History of Present Complaint by H.L.R

SYNOPSIS

After a traumatic psychotic episode, a nameless young woman recounts past psychiatric crises in an attempt to make sense of her present and fight for her future.

A genre-defying debut collection of prosetry, History of Present Complaint reveals the devastating reality of living with chronic mental illness. HLR writes of the human experience in her distinctive style: knock-out blows of blistering truths are tempered with shots of sardonic British humour, and the lines between fact and fiction, safety and danger, sanity and insanity are blurred beyond recognition through her bold poetry and sharp prose. History of Present Complaint is a damning depiction of under-funded mental health services and serves a vital role in giving a voice to the voiceless, shining a light on the darkest corners of the human condition and forcing the reader to see what has been there all along.

REVIEW

Despite how short this piece is, it presents a deep and resounding gravitas that leaves you speechless.

Weirdly enough, I do know a little bit about this topic about mental health and the strain that there is on the services provided. I studied about it in a criminology class at university and it left a mark on how little was being done for such an important part of all our wellbeing. But HLR struck that cord differently. Instead, flipping roles where alternatively you are the one experiencing mental health in a broken system, rather than being the onlooker being told of the situation. You are in the driver's seat.

This is truly a powerful piece which not only looks at how we treat those with mental health but society around us. It is more important than ever to have some form of empathy and understanding as to what people are going through mentally. It is an incredible source to look over again and again, whether it be for yourself or for someone else.

The difference that this piece has is that it portrays a story within poetry itself. Anyone of any age or capability would not just be able to follow it but figure out their own feelings towards the system. It is universal.

I think that this is a piece that I will take with me everywhere I go. It's indeed a hard topic but it's an important one that makes it truly special.

RATING: **** (FOUR STARS)

BUY LINKS

Amazon: History of Present Complaint: Amazon.co.uk: R, HL, Douglas, Craig: 9798703799475: Books

Comments

Just the Two of Us (Book 2) by Ryu Hyang

SYNOPSIS Soohyuk, a pediatric emergency medicine specialist, came to Korea in search of his birth parents, wanting to sort through the muddled darkness of his past. When he met Yuna, an anxious cook, he didn't expect to fall in love. Yuna has struggled all her life to trust men after an incident in her past and spends all her time doting upon her nephew and pursuing her one true love: cooking. The last thing she expected when she met Soohyuk was that she would want to move in with him. Both took a leap of faith and found happiness. Now, it seems certain they were meant for each other. Yet, navigating the twists and turns of a real relationship proves more difficult than either of them expected. Yuna fears what her brother will say when he finds out she's living with Soohyuk. and she grapples with the changes brought on by her young nephew's recent medical diagnosis. Meanwhile, Soohyuk is tied up working hours on end at S University Hospital, fending off the hospital direc...

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

This has been a long time in the making, but here it is. A court of Mist and Fury. I think that there is now the time to definitely say something about this, especially when the next book has already come out in the series. I genuinely do love this book. I think that it is much better than the first one in the series. This is mainly because of that in which the new characters are far more likeable, and those who we had been introduced to previously have been developed. For example, with Rhysand, I have found to be far more complicated than what had already been shown in the first book. In fact, I don't think that the first book did any justice for him. In any sort of perspective. However, it has also identified that Tamlin is not all that he seems, very annoying more than anything. I think however, that it is more due to the fact of that in which it feels like it was a waste to have a whole book with him in, now that the story has developed. In this next instalment, it carr...

The Crown by Kiera Cass

It is sad you know? Seeing this all coming to an end. However, if you think about it, it won't be a complete end until i read the 'Happily Ever After' book, which has some small novellas that focus on the series. Although, i do feel that i don't really want to read it just yet as it means that it would have officially ended then for me, after all of these years. If you had been with me from the very start, my first post was actually a review of the first three books of the series. Everything seems to have changed drastically since then. If i am being totally honest, when first laying my eyes of the final cover of the selection series, may have been a little bit judgemental. Not only because of the fact that i felt, not only is it very predictable, but it would have been nice to have colours that symbolise both femminity as well as leadership. Which when looking at this at first, it makes me think of 'primary' colours that everyone uses for girls, when...