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.
Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella
Finding Audrey hasn't been on my shelf that long - I only picked it up in April - but it's been on my radar for some time now. I'll admit, the only reason I finally picked it up was because it was part of a deal in Asda, and I can't resist a good two for £7 deal. My reluctance to pick this up stems from the fact that it's a contemporary, as I rarely enjoy them, but when I learnt it featured mental health (anxiety disorders, specifically) my interest was piqued.
However, I've heard that the way this handles mental illness isn't very good. And I've heard that from reviewers struggling with their own mental health, so I'm inclined to believe there's truth in their statements. The biggest complaint I've seen is that recovery is not painted in a realistic light. I've seen this in other books, as well as TV and film: the main character meets someone or tries something new and suddenly all of their problems are gone. And it sucks to see this.
In reality, recovery is not an easy path. Hell, sometimes just finding the path and having the courage and desire to start walking down it isn't always easy. When you've been suffering for a long time, your mental illness can become something of a security blanket, despite it potentially ruining your life, and giving that up is a scary thought. Even after years of being held back by my own anxiety I'm not ready to recover; it's become a part of me and thinking of living without it is enough to send me into a panic attack. Stupid, I know.
So when I see characters (and even real people, but let's not get into that...) overcome their 'mental illness' in the blink of an eye, my cynicism roars into life and I can't help but ask 'do they even have a mental illness?'
However, I've heard that the way this handles mental illness isn't very good. And I've heard that from reviewers struggling with their own mental health, so I'm inclined to believe there's truth in their statements. The biggest complaint I've seen is that recovery is not painted in a realistic light. I've seen this in other books, as well as TV and film: the main character meets someone or tries something new and suddenly all of their problems are gone. And it sucks to see this.
In reality, recovery is not an easy path. Hell, sometimes just finding the path and having the courage and desire to start walking down it isn't always easy. When you've been suffering for a long time, your mental illness can become something of a security blanket, despite it potentially ruining your life, and giving that up is a scary thought. Even after years of being held back by my own anxiety I'm not ready to recover; it's become a part of me and thinking of living without it is enough to send me into a panic attack. Stupid, I know.
So when I see characters (and even real people, but let's not get into that...) overcome their 'mental illness' in the blink of an eye, my cynicism roars into life and I can't help but ask 'do they even have a mental illness?'
Have you read Finding Audrey?
I actually quite enjoyed this book! I thought that the romance didn't "cure" her mental illness, it took a while for it to develop. But then again, if people with mental illness are saying that it isn't all that great, you should probably listen to them. I hope you don't find this too terrible nonetheless :)
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I just hope it's a decent portrayal of living with anxiety! Hopefully it won't be too bad though as it looks like it'll be sweet, regardless of the mental health stuff :)
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