Though Bleuel committed suicide in March 2017, Project Semicolon remains an active nonprofit support network, and this book...
An essay collection from contributors who have experienced mental illness or who have lost a loved one to suicide.
Following her father’s suicide and her own battles with mental health issues, Bleuel founded Project Semicolon in 2013. She encouraged participants to draw or tattoo a semicolon on their bodies, submit a photo, and share their stories online. To Bleuel, the semicolon represented “when an author chooses to continue a sentence rather than end it.” Symbolically, the project hopes to help people understand that “you are the author and the sentence is your life.” The essays in this collection represent a range of mental health experiences, including anxiety, panic disorders, OCD, and self-harm. Some contributors reference teen experiences while others refer to spouses, children, or military service. The essays often explain the onset of the mental illness or self-harming behaviors and typically conclude with encouragement for readers experiencing their own challenges. Collectively, several themes emerge, including trauma from abuse, feelings of shame surrounding mental health challenges, and the understanding that mental health management is a lifetime commitment. Most essays are just a few pages in length, occasionally making it difficult to visualize exactly how a contributor gained control over his or her self-destructive impulses. A substantial list of resources is appended.
Though Bleuel committed suicide in March 2017, Project Semicolon remains an active nonprofit support network, and this book is eloquent testimony of its work. (Nonfiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-246652-5
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2017
Small but mighty necessary reading.
A miniature manifesto for radical queer acceptance that weaves together the personal and political.
Eli, a cis gay white Jewish man, uses his own identities and experiences to frame and acknowledge his perspective. In the prologue, Eli compares the global Jewish community to the global queer community, noting, “We don’t always get it right, but the importance of showing up for other Jews has been carved into the DNA of what it means to be Jewish. It is my dream that queer people develop the same ideology—what I like to call a Global Queer Conscience.” He details his own isolating experiences as a queer adolescent in an Orthodox Jewish community and reflects on how he and so many others would have benefitted from a robust and supportive queer community. The rest of the book outlines 10 principles based on the belief that an expectation of mutual care and concern across various other dimensions of identity can be integrated into queer community values. Eli’s prose is clear, straightforward, and powerful. While he makes some choices that may be divisive—for example, using the initialism LGBTQIAA+ which includes “ally”—he always makes clear those are his personal choices and that the language is ever evolving.
Small but mighty necessary reading. (resources) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09368-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
Though not the most balanced, an enlightening look back for the queer future.
An adaptation for teens of the adult title A Queer History of the United States (2011).
Divided into thematic sections, the text filters LGBTQIA+ history through key figures in each era from the 1500s to the present. Alongside watershed moments like the 1969 Stonewall uprising and the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s, the text brings to light less well-known people, places, and events: the 1625 free love colony of Merrymount, transgender Civil War hero Albert D.J. Cashier, and the 1951 founding of the Mattachine Society, to name a few. Throughout, the author and adapter take care to use accurate pronouns and avoid imposing contemporary terminology onto historical figures. In some cases, they quote primary sources to speculate about same-sex relationships while also reminding readers of past cultural differences in expressing strong affection between friends. Black-and-white illustrations or photos augment each chapter. Though it lacks the teen appeal and personable, conversational style of Sarah Prager’s Queer, There, and Everywhere (2017), this textbook-level survey contains a surprising amount of depth. However, the mention of transgender movements and activism—in particular, contemporary issues—runs on the slim side. Whereas chapters are devoted to over 30 ethnically diverse gay, lesbian, bisexual, or queer figures, some trans pioneers such as Christine Jorgensen and Holly Woodlawn are reduced to short sidebars.
Though not the most balanced, an enlightening look back for the queer future. (glossary, photo credits, bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 11, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-8070-5612-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Beacon Press
Review Posted Online: March 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
