readwithrhys's reviews
1142 reviews

*I received a copy from the author* 

How do I put into words how this made me feel SEEN? This poetry collection is one I don’t want to rate, but because Goodreads and Amazon prefer to push reviews with a star rating, this gets a 5, without a DOUBT. (I’m also adding a star rating on StoryGraph just in case the algorithm likes them too)

Poetry collections are some of my favourites, and this is 100% a favourite of all time. If I tried to pull all the poems that made me feel seen, it’s probably going to be like 25 out of the 31 poems included. THATS how much this poetry collection made me feel seen and worthy. 

I’ve been diagnosed with depression and anxiety from therapists and a psychiatrist. However, I do think I have either ADHD or am autistic (or both) but the process for adults to get diagnosed in Canada? I don’t want that process. PLUS my family still believe the common misconceptions that ADHD means you’re lazy, and autism means you’re childish and you’re ’low functioning’ (I’ve tried educating them since I had a psychology minor, almost a major, in my undergrad, but they didn’t want to listen). The poems in here regarding mental health SPOKE to me in ways I’ve never experienced before. Oh my GOD.

Poem 18, “Grandparents // Grief”, hit hard. (This passage is about their maternal grandma)

“…the worst part wasn’t that she wasn’t there anymore,

the worst part was that she died alone…”

I just about bawled in the car at work. My granny (my paternal granny) died in 2021 alone in her apartment (yesterday was 3 years since that day, so this hit extra hard). Her autopsy said that she died of a heartache early in the morning. She lived in Manitoba, we live in Alberta (we saw her often), but my uncle and auntie (also in Manitoba) could feel something was wrong when she didn’t reply to their texts or answer their calls. They went to her apartment together, and found her. I remember vividly waking up that morning, and just immediately felt something wrong in my gut. When I heard my mom’s voice upstairs, I KNEW something was wrong (she works days and it was a weekday). When my mom said my granny died, I was too in shock to cry. And reading that MD Robins didn’t cry when they got the news of their grandma, I knew I wasn’t alone in not crying from shock. Grief does different things to different people, and knowing I wasn’t alone in the fact that I couldn’t cry hearing my granny was gone? It’s a weight off my chest. 

I highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend this poetry collection. 

*thank you to libro.fm for the ALC* 

I’m a little late on reading this (I believe I got it from the January ALC picks) but this was a hard hitting thriller dealing with SA of a minor and the aftermath. 

We follow Felicia, a single mother and lawyer/volunteer at a suicide prevention hotline, starting when she answers the phone to a distressed young woman saying she was a victim of sexual assault at a local house party. The story flows from there, and when you get the jist of the synopsis, it does become predictable, but i think this story is more about Felicia grappling between what she should do that’s her moral responsibility, or her motherly instincts to protect her child. 

This packs a punch in just under 4 hours for an audiobook. I flew through this in one sitting (with the speed upped). While I found the plot sort of predictable, the reveal still had me gobsmacked (the way it was revealed). 

If you’re a fan of Lucinda Berry and haven’t picked this up yet, i recommend it! 

WHAT THE EVER LOVING FUCK IS THAT ENDING?? EXCUSE ME? 

This should be required reading for every Canadian and American (and everyone else but especially these 2 countries). 

I don’t think I can put into words how this essay collection changed my view on things. 

Elliott also didn’t just use these essays to take a stance on things; she used them as ways to take a stance but also to tell stories from her experiences. She was vulnerable while also taking a critical stance. You get to see into her mind as she’s writing. 

Please pick this up.

What the ever loving FUCK?