An incredibly ambitious debut that doesn't quite stick the landing, Alicia Elliott crafts a searing and claustrophobic portrayal of motherhood, postpartum depression, and loss of identity. The protagonist, Alice, has suffered from delusions starting at a young age, is a young Indigenous woman in Canada. She falls in love with a white man, moves off the rez, and gives birth to a baby girl. She begins to lose herself and struggles with holding onto her identity, and readers are tasked with deciding whether sinister things are actually happening to Alice or whether it's all in her head.

I really enjoyed this one up until the last quarter or so, where the tone shifts significantly and things veer into more experimental writing. But I'd love to see more from Elliott in the future; she has a fantastic voice and I think I'm interested in reading her next book.

This book was so incredibly engaging and had me questioning reality, the characters sanity and my own white privilege biases. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute, even the ones that made me very uncomfortable in my own skin.

Alice is a new mother living in Toronto with her white husband in a very white neighbourhood away from her family and friends an everything she knows on her reservation. She has to figure out which, if any, of the visions and voices are real and what are they trying to tell her?

First, let me say: And Then She Fell will surely be one of my favourite books of the year.

I was amazed by the richness of this beautiful, sad, strange and ultimately hopeful novel that blended Alice in Wonderland vibes with Indigenous spirituality, against the background of postpartum illness.

It surprised and delighted me with how it engaged all of my reader’s mind. It had me questioning the border between reality and psychosis, and the nature of illness. I had some fun with allusions to Alice in Wonderland, and my burgeoning knowledge of Indigenous story. It made me examine the insidiousness of racism, and acknowledge my own privilege. And the trick is that Elliott both fully engages with the hard, gritty, awful parts of the story and keeps balance with the use of humour and hope.

Alice is attempting to write the creation story of Sky Woman. Alice is Mohawk and married to Steve, a white man who’s studying the Mohawk culture. She’s moved from her reservation to Toronto with him, has lost her mother, and has just had a baby girl named Dawn. The story starts as one of postpartum depression, sleep deprivation and postpartum psychosis.

I found myself wondering: is this psychosis, magical realism or spirituality? Alice’s postpartum illness progresses, and Elliott writes with frankness and honesty about this experience. Alice’s paranoia is both the beginning of postpartum psychosis, and also an extension of her life experiences. Elliot placed me, a non-Indigenous person, in Alice’s shoes, bringing me into an uncomfortable space of uncertainty and hypervigilance as I questioned the referential looks and comments for racist intent.

There’s an interesting pivot in the book near the end, and I’m curious what other readers’ reception to Elliot’s plot choices here will be, but I for one loved it. The ending was wonderful, and this is a beautiful book with a harsh, satisfying edge. I hope you consider picking it up!

An incredible debut novel that tackles tough topics from motherhood, intergenerational trauma, authorship, mental health, interracial relationships and so much more! I was a huge fan of Alicia Elliott before and I'm even more so now. She is incredibly talented and an author that is one to watch. I expect that this book will be nominated for many awards. Good on audio too, I loved everything about this book!! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!!

While this book has really complex themes and I really liked how it explored motherhood, grief, and the Indigenous female perspective, I never fully connected to the novel. I think my biggest issue was that it was trying to do too many things and in the process, it lost its direction.

I received a complimentary copy of this book via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are my own opinions.

I enjoyed the mix of traditional, modern, and dry sense of humor And Then She Fell contained. The golden retriever ways of Steve and the hidden anguish/hurt/anger in Alice were both so well written that it's easy to think that YOU are the one watching over them in the kitchen.

A wonderful book that I sat in cold bath water to keep reading.

This book truly had such a hold on me. I could not put it down, especially the last 70%. We follow Alice, a new mother of Mohawk descent as she adjusts herself to her new life in a Toronto suburb. Having gotten married, moved off the reserve she lived on her whole life, losing her mother and giving birth to her daughter Dawn in a short amount of time, there is a lot to adjust to. From neighbours questioning her belonging in their neighbourhood, to passive aggressive racist comments from her academic husband's colleagues, to just being a native woman in Canada in general (as a white woman married to an Indigenous man and raising two strong Indigenous children in Canada, I can speak from experience that racism is 100% still prevalent in Canada today.). As she tries to shape herself into the mold of what she thinks she has to be to belong she is also taking on the heavy task of writing a book based on her people's creation story. As she writes she is visited by a spirit she has seen before, in her youth. What follows is a fever dream of hallucinations, or are they premonitions? Is she losing her mind, or are her ancestors trying to tell her something? This may be a fiction book, but the issues of racism, generation trauma, mental health episodes, and the Canadian governments treatment of their Indigenous people are absolutely based in fact.

Alicia Elliot does such an amazing job and weaving in Indigenous storytelling, the very real issues that plague the Indigenous people of Turtle Island, and her own experiences in this beautifully written, horrific at times, debut novel.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, the publishers, and the author for the chance to read this ARC. I am so beyond greatful. All opinions are my own.

Intriguing book with a lot to break down and absorb. This is one of those books to read more than once to really get the details. I get a sense that it's a book that will see opinions change with more reads, as something else stands out more than it did the first time. Those are the types of books I love.

It gets into Alice's mind quickly and effortlessly. It did leave me wondering what was going on, and whether there was something mentally wrong with her. The storytelling is intricate and full of interesting Native lore and details. I look forward to more from Alicia Elliott.

I am not great at reviewing books like And Then She Fell. That is, realistic adult fiction that has racial identity as a key element. The stories are so far removed from my own lived experiences that I don’t feel I can review them adequately. No one cares what my thoughts on such books are! (And rightly so.) But this is my blog, my corner of the world where I share my thoughts on books, so even if I can’t write an eloquent critical review, that doesn’t mean I should forego sharing a few thoughts altogether. At the very least, I can help boost a book’s exposure. So here I go.

It is truly incredible that readers have access to stories like these. As I mentioned above, Alice’s experiences are far removed from my own – she’s married, she’s a new mother, she’s Indigenous (Mohawk from Six Nations), she lived on a reserve until she married, both her parents have died, she can’t trust that her sense are showing her reality. If we want to get even more specific, I could say she’s married to an academic whose racial background differs greatly from her own, she has a terrible MIL, she lives in a house in Toronto, etc. Like I said, so. far. removed. With the circles I run in and the circles Alice runs in, we’d likely never meet. I’d never be privvy to someone’s personal life in this way. So I am reminded of how grateful I am that I have access to stories like And Then She Fell.

And Then She Fell is often funny, in a horrific kind of way, and it’s horrific in an everyday kind of way for most of the story. I can jive with that, mostly. I felt a bit bogged down by around 70% of the way through (so much creeping dread), but when at last the horror dials up to 11, I sped through the rest of the story. Everything comes to a head in an emotional and cathartic experience that may just make you tear up, if you are that sort of reader.

The Bottom Line 💭
A cutting debut from a writer known for her incisive essays, And Then She Fell is a must read for those who enjoy stories about personal identity and the darker experiences of the myriad ways impostor syndrome can manifest.

As posted to GoodReads

Hmmm. I remember thinking A Mind Spread Out on the Ground was beautiful, so I was excited to get this ARC from NetGalley. I didn't love this book, but I was challenged by it which I appreciate. I enjoyed the search for wisdom and the cheeky re-telling of Sky Woman, but I really struggled as the main character seemed to lose reality.

Alicia Elliot is just amazing. Not only was this a super entertaining story, but its parallel to the Haudenosaunee creation story of Sky Woman, which was told concurrently to Alice's, was so interesting and cleverly done. Based on the cover and description I thought it would be much more unhinged, and the contrast between the relatively subdued first 3/4 versus the totally surreal last 1/4 of the book was a little jarring. This is the only reason why this wasn't a five star read for me - I wish we spent more time with the 'shape' (that's all I'm gonna say to avoid spoilers!) because this section was mind-bending and so beautiful, but overall this was an insightful read that I'd highly recommend!

I just finished And then she fell by Alicia Elliott and here are my thoughts.

Alice portrays the image she wants the world to see. Devoted mother, loving wife living in a nice neighborhood in Toronto. Her husband Steve is supportive but the loss of her mother has sent her spiraling. It doens’t help that she can’t connect with her own daughter and just feels like an imposter. An indigenous woman living a white lady's life.

Everywhere she turns, she feels self doubt seeping in and when she starts hearing voices and seeing things that aren’t there, she feels she needs to write the stories of her people like her life depends on it.

It was an interesting way to narrate a book. The author took the characters state of mind and built a narrative that got more and more jumbled as the book went on. It was clever and slightly annoying at the same time. The one thing that didn’t sit so well with me is the fact that Alice seemed to see racism everywhere. Anything anyone said or did, to her, had racial undertones. My husband’s family is from cape mudge and I have part indigenous children and I don’t know why, but it rubbed me up the wrong way. I know her mental health was on a serious decline but it didn’t sit well with me. I know everyone's experiences are valid but it felt forced to me.

I also wasn’t a huge fan of the tone to the book. Alice was blowing up her own life a lot and only her POV made it hard to connect with other people in any tangible way. Having said that, this book did hit home for me about how fragile our mental health truly is and the author did a stellar job of highlighting it in a serious and well researched manner. It was a little dark and on occasion humorous but all in all the pace was decent and I did find the end to be the best part of the whole book.

The book dug deep into Alice’s psyche and the adaptations a person has to make in order to feel accepted. It was a clever construction and did have me thinking hard after I was done. I feel like this book made me hate it and love it. That doesn’t usually happen to me.

3.75 stars

Thank you @netgalley and @penguinrandomca for my gifted copy

This book was so interesting! I had absolutely nothing in common with the main character Alice but empathized with her so much. Learning about indigenous/Mohawk women, in in a fictional book is so eye opening. I have also read A mind spread out on the ground and appreciate how honest you are when writing about mental illness and generational trauma.

“When this country wants us dead, every breath we take is a tiny revolution.”

This was a read like no other.

And Then She Fell follows our protagonist Alice, an Indigenous woman who moved off her rez and into a white picket fence life. We follow Alice as she struggles with a new baby and motherhood, marriage with a man who doesn’t seem to entirely understand her Native identity, dealing with both subtle and blunt racism, and trying to piece together what is real vs what is the result of her rapidly deteriorating mental stability. Elliott does an incredible job of touching on important topics without feeling like an info dump or having information shoved down your throat. She uses Alice’s delusions to show an exaggerated world but one that brutally reflects the injustices and cruelty the Indigenous community continuously faces to this day. I appreciated the way Elliott covered white activism and showed the audience that even seemingly well intentioned behaviour can come with its set of micro aggressions (whether realized or not!). Also loved loved loved the way generational trauma was covered in this book and how it came full circle by the end of the story.

It’s heart breaking to watch as Alice loses her grip on reality, especially closer to the end. Almost like watching a train wreck that you can’t look away from! Although I wouldn’t consider this book horror, some of the scenes described in this book can get very grotesque. Elliott does a fantastic job of molding the feeling of raw pain into vivid imagery.

There’s a lot of spirituality explored in the novel and it was nice to be exposed to that way of life, very intertwined with nature and the soul. Also very refreshing to read about Indigenous stories and voices throughout the novel. Definitely made me realize my Indigenous knowledge is severely lacking.

This book was a solid four ⭐️ read for me. Thank you to Netgalley and Alicia Elliott for this ARC and happy publication day to And Then She Fell!

In a non-linear and gripping timeline, And Then She Fell follows Alice while she grapples with becoming a new mother while also grieving the loss of her own mother. Alive is unsettled living away from her community and the support of her family. She hears voices that she identifies as her ancestors, her neighnours and husband become increasingly hostile with unknown motives. Alice doesn't know who she can trust and how to protect her daughter.

This novel was a deeply unsettling psychological horror with some very bleak realities for many Indigenous people in Canada.

This was a very visceral read about a woman's struggles with new motherhood and mental health breakdowns. This is also a story about the woman embracing her Indigenous culture and attempting to write an interpretation of her nation's creation story. While parts of this book were quite graphic and hard to read and others were confusing, I think this is the tone the author was going for as she was writing the main character's perspective in the middle of her mental health breakdown. Reading the author's note is so important for this one as we learn this story was inspired by her own and her mother's struggles. This is an important look at mental health, post-partum mental health, race, culture, racism, stereotypes and societal pressures.

This story is driven by a wonderful main character named Alice. Her journey is both joyful and sad while tugging on your heartstrings the whole way through the story. It honestly brought me to tears. The Mohawk traditions and stories included from Alice’s perspective give such a wonderful and culturally rich experience to the reader while portraying struggles many mothers can relate to. I highly recommend this book.

An interesting book that allows the reader a glimpse into Iife living with an mental illness. At times difficult, at times emotional, it made me think. It will stay with me long after I finished the last page.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! I really didn’t know what to expect from this book, before I dove in, but it surpassed my expectations. This book is about Alice an Indigenous woman who is dealing with being a new mother and the struggles that she faces. Alice is married to Steve, whom is not Indigenous, so he will never fully understand her childhood, upbringing or growing up on the Rez. Alice’ suffers from hallucinations/ psychosis, postpartum depression all while trying to fit into an everyday world she often doesn’t feel apart of. The struggles of being a new mother really push into a heartbreaking abyss. There are moments of supernatural, horror done just perfectly while dealing with such heavy relevant subjects.
Definitely recommend!
Thank you to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

DNF @ 50%. I let this percolate for a week and found I have no interest in going back to it. I'm not into books or characters where there are obvious mental health issues and they are brushed off. In this case, the main character being told she's just like her grandmother and not one person suggests maybe she should talk to a professional (she's talking to a fictional Pocohontas and that's "normal"??).

I wanted to love it and tried to push through, but I just can't do it