Today it's my turn on the BlogTour What Doesn't Kill You by Elitsa Dermendzhiyska.
Elitsa Dermendzhiyska went from stock investing in Washington DC to a technology incubator in south-east Asia, then joined the rat race in London and promptly burned out while building a tax software business. To avoid actually getting therapy, she spent the next two years interviewing therapists, psychiatrists, NHS clinicians, authors, artists and entrepreneurs from South London to Silicon Valley – this book is the result.
Follow @elliethinksnot on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Amazon, Visit elliethinks.com, Buy What Doesn't Kill You
About the book
An explorer spends a decade preparing for an expedition to the South Pole; what happens when you live for a goal, but once it’s been accomplished, you discover it’s not enough? A successful broadcast journalist ends up broke, drunk and sleeping rough; what makes alcohol so hard to resist despite its
ruinous consequences? A teenage girl tries to disappear by starving herself; what is this force that compels so many women to reduce their size so drastically?
In this essay collection, writers share the struggles that have shaped their lives – loss, depression, addiction, anxiety, trauma, identity and others. But as they take you on a journey to the darkest recesses of their mind, the authors grapple with challenges that haunt us all.
The stories are divided into three chapter headings Struggle, Self and Striving, which in a way captures the essence of survival. That's what these stories are personal revelations about struggles, demons, having to overcome pain and the hardest moments in life. The authors open doorways into their souls for a brief and yet poignant look. Letting the readers look through windows in the hope that their words will find ears that are searching for words or eyes that are seeking connections.
The book contains the following stories:
Beginning and Self Knowledge by David Whyte, Eight by AJ Ashworth, A Disappearing Act by Kate Leaver, Three Wise Women by Irenosen Okojie, Last Fragments of Love by Cathy Rentzenbrink, Not Wasted by Ed Mitchell, My Unremembered Life by Emily Reynolds, The Last Fight by Hazel Gale, The Lily Show by Lily Bailey, ADHD and Me by Rory Bremner, No Cure for Life by Julian Baggini, It Could Have Snowed It Snowed by Alex Christofi, The Pilgrimage by Elitsa Dermendzhiyska and A Very Long Walk in a Very Cold Place by Ben Saunders.
I think what resonated most with me about this book was the truth. Not tales created to entertain for an anthology, but a creation of memories, truths and discoveries given to the reader to interpret and enjoy as they see fit. It's a powerful way to introduce the person behind the words, perhaps get a sense of their drive, whilst simultaneously enjoying the writing.
I could take a few of the stories I found particularly interesting and focus on them, however to do so would possibly flavour the way the others are perceived, and they all deserve to be read and embraced on an equal standing.
Buy What Doesn't Kill You at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Unbound; pub date 11 Jun. 2020. Buy at Amazon com.
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