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Emo Reality

The Biography of Teenage Borderline Personality Disorder

Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

Lina had the idyllic childhood—until descending into mental chaos.

Caught in a chaotic world of her own making, Lina resorts to recording her thoughts to make sense of her anguish. She shares her life obsessively with her sister and her friends, in millions of words eventually found by their father.

Lost in the dark, Lina navigates the childhood evidence later found in her archives. But will her research open a pathway to love—or help her continue down the path of blame, false memories, and spite?

The past and present events are Lina's direct experience through her eyes and words, condensed by her father. The future—Lina's therapy and mature reflections—were projected by the author and a psychologist using the source material.

Love her or hate her, through Lina's own heart-wrenching language the reader steps into her broken inner world to experience firsthand the emotions, depression, obsessions, irrationality, and ruthlessness of teenage borderline personality disorder.

Emo Reality shines a light into the dark corners of adolescent mental illness.

"An unusual book about mental health and family dynamics, strangely compelling, like peeking into a diary. Some readers will bounce off the language, but those who connect will see how mental struggle can affect a family in ripples and crashing waves."—Amelia J.

"As a mental health therapist I found the representation to be accurate and insightful. A great job of crafting an interesting narrative based on lived experience, and ending with valuable information."—Stephanie L.

"The reader feels the visceral emotions Lina experiences and the anger, desperation, and isolation she endures. This book is a significant entry into books about mental health and brings the enormity of the psychiatric situation to bear upon the reader."—Betsy B

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    • Publisher's Weekly

      June 26, 2023
      This heart-wrenching novel-as-memoir, drawn from the experiences of author Daniels’s daughter, explores the experience of a young girl with borderline personality disorder. Through fictionalized diary entries, online posts, and emails, this firsthand personal account is told in vivid detail as Lina, growing up in Tokyo, contends with and descends into the muddled, often pitiless thoughts consuming her mind. Sharing her life story from early childhood into her 20s, and exploring family dynamics, self-esteem issues, mood swings—“When my best friend kept talking, I punched her”—and her feeling that “the whole world was out to get me,” this memoir is insightful and educational in explaining the inner workings of a mind controlled by mental illness, building to a welcome burst of hope and recovery in the final pages.
      Spending most of her adolescence in Singapore, Lina is an angry, depressed young girl whose "false memories" cause her to nurture an irrational hatred of her family and most authoritative figures in her life. Though she is highly intelligent, Lina sabotages her education to spite her parents and is constantly rebelling against their concerns and advice for her life path. A talented writer and singer, Lina fluctuates between dreams of being a tattoo artist and being a famous actress or musician. In her states of delusion, Lina believes the only cause for her lack of success is the overbearing rules of her father, who is often away on business. In truth, Lina and her older sister, who also is sinking into depression, have little structure and guidance in their lives aside from him.
      At times wrenching in its candidness—there are references to suicidal thoughts and rape— Lina's story is touching, heartbreaking, and moving, a stark exploration of mental illness, undiagnosed and unchecked. Readers will become immersed in Lina's reflections and come to understand what it is like for an individual and a family facing Borderline Personality Disorder.
      Takeaway: Unflinching novel of growing up with borderline personality disorder.
      Comparable Titles: Hilary Smith’s Welcome to the Jungle, Bassey Ikpi’s I'm Telling the Truth but I'm Lying.
      Production grades
      Cover: B
      Design and typography: A
      Illustrations: N/A
      Editing: A
      Marketing copy: A

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

Languages

  • English

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