Unspeakable by Jessica Willis Fisher is a heartbreaking memoir that explores religious trauma, abuse, and survival. At times, it is difficult to digest — but it is absolutely worth the read. Because Jessica narrates the audiobook herself, I highly recommend listening to it in that format if possible. Hearing her gentle voice tell her own story — and sing her lyrics — creates a profound sense of intimacy, camaraderie, and understanding. The ...
Game Review: The Monsters We Make: Illness and Empathy in Silent Hill 2
First off, let me say that I don’t think video games have to be analyzed deeply by everyone who plays them. They can be purely entertainment, and that’s perfectly okay. However, as is my nature, I often use the media I consume—whether it’s books, movies, or games—for self-reflection. I didn’t grow up with video games, and Silent Hill 2 is actually my very first playthrough of any game in the series. That gave me a raw, unfiltered experience of ...
Book Book Review: Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline | Characters Flat as a Pancake
*Orphan Train* by Christina Baker Kline seemed like the perfect read-along to tackle with the bestie. For those of you who’ve known me for many moons, y’all probably remember the shenanigans Fizzy and I got into over on the now-retired blog, *A Simply Enchanted Life*. I got divorced. She got older. I got chonkier. Life happened. So some of y’all might not know the bestie. Let me fix that: her name is Fizzy. She writes over at ...
Book Review: Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain | Eugenics and the Cost of “Doing What’s Best”
Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain is a historical fiction novel set in North Carolina in the 1960s. It’s not a feel-good story, and it’s not exactly a feel-bad story either (hey, don’t laugh at me—words are hard), but it’s a little bit of both. The 1960s were a challenging time for women in general. Married women had to get permission from their husbands to be prescribed the newly available birth control pill, effectively placing their ...
Book Review: Satan’s Harvest by Robert David Chase | Victim Blaming in Paranormal Narratives
Satan’s Harvest is book #6 in the Ed and Lorraine Warren series, and the fourth one I’ve read. I’ve had some trouble tracking down a couple of the earlier titles (yes, I am glaring directly at my library for this), but honestly—that frustration pales in comparison to the reaction this book inspired. I’m just going to say it outright: writing this review may very well be the literary equivalent of setting fire to any chance of being accepted as ...
