Trisha Cull is a well-published writer and poet from British Columbia. Though initially known for her writing and poetic art, Trisha recently released her memoir The Death of Small Creatures, that powerfully depicts a part of her life many did not appreciate before. In this haunting and powerful novel, Cull describes her struggles and battles with bulimia, bipolar disorder, and substance use. While the book is thought by readers to be confusing at times, it details the reality that many individuals with mental illness face day in and day out, struggling with feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, and ultimately vulnerability.
Recommended For:
Those interested in psychiatry or wanting to see mental illness from a firsthand perspective
Recommended For:
Those interested in psychiatry or wanting to see mental illness from a firsthand perspective
Synopsis:
In her lyrical memoir The Death of Small Creatures, Trisha Cull lays bare her struggles with bulimia, bipolar disorder and substance abuse. Interspersing snatches of conversations, letters, blog entries and clinical notes with intimate poetic narrative, Cull evokes an accessible experience of mental illness.
In The Death of Small Creatures, Cull strives to cope with her hopelessness. She finds comfort in the company of her two pet rabbits until one of them dies as a result of her lethargy. She numbs herself with alcohol. She validates her self-worth by seeking the love of men--any and all men--and three relationships significantly impact her life: her marriage to Leigh, a much older man; her unrequited love for Dr. P, her therapist; and her healthier relationship with Richard, an American she meets through her blog. She tries drugs--Neo Citran, Ativan, Wellbutrin, crack, crystal meth--and after two hospitalizations, she undergoes electroconvulsive therapy.
Haunting and expressive, this immersive memoir explores love in all its facets--needy, obsessive, healthy, self-directed--and plunges the reader headlong into the intense and immediate experience of mental illness (www.goodreads.com).
For more information about this book, check out:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/trisha-culls-memoir-of-mental-illness-the-death-of-small-creatures-is-often-poetic-but-just-as-often-confusing/article24106669/
In her lyrical memoir The Death of Small Creatures, Trisha Cull lays bare her struggles with bulimia, bipolar disorder and substance abuse. Interspersing snatches of conversations, letters, blog entries and clinical notes with intimate poetic narrative, Cull evokes an accessible experience of mental illness.
In The Death of Small Creatures, Cull strives to cope with her hopelessness. She finds comfort in the company of her two pet rabbits until one of them dies as a result of her lethargy. She numbs herself with alcohol. She validates her self-worth by seeking the love of men--any and all men--and three relationships significantly impact her life: her marriage to Leigh, a much older man; her unrequited love for Dr. P, her therapist; and her healthier relationship with Richard, an American she meets through her blog. She tries drugs--Neo Citran, Ativan, Wellbutrin, crack, crystal meth--and after two hospitalizations, she undergoes electroconvulsive therapy.
Haunting and expressive, this immersive memoir explores love in all its facets--needy, obsessive, healthy, self-directed--and plunges the reader headlong into the intense and immediate experience of mental illness (www.goodreads.com).
For more information about this book, check out:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/trisha-culls-memoir-of-mental-illness-the-death-of-small-creatures-is-often-poetic-but-just-as-often-confusing/article24106669/
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