I was so excited to read Alicia Elliott’s debut fiction. And this cover! I really liked how it started. The main character, Alice - and I do wonder if Alicia Elliott named her Alice of the famed Alice in wonderland who also took a fall - but the main character is obsessed with Pocahontas. Pocahontas appears to her and helps to guide her in a way. From the beginning you know the story is going to be different. Like Pocahontas, the story that is told about her isn’t reality. For Alice, the story she tells herself about her life isn’t reality either.

Alice has a newborn baby, Dawn and she is struggling to connect with her which gives Alice anxiety and guilt. Other than that she feels like her life is good. She’s happily married to a white man who is supportive and she believes she lives a good life. When things start to unravel for Alice she thinks she will find the answer by connecting back to her own Haudenosanee culture and she wants to rewrite the creation story.

There are so many things I loved about this story. First is Alicia’s writing. She’s a very talented writer. I also loved the nostalgia in the story and there are some very funny lines as well. The voice in the story is excellent and the “horror” scenes could be uncomfortable which they are supposed to be. The one thing, I do wish is that I would have been able to read this for longer periods of time. I was only reading bits at a time, when I could and I think that didn’t help because it would take me a while to get back into the story. When I could read larger chunks it was much more helpful.

My mind is spinning in the best way! There was so much thrown my way, including wrongful treatment, racism, genocide against Indigenous people, postpartum depression, motherhood, self-worth, mental illness, drug addiction, and parallel universes.

I loved this book and I will continue to love this book, and I recommend it to everyone that I can convince to read it.

This is a book that had me wanting to hold on and keep reading it right until the very end, not only did it have a hold on me, but you need to read it right until the very end!!

This book takes you along for what feels like a descent into madness -- is what you are reading real, is the narrator unreliable, what is actually happening and what is twisted? It's a smart way to cover this subject matter, intertwined with a critique of colonization, historical and modern, and an honest examination of what it is like to find one's way through new parenthood.

The story is about a young Haudenosaunee Mohawk woman named Elly, who has recently given birth to her daughter Dawn. She is living off reservation in Toronto Ontario, with her husband, away from her family and friends in Six Nations. She seems to be in a crisis of identify, have extremely low self esteem and on the verge of a nervous breakdown, a complete break from reality. Despite Elly’s own circumstances, we are rooting for her, maybe she can overcome the odds against her. The author uses a portal to explore the intergenerational trauma, infinite path of choices that Elly and her ancestors and decedents did make and could have made, looking for a more fitting path for her grandmother. In the end, Elly realizes that despite the hardships, her grandmother made many choices because she loved, and took the consequences for those choices, fully.
While there was much negative experiences for all of the characters, I enjoyed getting to know Elly, her sister Edie, her mother and gram. I hoped against hope that Elly would triumph, though I knew she would also pay for the consequences of the choices she would need to make to survive. I feel this is an important story from a Six Nation author. I was glad to experience this story, set against the background of writer’s block and indecision, in writing The Creation Story. 4.5 our of 5 stars!

I put off reading this for so long, not really sure why. But I unfortunately just couldn't get into this. I've decided to DNF at 25% in. I think I will try and get into this again or listen to the audiobook if it's out at a later time.

Thank you net galley for the earc in exchange for an honest review.

Unpacking this novel feels entirely disorientating—there are so many layers upon layers to peel back. There’s no doubt about it-- Alicia Elliott is a masterful storyteller. This novel bends so many genres: women’s fiction, Indigenous fiction, magical realism, sci-fi, fantasy and horror. If the latter are not your usual genres, don’t immediately count this one out! I’m generally not a sci-fi/horror/magical realism reader, but to skip this one would be to skip so much thought-provoking goodness! Elliott doesn’t let the throttle off for a moment, while she explores racism, genocide, classism, misogyny, drug addiction, grief, mental illness, postpartum depression/psychosis, trauma, motherhood, familial relationships, and so much more. There were so many moments where my heart was in my throat, and I felt the discomfort and fear that Alice was experiencing through the pages.

And Then She Fell is about the mental health of new mother, Alice, after she has her daughter, Dawn. She's a Mohawk woman who is falling farther and farther from her culture since she married a white man, Steve, and moved off the Rez. Now living in Toronto, she barely sees her family, especially with her husband arguing that they need to learn to parent on their own. Self-doubt starts settling in and Alice starts having some strange visions and experiences, including from talking cockroaches. It doesn't help that Alice has to wade her way through waves of racism, discrimination and ignorance.

In general, I really liked the inspiration from the Creation Story that is kind of the back bone of the whole novel. I really liked how the novel came together in the final chapters. I just found that Elliott's writing style was not for me and it took me a long time to get through the book. Give it a try though, at least for the cultural themes and the deep messages!

I’m struggling with how to describe this book. On the surface it’s about a young Indigenous mother, living in a Toronto neighbourhood with her supportive husband (who happens to be studying her Mohawk culture) struggling with post partum depression and mental health in general with the loss of her mother, writers block and imposter syndrome all weighing heavily on her. But this book is about so much more touching on racism and genocide to name just a few topics.

This book is a mind bender but is very readable and even if one is very different from Alice many people (women in particular) will find elements they relate with. If you like the magical realism of Murakami novels or like the Indigenous stories featuring similar “magical” realties (I apologize for not knowing the words they would use to describe those elements) you will enjoy this book and if you’ve never read anything like that this might make a great introduction.

I listened to a copy of this from my local library. The novel is an exploration of motherhood, mental health, and cultural identity and I feel it is especially important today for its honest portrayal of the mental health challenges faced by Indigenous women, especially when disconnected from their cultural roots.

Thank you to Netgally and Penguin Random House Canada for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is an interesting novel about Alice, an Aboriginal woman living in Toronto with her husband and young infant. Alice progressively starts dealing with a form of psychosis and post partum disorder.

The first 3/4 of the book was amazing. Her trips and hallucinations were so great to read and her downfall is really interesting and creepy. I feel like some of it will really stick with me for a long time.

However, the last bit, I was like what? I didn't feel like the last bit was for me or tied things together well.

I loved the first bits so much though, it still gets 4/5. Thank you Netgalley!

An aboriginal woman / new mom lives in the suburbs of Toronto with her white husband. As she tries to figure out this new lifestyle, you witness her point of view with her mental health. Alice is very isolated and lonely, even as her new task of being a new mother.

The first 2/3 of the book are very interesting, it focuses on a heavy topic. There is mental health issues, post-partum, and felling of isolation. All are heavy and important subjects that should be showcased. The last 1/3 of the book I was completely lost as I felt like it switched to a sci-fi genre.

Thank you to Netgalley, Alicia Elliott, and the publishers for this free ebook. This review is 100% my own and honest opinion.

First of all, this was written by a Canadian author. So that made me want to read this so badly. But there were times when I felt like I might not be able to finish it. It was so terrifying to read about because it made me think that this is how some people deal with life. They deal with is this actually happening or am I having visions. Which the main character was dealing with.
This isn’t for everyone so please read some reviews for the trigger warnings.

An amazing story written by an amazing author but just the wrong genre for me to really enjoy it. I thought I could get over my tastes a little bit considering the reviews and the plot but it just wasn't for me.

This intricately woven tale that deals with, racism, trauma, addiction, depression, postpartum depression with a dash of supernatural. You don’t know if the MC is going crazy, or if these creepy visions are real. Makes you want to keep a light on……… This indigenous tale was one I could not put down, I hope I get to read more from this Canadian author as I really liked the writing style.

This took me way too long to finish reading. There were times when I didn't think I could finish it because it was so challenging and terrifying and painful. I knew that the main character was suffering some sort of psychosis and a lot of what she was experiencing was in her head, but how much was imagined and how much was all too real? And even if some of it wasn't reality, did that matter when it was what she was experiencing, and the story is being told from her perspective? The casual and explicit racism, the microaggressions, the gaslighting, the cultural appropriation - all of that is real and horrible. But also real was the love and support and solidarity. When I thought the story was wrapping up, it went off in a direction I wasn't expecting. By the end, I was weeping from the sheer beauty and depth of the emotion. Yes, this book was challenging and terrifying and painful. But it's also so well written and engaging and really rewarded me for sticking with it. Highly recommend.

I recently read And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott, and I'm at a loss for words. By all appearances Alice has the ideal life. She lives in a wealthy Toronto neighbourhood with her husband Steve, and new baby girl. And then she fell... Into postpartum depression, spurred on by micro-aggressions and racism, from her neighbours, supposed friends, and even her once supportive husband. Dealing with overwhelming feelings of imposter syndrome and hallucinations/magic realism, all while having a hard time connecting to baby Dawn. Alice struggles to feel she is good enough... a good wife and mother, but also a positive representation of her Mohawk heritage and culture. What she really wants to do is tell the stories of her people in an authentic voice the way her father before her did, by writing a modern retelling of the Haudenosaunee creation story.

This novel speaks volumes about the pressures from society, and even loved ones, to be a better mother, wife, daughter, etc.

I highly recommend this for your 2024 #readbetter challenge! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Much thanks to @netgalley and @penguinrandomca for a digital review copy!

This is certainly the heaviest book I have read this year. The commentary on racism, sexism, addiction, motherhood, mental illness, family trauma, etc. left my head spinning, and this story stayed at the front of my mind for a long time. The writing is intensely creative and descriptive.

A few sections that really stood out in this novel include:
- The “Musical Interlude” dream sequence chapter, which was incredibly vivid, emotional and horrifying.
- When Edie looks through all of the possibilities Alice’s life could have turned out, each possible lifeline a consequence of one seemingly irrelevant decision. This part was so fantastic to read.
- The Condolence Ceremony at the end was so interesting and emotional

I feel like my words can’t do justice to this book. This book made me feel so many emotions. I loved Alice, her sense of humor, and I was rooting for her so much. I am completely in awe at Alicia Elliott’s writing! 5 stars, I highly recommend reading this.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced reading copy.

I love when a book that I have considered a "must read" selection blows through my expectations. A story centered on Alice, a young Haudenosaunee mother, living in Toronto, and adjusting to life away from her family and friends, it is also a story of realities, and how realities vary by perspective.

This is a story of racism, of micro-aggressions and blatant hatred, of mental illness and expectations, of personal and intergenerational trauma, of family and friends and fakes. It is a story about storytelling, about love and fear, about motherhood from the perspective of the mother and the child. It is a story about addiction and escape. And it is a story about hope.

I missed finishing this book by the publication date, so gladly purchased an audiobook copy. At one point, I set my earbuds down in order to check my own realities. This book has been described as horror, and for me, it was the horror of real life that set my spine tingling. In my work as a psychiatric nurse, I have seen psychosis, and I have talked to clients who live with hallucinations and delusions. Trust me, Elliott has done a spectacular job of bringing those experiences to the page. But even more, she has brought the racist and trauma and effects of colonization to this story in a way that is subtle, while slapping you upside the head.

Many thanks to Penguin Random House Canada, Doubleday Canada and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion. One of the few books that I have read on NetGalley and promptly purchased a physical copy for my forever shelf.

A really interesting consideration of mental illness and racism. I loved the way it captured the struggles of urban Indigenous women interacting with the racism, misogyny and colonial structures inherit in our society.

As someone who has never suffered from serious mental illness like delusions, I liked the way Elliott shows the logic (however flawed) that led Alice to each of her decisions.

I did find the end of the book a little hard to follow and a bit of a sharp left turn from the rest, but the more I sat with it, the more I started to like it.

5 stars

Another excellent book from a skilled, passionate writer. I was drawn into the story immediately, and my attention didn’t waver. I loved the writing and storytelling styles, including the mix of serious content alongside some lighter-hearted (yet still pointed) moments. I was caught a bit off guard when the story’s trajectory seemed to change rather abruptly (if you’ve read it, you’ll probably know the point I mean), but I trusted the author, and her vision did not disappoint. This book is a beautiful and critical exploration of motherhood, culture, society, stories, and so much more. I really loved it and can’t wait to look for an opportunity to incorporate (an) excerpt(s) into one of my classes. I’ll be eagerly anticipating what the writer decides to share with the world next. (Bonus: the cover designs are gorgeous.)