to Bassey‘s journey. Recommend if you want to know how disordered our brains can be, especially if you love someone who struggles. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

Thanks to @Lacythebookworm for my awesome #LGPOG #secretsanta package!! Much love to you all on this, and every, day!

A powerful and moving collection of autobiographical essays about living with bipolar II illness. The style reminded me a lot of Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot. #Audiobook narrated by the author. #OwnVoices #MentalHealth

When anxiety about something I know I cannot change presents itself, I lie in bed and reimagine it. I turn the purple bruises of memory into lipstick-stained kisses, the crushing weight of life into neck-nuzzling embraces.

(Image from “Fighting Normal,” an art & poetry installation about mental illness & queerness, by Amy Willans & Laurie MacFayden)

I listened on hoopla but wish I read print, some sentences you'll want to linger over. This chronicles her bipolar II diagnosis and treatment and that part can be extremely painful to read about. I admit it was a little bit of a slow start but I ended up very interested.