Survival & Other Surprises by Casper E. Falls

Rating:

5 Stars

Themes:

Poetry, Disability

Thoughts:

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I thought this book would be great for me as a chronically ill individual myself who doesn’t get exposed to many other experiences in real life and this was a great immersion. However, I didn’t expect it to have my eyes watering to the point of near tears feeling such a strong connection and representation to myself, despite having a different condition to the author. It’s a great warts and all depiction of chronically ill lives, exploring flares, being a spoonie, cog fog, mental illness, and the worth of disabled lives. There is also some other interesting topics such as ignored genocides, being misgendered, and capitalism making it more than just a book about disability and survival. Some of my personal favourites are Another Day, Furby, I Am Done Hating My Body, The Weight of the Fallen, My Disabled Body, Ariel's Goodbye, and Broken Branches.

Favourite Quote:

I want all of it to survive

even if the world declares

that every space the sick take

every pound they add

makes me less worthy

of life

I'd rather be alive

than a beautiful dead thing

worthy of it

Comments

The War of Sober by Edward Rand

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Self-Help, Addiction, Psychology Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is a great book not just for addicts trying to establish and maintain their sobriety but also psychologists, counsellors and the people working with them. It approaches the experience of addiction from the perspective of going to war and may help those who can’t get along with the 12 steps, contingency management or other forms of therapy traditionally used. It’s also helpful to have Edward detail his own experiences and approaches throughout so it feels less clinical and shows he does know what he’s talking about when he mentions the difficulties so it comes across less patronising than some self-help addiction books. Favourite Quote: "It doesn't matter what happened yesterday. Win or lose, if we are still alive, we must decide to be different today and then make the correct choices today, because friends, ...

Broken Glass by Sarah Kay

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Poetry Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This collection is mixed for me, some of the poems were really good and all were definitely emotive but I think so many poems on the Hamas attack and subsequent war which is highly politically charged a little difficult to tackle. Favourite Quote: "What good is it to open my heart when in the end, you will stab it in the back?"

Shame-Sex Attraction by Lucas Wilson

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, LGBTQ+ Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is definitely a difficult read and it took me quite a while to get through it for that very reason. It is split up into 17 different peoples experiences with a foreword and afterword. It’s definitely an important read for many as these practices are still legal in many countries, including my own, and without knowledge of the damage of the practices many may not join in the protests or sign the petitions to try to get laws in place. As a member of the community myself I found some of these stories such as the ‘Sniffing the Gay Away’ and ‘Convert’ especially difficult to read and reminded me just how lucky I was to have such a supportive and loving community around me. I appreciated that the afterword highlighted the limitations of the collection such as having little to no religious, geographical or racial diversity but that they did try to ga...

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