While I'm not generally a big fan of memoirs, this one was unique, poetic and gorgeous. Hauntingly beautiful and unlike any other memoir I've read, All Down Darkness Wide delivers a tale of ghosts, mental illness, and queer love.

Wow. OK. I need a hard copy of this ASAP because I wanted to highlight every single line. What a gut punch. What a marvel. I'm sad and I'm worked up because I'm kind of obsessed. I love it when academics dig deep and show just how gorgeous their minds really are. I love when poets indulge in their obsessions. I love it all.
But I did crave more. I wanted this heartbreaking story to be more connecting to the world at large. I know the book didn't have to do this, but I felt it going there, and I wanted it. In a way it left me kind of frustrated. 4.5 stars, I can't wait to read it again and discover more beauty.

I am loving it. All down darkness wide is brilliantly written memoir; I found that some of the author's feeling, even though very personal, are close to mine, others are completely foreign, but they are an opportunity to understand unfamiliar emotions.
Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Press for the ARC.

Seán Hewitt’s All Down Darkness Wide is a beautifully written memoir that reflects on the author’s own coming out and his boyfriend’s struggle with mental health. Hewitt weaves into his memoir the writing of other people he grows to revere, making this work part meditation on how art reflects and informs our reality. At times slow moving, the story is nevertheless worthy of the reader’s time.

All Down Darkness Wide is a beautifully written memoir that deals with topics and feelings I am not a stranger to. It’s the kind of book where you are told the ending upfront but still reading it hoping for a different, happier, ending. I picked this up not knowing anything about the author and now I am definitely going to have to pick up Hewitt’s other books. Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Press for the e-arc.

A beautiful, lyrical memoir that touches on familiar topics as well as unfamiliar ones. You can absolutely tell it’s written by a poet. It’s made me want to pick up Hewitt’s poetry too.

I’ve made it 24% and I know this book isn’t for me. I’ve read through books that I wasn’t into hoping I would like it still. That has never happened. I don’t want to finish this book only to give it a poor rating. There’s nothing wrong with this book. It’s boring for me. Not enough has happened. The writing doesn’t add anything either. That isn’t its fault necessarily. I realize it’s a memoir. I’m still grateful for the arc. Sorry this one didn’t work out.

Words simply cannot express how much I love this book so far, the realness of the characters and their struggles were so heartbreakingly realistic, and I was rooting for them the entire time. The writing was so simple yet so poetic at the same time, and it really conveyed so much in so few words. There are so many fantastic quotes in this novel, “Guiltily though I realized now that I also loved the tragedy of him” being one one of my favorites. I have read many memoirs in my life, but this is one of the most impactful I have had the pleasure to encounter. The only note I would say is to check for spelling errors, as there were a few. Thank you for the opportunity to read this.