The North (And Almost Everything In It)

 The North (And Almost Everything In It) by Paul Morley
2013
Weight: 2.23 lbs
Method of Disposal: Recycling (damaged)

I bought this while visiting Harriet's family in Northern England and, almost two years ago, Wisconsin started to eat it before it was rescued by Harriet.  The back of it and the index right up to S is missing.  Likely, it ended up digested and in the woods to the back of our house.  Luckily, I could still read it, and I did.  Or, I slogged through it.  I was not in love.  I might have felt different if I grew up in the North and/or was around the author's age.  I am not sure.  As it was, it felt disjointed and lengthy without reason.  I am also not a sports fan so could not relate there either.  My favorite moments were when he described his boyhood, and there were some clever snippets about Northern England in there.  They were just few and far between.

Four Winds

 Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
2021
Weight: 1.62 lbs
Method of Disposal: Giving Away on a Buy Nothing Group

My grandmother gave me this book about a strong, though insecure woman who survives the Dust Bowl with her children and, at least partly, with her in-laws.  It was rough to watch the main character just get beaten down over and over and over and over again.  Sometimes the story seemed to move to fast and then slow down for a stretch before speeding up again.  It wasn't my favorite, but I was invested and interested. I do feel like I learned a little about the desperation of the time in history.  I cared more than I did in history class.

I am amused and horrified by how much some people have turned on the author and the anger they spew, claiming the novel is Communist propaganda.  Some things never change.

Easy Crafts for the Insane

 Easy Crafts for the Insane: The Mostly Funny Memoir of Mental Illness and Making Things by Kelly Williams Brown
2021
Weight: 1.6 lbs
Method of Disposal: Giving Away on with a Buy Nothing Group

This book left me with an uneasy feeling for days and was, ultimately, "the straw that broke the camel's back" for me.  I have been battling depression unsuccessfully for quite some time now.  I do not want to ruin the book for you if you have not read it.  So, stop reading here now if you want--how odd to think about "ruining the story" when you are talking about someone's life.

In this book, the author talks about her own struggle with depression and the impacts it had on her relationships with her friends, self, boyfriend, and family.  She also describes her near death experience with suicide.  The way she described it haunted me in that she did not think of herself as someone who would die that way and then found herself just minutes away from death.  Her boyfriend could not recover from it and was deeply wounded.  They ultimately broke up.  I did not think I would go that far either, but there were many times I scared myself with how deeply I was sinking anyway.  Especially right before, during, and after my period.  I could not live like that--feeling like I could not control my own actions for half the month each month.  The author wrote about her brain being unhealthy in the same way other parts of her body could become unhealthy.  She would not think twice about taking medication to help other parts of her body.  She described how it felt after she took medication for her mental health.  

I wanted to be a better wife and partner.  I started looking into psychiatrists and finally decided to talk to one and started to take Prozac.  It was not easy.  Over a decade ago, I had a negative experience with a psychiatrist and therapist that left me unwilling to seek help for my mental health since.   I got desperate enough.  That is where I am at.  The edge has been taken off, and I am trying to figure it all out with a little less drama.  I am grateful to the author for the insight.