Wow this really was an appropriate situation in which to reread this book. I'm not really competent at the moment, so that's my excuse for having no words to express how much this book means to me.
I guess the first time I read this book, I didn't really understand. Sure, I still was aware of some of the mental issues I had then, but it has gotten worse almost exponentially over the past year or two. Now, most of the stuff in this book was just so relatable. I understood it on a painfully deep level, and I'm just amazed that someone could put it into words in a book. Only John Green can, I guess. It's interesting how my perception of this book has changed along with my position in life.
Aza kept insisting that it was so impossible to put pain into words, yet she/John Green did put it into words which explained it nearly perfectly. I think I said this in the last review I did for this book, but the metaphor of the spiral just explains it so perfectly. Much better than the exponential graph thing I had in my mind.
Aza is just so similar to me, I swear. Obviously we are not the same person. But we just worry about such similar things, and I guess reading about her thoughts just made me feel more valid, I guess. We just function in very similar ways.
Reading Turtles was just such a comfort, in a way; it was a really good distraction. I'm honestly kinda proud of myself for reading it in less than a day like I said I would.
I feel like every second sentence of this book is really deep and resonates with me -- John Green is so amazingly good at writing. I've tabbed this book a lot and if I opened it to a random page I can guarantee that there'd be a quote there that I highly resonate with.
So, yeah. I'm kinda exhausted. Also, fun fact, it's really hard to get tear stains off glasses lenses.
Also, in Turtles, I really appreciated the many Star Wars references. And the Descartes references.
OH MY GOODNESS THIS IS WHAT A TUATARA LOOKS LIKE? IT'S SO CUTE AWWWW! Oh. They're carnivores. Oh my goodness. Oh no. Don't scroll down too far if you go to Google images for tuataras.
Ok. I think I'm done with this book review. As per usual, I'm going off topic.
Turtles All the Way Down is a very intense book but it is literally also amazing. Like revolutionary. Not for everyone though. But it will mean an enormous amount to about 1-2% of the world. I'm so special, I'm in so many 1% groups.
Anyway! I'm gonna leave this review here, and probably come back to it later to add more praise.
(I added this later):
I really do think that people should try to read this book, even if they don't struggle with mental health (do those people even exist?). I really think that everyone can relate at least a little bit to Turtles, and it's also a source of education on certain mental health issues, I guess. This is one of not many books that really portrays the severity of certain mental illnesses and the long journey that is recovery.
I think the portrayal of Aza going to therapy is also important, because it shows that therapy doesn't automatically fix everything while still reminding us how important it is to seek help. I actually just started ExRP (reminder that I'm writing this a couple weeks after the original review) (I have to draw graphs oh no) and I'm so fucking scared, but I guess the representation of Aza's relationship with her therapist is kinda comforting. And, again, it's really important to show therapy to reduce the stigma around it because it's not a nice feeling being ashamed of going to therapy.
So yeah. I'm actually considering writing a whole other post about this book/my experience since I just started ExRP and stuff, but it is currently 3:15am so maybe that's something I'll do tomorrow. I have heaps of ideas for posts that I want to write!
Turtles All the Way Down by John Green, 13+* ★★★★★
*This age recommendation is only my opinion. Some younger people might feel comfortable reading this book, and some older people might not. That's fine, either way. Warning for potentially upsetting themes, mental health issues such as OCD, swearing, sexual references, and weird kissing stuff.
Comments
Post a Comment