How to be a better human

One of my favourite things about reading books, is the ability to get a small insight into how life is experienced by others

The two books I am reviewing this week, are two such books. These opened my eyes, heart and mind to how life may be experienced by others.

First up, we have one that seems to be all over Instagram (don’t let that put you off – it is so good) – Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason. This book is about living with mental illness and the impacts on the person with mental illness; on family dynamics, and the complexity of relationships. This book made me feel – so many feelings, and so many thoughts. This tugs at your heartstrings for sure – it did not make me cry (if you thought I only recommend crying books).

The protagonist is Martha, a woman in her late thirties, who is struggling with an undiagnosed mental disorder (they don’t ever actually name her mental illness in the book). Her mental disorder wreaks havoc on her life, relationships, and self-perception. Martha grapples with a sense of worthlessness and struggles to find her place in the world. The story spans many years, telling the story of Martha's journey from childhood through adulthood, delving into her tumultuous relationship with her husband, Patrick, as well as her complicated family life.

Mason's writing style is both lyrical and brutally honest – I felt such empathy for Martha. However, this book isn’t all doom and gloom – there are moments of humour as well as raw emotions. The most memorable thing for me about this book (I read this 7 or so months ago) is the portrayal of mental illness.  The author does not shy away from the harsh realities of life with mental illness – both from Martha’s perspective and those around her. I thought this was done with real compassion. I felt like I was given a window into this world, which is so important especially with some stigma still existing around mental illness. I would hope that readers would come away from reading this with a whole lot of compassion, and a more open mind.

As well as excellent character development, I think this book is beautifully written. This will stick with you long after you’ve finished it. I highly recommend Sorrow and Bliss for fans of contemporary fiction, and for those who enjoy thought-provoking and emotionally complex stories.

Another favourite of mine which I also read in 2022 is True Biz by Sara Novic. This book explores the complexities of being deaf, deaf culture, adolescence and identity. This is a coming of age story which I feel is a must read. Apart from watching the movie, CODA (now I am getting into movie reviewing but this is excellent), my knowledge of the deaf community is fairly limited. I appreciate the chance to read and learn about a part of our community that I don’t know much about. The discussions about the various types of sign language in particular really fascinated me – this book touches on deaf history which I really enjoyed.

This story takes place at the fictional River Valley High for the Deaf where the lives of the students, teachers, and administrators intersect in intricate ways. At the heart of the story is Charlie, a 15-year-old girl who has a faulty cochlear implant. She has been struggling in mainstream schooling, and she moves to River Valley High following a court order in her parents divorce. She has never learned sign language because her hearing parents didn’t think it was necessary and they wanted her to learn to speak English. I really felt for Charlie – she doesn’t seem to fit in anywhere. Not with the hearing community, and not with the deaf community. The way this book explores what being deaf means, and the way we try to “fix” things that might not need fixing so that people can be “normal”, opened my mind. I wonder what the world might be like if we accepted more people just as they are?

Hopefully I have said enough to entice you to read this book as I don’t want to give away too much about the plot. I could not put this book down, and I was sad when it was over. I really fell in love with these characters. Stories like these create such empathy and awareness. I feel like this should be compulsory reading for every human.

I would love to know if you have read these books, and how they made you feel? Are there other books that came to mind when you read this? I would love to know your recommendations… because life is too short to read bad books.