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A review by _askthebookbug
it's all in your head, m by Manjiri Indurkar
5.0
// it's all in your head, m by @manjiriindurkar
I purchased this memoir on a whim to support @westland_books when the news of their closing was announced. I didn't read the blurb but simply chose this book because it promised to speak of mental health. A few days ago when I finally started reading it, I found it impossible to put it down. I read it while I worked, while I ate and finished it late into the night. Or morning because it was 3.30am. And I was left with a throbbing pain in the middle of my chest for little Manjiri.
The book begins with Manjiri's scary encounter with Rotavirus. This seemingly simple incident eventually opens up a portal of pain and terror in her mind, bringing back everything that has gone wrong since her childhood. Growing up in Jabalpur to parents who were ahead of their time, Manjiri could have had an ideal childhood. Could. No one knew that the little girl who looked beaming in the pictures all those years ago, had dark secrets hidden behind her eyes. Having been sexually abused as a child, Manjiri speaks of trauma that comes back to haunt her even today.
This infuriating incident which was carried out again and again, eventually stemmed out to mental trauma. How else can a child cope with this tragedy at such a young age? As she grew up, Manjiri noticed a pattern in her romantic relationships, her anger towards her grandmother and her tumultuous relationship with her body. What she couldn't say to the world, was put down on paper as poems.
There's so much to write about this book but I honestly don't want to give away too much. Although this book unpacks a lot of trauma and pain, Manjiri's writing keeps you going. It is simply exceptional. She has clipped tiny pieces of her heart onto these pages and it really shows.
Writing a book like this takes immense courage but I can also imagine how liberating it must have been to get this rock lifted off her chest, even if it is for a little while. I cannot wait to read more by her. And I can't thank her enough for her honesty in writing this memoir.
I highly recommend this.
I purchased this memoir on a whim to support @westland_books when the news of their closing was announced. I didn't read the blurb but simply chose this book because it promised to speak of mental health. A few days ago when I finally started reading it, I found it impossible to put it down. I read it while I worked, while I ate and finished it late into the night. Or morning because it was 3.30am. And I was left with a throbbing pain in the middle of my chest for little Manjiri.
The book begins with Manjiri's scary encounter with Rotavirus. This seemingly simple incident eventually opens up a portal of pain and terror in her mind, bringing back everything that has gone wrong since her childhood. Growing up in Jabalpur to parents who were ahead of their time, Manjiri could have had an ideal childhood. Could. No one knew that the little girl who looked beaming in the pictures all those years ago, had dark secrets hidden behind her eyes. Having been sexually abused as a child, Manjiri speaks of trauma that comes back to haunt her even today.
This infuriating incident which was carried out again and again, eventually stemmed out to mental trauma. How else can a child cope with this tragedy at such a young age? As she grew up, Manjiri noticed a pattern in her romantic relationships, her anger towards her grandmother and her tumultuous relationship with her body. What she couldn't say to the world, was put down on paper as poems.
There's so much to write about this book but I honestly don't want to give away too much. Although this book unpacks a lot of trauma and pain, Manjiri's writing keeps you going. It is simply exceptional. She has clipped tiny pieces of her heart onto these pages and it really shows.
Writing a book like this takes immense courage but I can also imagine how liberating it must have been to get this rock lifted off her chest, even if it is for a little while. I cannot wait to read more by her. And I can't thank her enough for her honesty in writing this memoir.
I highly recommend this.