The Warmth of the Heart Prevents Your Body from Rusting - Ageing Without Growing Old
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A breakout bestseller in France and the U.K. and a transformative guide to growing older with...
I Can Handle It! (Mindful Mantra #1)
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Can Sebastien handle his problems? Of course he can, with the help of a mindful mantra! He could try...
Children Kids Mental Health Psychology Emotions Health
Stress-Proof
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Are you ready to stop feeling constantly stressed and become the best version of you? In...
The Life of Captain Marvel
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She's one of the mightiest heroes not just on Earth, but in the entire galaxy! Now learn exactly how...
Sometimes I Might Be Introvert by Little Simz
Album
Over the course of her lush, expansive, defiantly sprawling new album, "Sometimes I Might Be...
ClareR (5674 KP) rated Anxious People in Books
Jan 25, 2022
But this isn’t a self-help book. Fredrik Backman weaves his magic and has written a book that has made me laugh and cry in equal measure. I keep telling myself that I shouldn’t like his books (please don’t ask me why, because I don’t think I really know!), but every Backman book that I’ve read has made me feel that humans are essentially decent and will come up trumps in the end. And we all need a bit of that sometimes, don’t we?
Louise (64 KP) rated Furiously Happy in Books
Jul 2, 2018
This a non-fiction memoir about a woman, Jenny Lawson who suffers from mental illness, but not just one she has a whole mixed bag of mental health problems, Jenny suffers from depression, anxiety, insomnia, ADD and others.
This is her memoir of how she copes with mental health and what is like to live with these debilitating illnesses. The book is told in several short stories of Jenny's life, there are also pictures added in several of the chapters.(proof that these things really happened).
Her husband Victor is a saint that's all I can say, Jenny is crazy but in a good way crazy, she just talks about the most random things ever, but this a symptom of anxiety you over think things and you can tell by her writing.
This book is very funny, and Jenny isn't bothered about the stigma that is still attached to mental health, she is just being herself which is so refreshing.
I never heard of Jenny Lawson when I requested this book, I was more drawn to the synopsis and the amazing raccoon on the front cover. Jenny is a taxidermist's daughter and has a lot of love for stuffed animals which is clear in the book and shown with pictures.
I really could relate to Jenny as I suffer from depression and anxiety, I knew where she was coming from and when she was explaining they symptoms, I was like yes, I get that too! The book is very funny in places, but there are parts which I think are just silly!
My favourite part of the book has to be when she is trying to convinve Victor to get another cat so she can call it the 'President', her ideas are very witty and weird - i mean who thinks of stuff like this.
Whilst this book was good and funny, I was wanting her to be a bit more serious in some parts. I wanted to know how she really felt without trying to make it humorous. And yeah I know it's a serious topic and she is trying to make it light-hearted but I feel that maybe she is still holding back on what she really wants to say.
There is a trigger warning for this book, it does discuss self harm and suicide, so if you are easily offended I would not suggest it for you. Also there is a lot of swearing/cussing.
This is Jenny's second book, first being Let's pretend this never happened and also she has her own blog called the bloggess which I will be following.
I would recommend this book for anyone suffering from mental illness or has a family member/friends that does.
I rated this book 3.5 stars out of 5.
For more of my reviews please check out www.louiselovesbooks.wordpress.com
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Herself (2020) in Movies
Oct 6, 2020
Sandra is trying to keep her life together for her two daughters after she escapes from her abusive husband. Feeling isolated, overworked and living in a terrible situation Sandra has an off the wall idea that seems like a pipe dream. With the help of those around her she makes a true home for her girls and regains pieces of herself she'd lost.
Herself has some very serious topics in it, domestic violence and childhood trauma being at the top of the list, so that's definitely something to keep in mind if you're thinking of watching it. These topics are very effectively done and those feelings jumped out and affected me in a way I really didn't expect... I cried through a significant amount of the film, so probably just as well I was sitting in my living room and not a crowded cinema.
An interesting discovery on this was that one of the writers was Clare Dunne who plays the lead role of Sandra. I don't know what the process was between her and Malcolm Campbell but that involvement undoubtedly helps Dunne relay the true intent of the script, which I felt was incredibly well written.
Dunne's performance blew me away, barely minutes into the film you realise just what you're in for, it was such a brutal switch that my jaw nearly hit the floor. At every tense moment Dunne's acting is flawless and she conveys the emotions to a T. She does it so well that you get caught up in her anxiety, I found myself waiting for the bad things she was living in fear of and it was agonising... in a good way.
Along with her performance they use footage so well to help convey the story. When Sandra has an anxiety attack they cut clips into the scene, the quick changing back and forth between memory and present day brings the unsettling familiarity of panic and brings about a deeply emotional moment in the film. It might not conjure the exact same feeling as your own personal anxiety attack but it was closer than any other films I've seen it in.
Herself is a strong reminder that the vulnerable have the power within them to overcome anything through the right support and people who care. And sadly, it also reminds us that the system is a little messed up. I'm so pleased that I got the opportunity to see this, it's a well crafted film and I can say without a doubt it's already one of the highlights of this year's LFF.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2020/10/herself-movie-review.html
Haleh Banani
Podcast
Haleh Banani is the first female to host a program for Al-Fajr TV called 'With Haleh' which combines...