Sorrow and Bliss
Ratings52
Average rating3.9
Everyone tells Martha Friel she is clever and beautiful, a brilliant writer who has been loved every day of her adult life by one man, her husband Patrick. A gift, her mother once said, not everybody gets. So why is everything broken? Why is Martha - on the edge of 40 - friendless, practically jobless and so often sad? And why did Patrick decide to leave? Maybe she is just too sensitive, someone who finds it harder to be alive than most people. Or maybe - as she has long believed - there is something wrong with her. Something that broke when a little bomb went off in her brain, at 17, and left her changed in a way that no doctor or therapist has ever been able to explain. Forced to return to her childhood home to live with her dysfunctional, bohemian parents (but without the help of her devoted, foul-mouthed sister Ingrid), Martha has one last chance to find out whether a life is ever too broken to fix - or whether, maybe, by starting over, she will get to write a better ending for herself.
Tags
Reviews
Popular Reviews
Reviews with the most likes.
This one surprised me. This is the first work book-club book that I've thoroughly enjoyed, and would absolutely recommend. It's witty (in a quintessentially British way), very readable, and presents a realistic take on how mental illness impacts relationships. While intense at times, it's ultimately uplifting. I got sucked in and couldn't stop.
Heavy fiction about Martha and life til 40. Always “different”. Since 17 meds for mental health (many diagnoses) and many therapists. The first one had the correct one but her mother didn't tell her as it was to terrible her to saddle her with that “label” (which is not named). Artsy family, close sister, marries Patrick (friend since young), is a writer but just can't fit in anywhere. At age 40, gets correct diagnosis and it turns her life upside down and inside out. Satisfying conclusion follows difficult times for her as she struggles to come to terms with what this did to her life and how she had to adapt to life and who she really was and what her expectations for herself were now that she had the keys to find her true self. Slow-paced-compelling-emotional- funny-sad-tense-character driven with complicated characters
Once i got past the fictional and unnamed mental health disorder i really liked this. Gives sally rooney but with a happier ending
Related Books
Books
9 booksReaders of This Book Also Enjoyed
If you enjoyed this book, then our algorithm says you may also enjoy these.
