TBR Feature #39

Wednesday 1 February 2017

TBR Feature is the chance for me to, every Wednesday, pick one of my unread books and discuss it: why I picked it up, when I'll get round to reading it, if I'm still interested in it at all etc.

Under Rose-Tainted Skies by Louise Gornall

This is one of those books that I feel I'll never get away from, especially on Twitter. Not that that's a bad thing in this case - I actually want to read it. I only got a copy last month so it's still a fairly new addition to my shelf, hence why it's unread.

I've heard nothing but good about this book: it's diverse, it's own voices, the representation of mental health is fantastic, the author's lovely, the cover's stunning. It goes on and on and on. But I'm still worried that I'll dislike this. And not just because it's a contemporary.

I've never officially been diagnosed with agoraphobia but it's highly likely that I've experienced episodes of it. When I was still at secondary school I couldn't leave my house so I understand the crippling fear, anxiety, and panic attacks that come with the disorder. Even now, I'm struggling with a phase where I can only leave the house with people I trust explicitly, and only to 'safe places'. There are good days and bad days - for the most part they're okay. I can go out so long as it's a planned outing and I have a fail-safe in place. But then there are days where I can't even walk to the corner shop and back.

My biggest worry is that - despite the author having agoraphobia herself - this won't quite capture how it feels. But then, I don't think you can ever express the nature of mental health, purely because it's so subjective and elusive. Hopefully it'll do a damn good job and I'll end up enjoying this, because it would be a shame if I didn't.

Have you read Under Rose-Tainted Skies?

8 comments:

  1. I will definitely not be able to escape this book either. It seems as if EVERYONE has been talking about it, I think I need to thy it for myself!

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  2. I really do hope you enjoy this! As you know I loved it so much and thought it was a really good representation so I hope you do to!

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    1. I'm so glad to hear that the representation is good! Really hope I enjoy it :D

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  3. Ohh for whatever reason I'm only hearing about this beauty for the first time now. (*secretly feels left out of something* haha)
    I completely understand what you said about your experience with the disease..With me, I think it's more of social anxiety and fear of social situations, but I understand what it's like literally having to drag yourself out of the house some days, and fighting yourself not to cancel plans when the anxiety hits hard.
    This book definitely caught my eye, and not only for the beautiful cover..I might pick this up myself soon! Great post, keep up the good work! -Sam. x

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    1. I hope you do pick it u and enjoy it! It does seem to be very well done, so I'm hoping it will capture the feelings you mentioned. It sucks having to fight with yourself about doing something fun, so I can empathise with you. Hope things get easier in the future though :)

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  4. I've heard loads of good things about this book! But I've also heard that there's some fairly graphic self-harm, so take care of yourself. <3

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    1. Thank you, Cee. Thankfully I've never had any problems with self-harm so fingers-crossed I'll be okay. I'll be interested to see how well it's handled though.

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