An impactful book. Alice could be considered an unreliable narrator as she battles with post-partum depression and her own belief that she is going crazy. Objects start talking to her, and it is hard to tell is this is real or perceived. If real, Alice is a reliable narrator, and the story is not at all what it appears. If she doesn't really see what she thinks is there, we have the best kind of unreliable narrator.

Either option is satisfying as a read (and I'm not going to spoil things and tell you which is the truth).

Woven throughout is the extra Mohawk creation story. I'd read an entire book in the voice Elliot uses for that story. It was saucy and full of strength and life.

All parts of this book are strong and well told. What a great addition to Canadian literature!

Once again, Alicia Elliot has woven together a spellbinding story. ‘And Then She Fell’ blurs the line between reality and visions of other in a way that makes you respect and feel viscerally every emotion that leads to the eventual ‘Fall’ of Alice, and what the Fall truly meant.
Struggling with the post partum effects of the birth of her daughter Dawn, Elliot makes it easy to see the spiral into some form of psychosis, or some other force at play, in the face of no sleep, the stress of a baby who won’t breastfeed, the unbearable weight of societies expectations of a new mom, and the systemic discrimination of being a First Nations woman on top of all of that, that is so egregious and yet ignored, or perceived as being ‘sensitive’ when trying to call it out for what it is.
The exhaustion of all that, in addition to still trying to exist as your own entity. Just the idea of trying to capture that in a work of fiction is daunting, and Alicia Elliot captured Alice’s journey in a way that was entirely relatable, empathetic, elegant, hopeful and beautiful. It wove in traditional storytelling, and the sense of belonging that comes in the times you feel most alone.
I was so excited to receive an ARC from NetGalley, and I am happy it met every expectation I had and more.

Thank you, NetGalley and the Publisher, for the opportunity to read the ARC. I found it raw and disturbing and did not finish, so will not be submitting a rating or review.
It is a powerful description of a Mohawk woman's descent into mental illness and deserves a wide and appreciative readership, but regret it wasn't for me.
She has married, left the reservation and moved to a white upscale neighbourhood in Toronto. A low feeling of self-worth is increased as she feels rejected by and suspicious of her white neighbours. She suffers from postpartum depression and has difficulty bonding with her new baby. It is a powerful description of her inner struggles and her descent into mental illness while trying to write a book retelling her nations" Creation story, passed on through generations of her people.
It is thought-provoking and addresses many important issues: Intergenerational trauma, racism, cultural appropriation, paranoia, hallucinations, delusions, exclusion, past history, and present conditions for indigenous women.

And Then She Fell follows Alice, a young Mohawk woman, as she grapples with the dissonance between her perceived ideal life and her internal struggles. Her inner turmoil, intensified by the loss of her mother and her challenge connecting with her newborn, Dawn, offers readers an intimate glimpse into the complexities of mental health, motherhood, and the weight of external societal expectations. Alice also grapples with balancing indigenous traditions and the contemporary world she finds herself in. A worthy read for those who appreciate novels that challenge perceptions and delve deep into the psyche of their protagonists.

Wow! I was surprised with how much I liked this one! Alicia Elliot has such an amazing voice and such a way with words I could've read another 100 pages of this. I loved the horror aspects and the real life aspects all just the same and I can't wait to read more of Elliot's work!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this e-ARC! This book was really really amazing - the description calls it “razor-sharp” and it is exactly that. Elliott is cutting in the ways she describes the multitude of violences inflicted onto Indigenous women, and the ways that these violences are interwoven into daily experiences and normalized. She writes beautifully about knowledge and community, about stories and legacy and family and love. The second act of this book is a stunning shift, which I loved to read, and I found I wasn’t ready to leave either act of this book behind. You feel Alice reaching for connection and understanding throughout, and you want to reach back and meet her there.

Parts of this story about a First Nations girl from the Six Nations reserve are a real gut punch but I thoroughly enjoyed the book. It tackles the tough topics that are current in Canada today; native stereotypes, white prejudice and mental illness and deals with them all in a frank and open manner.
Alice isn't always a likeable character nor are her husband and many of the other characters in the book, but they all tug at their heartstrings. Like most heroic characters in a tragedy, they are each deeply flawed but, in their own way, they're all trying to do their best.
An excellent book, particularly for anyone trying to understand Truth and Reconciliation on a human level.

For me this was a very difficult book to read. Yet, read it I did and the resulting emotions for having read it were overwhelming! So, the author Alicia Elliot accomplished (for me ) what all insightful ,raw , thought provoking books should accomplish! This was not a light read but an incredible book. Thank you Alicia for sharing.

And Then She Fell is about Alice, an Indigenous woman who’s struggling to balance motherhood and make progress in writing her people’s creation story. She’s also afflicted with mental health issues including hallucinations and delusions coupled with guilt over her mother’s recent death.

The first half of the book was decent and the author definitely has a gift for prose. Alice’s struggle as a new mother living in a predominantly white neighbourhood was relatable. But i started to get lost in the story by the midpoint and found the plot dragging especially as the creation story took over. It required effort to get into passages of Alice’s writing and her internal dialogue with little context was overwhelming. At that point, the story became too abstract for me as a reader.

My overall take is that this book has a lot of great ideas and discourse worth reading but the execution makes them inaccessible to the average reader.

Thank you NetGalley for a Kindle copy in exchange for an honest review.

On the surface, Alice's life would be considered idyllic. New baby, a dedicated husband, and a move to an affluent neighbourhood in Toronto from the Six Nations rez where she grew up.

Alice's past however is dark, and that darkness is coming to add a level of difficulty far past the initial struggles of motherhood. Alice is having a difficult time managing her baby all on her own, as her husband angles for a tenure role and insists that the child-rearing be done by Alice without any additional help. She is also working to establish herself as an author, writing a modern retelling of the creation story.

The novel chronicles motherhood in juxtaposition to the difficulties of changing identity in combination with past trauma and mental health issues. The first half will grip you as you learn about Alice's past, and begin her descent into a mentally unstable place. The second could be for you, or not. It really depends.

I found the second half jumpy sometimes making it difficult to follow along, however that is likely the point the author seeks to make. The more unstable the mind, the more unstable the narrative. Other review mention struggling to understand what was real and not. I feel that's the whole intention :)

Many trigger warning should go into this: including abuse, substance abuse, mental illness, sexism, racism, and cultural appropriation.

This was a intricately woven indigenous story that deals with, racism, trauma, addiction, mental health, postpartum depression, with a touch of supernatural thrown in. You don’t know if the MC is going crazy or if things are real. Loved how this book is told, loved the writing style, could not put the book down. We need more from this kickass Canadian author.

If you enjoy an amazing indigenous story, look no further and but this book. I myself have pre ordered it from indigo.

Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Random house, and the author for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

4.5/5 stars, rounded up.

This was an intense and creepy read. As a new mom, I could relate to some of Alice's experiences, minus the racism, magic, and mental illness. I liked the unreliable narrator aspect of this novel - you could never quite tell what was in Alice's mind and what was real, even by the time the novel ended.

I loved Alicia Elliott's first book, A Mind Spread Out on the Ground, so I was happy to find that her second did not disappoint.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for my ARC. This was an emotional read that made me think. If you would like even a glimpse of what it feels like to live with a mental illness this is the book for you. It will make you feel all the things.

One of the most beautifully written stories about racism, sanity & motherhood. I couldn’t decide if Alice was suffering from psychosis or if she was really in danger for most of the story. The story carried me through stages of denial & acceptance as I grieved with Alice for the loss she’s suffered. I absolutely loved reading this exploration of human pain and trauma. What does ‘genocide’ mean when you have to survive it? What does ‘genocide’ mean when you still have to face the descendent of the ones perpetrating it throughout the history while they realize their own truth? What is your truth?

* I got a free copy of the book from NetGalley. I’d say I was very fortunate to read this book so early on but I am disappointed that the publisher couldn’t be bothered to provide an Epub/AZW3/Mobi/ Whatever-your-typical-ebook-reader-reads version & only released the book in pdf. It was confusing & frustrating to navigate the story & hope that the random numbers popping up in the middle of the paragraphs were due to the incompatibility of the book and my kindle. It was also a testament to the strength of this story & the author & that I never even considered stopping despite the insurmountable frustration & chalked it up to another microaggression Alice had to live through to tell her story.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of And Then She Fell by Alicia Elliott. Published by Penguin Random House Canada
There are so many topics covered in this novel, what a brilliantly written story. Oh mental illness, so much of this story I was able to relate to, having had a husband with mental illness, using alcohol and pot to calm the voices, not being able to trust anyone, thinking every person is out to get you.
This novel also touches on Native American perceived prejudices and some issues, auch as water, on the reserves. Mostly its Alice's progression with her mental illness, motherhood, living away from family and off the reservation
I really enjoyed this novel, how it was written, the characters were great and well developed and described. I enjoyed the first three quarters of this novel more, the writing style changed at the end and I was a little lost to be honest. This is the first book by this author that I have read, and look forward to reading more

First of all, let me just say that this book is without a doubt one of the best that I've read so far this year.
And Then She Fell is the story of Alice, an indigenous woman named Alice who from the outside seems to have the perfect. life. A nice home, a successful husband and a beautiful little baby named Dawn.
But what lies below the surface is a lot of doubt, postpartum depression, paranoia, fear of addiction and mental illness.
The story explores all these issues and then takes you on a journey even deeper.
A beautiful told and powerful story, And Then She Fell will stick with you long after you've turned the final page.

Please find attached my more in-depth, but still spoiler free youtube review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDwwNQC0Az4&t=452s

I really enjoyed A Mind Spread Out on the Ground and while this is a novel instead of essays/memoir, it touches on many of the same issues. It is very well written and makes it easy to get into Alice's character, and the extra parts (the excerpts of the character's writing and then the whole end section) are an unusual way to explore the story from other angles. It almost feels a bit like horror in some ways, there are good pop culture references and some local colour. I highly recommend it.

This novel delves into so many important issues and will definitely stick with me as I reflect on these issues, many of which I don't see in a lot of fiction. Alice's internal monologue was well written and heartbreaking at times.
With about 1/3 of the story remaining, the novel does take a bit of a left turn and this change did take me out of the story a bit, but in the end it makes sense to the narrative. Really well written story and worth the read.

A beautiful, sinister, love filled story! It is, of course, about indigenous peoples and culture, the loss of family, mourning, mental illness, and touches on a lot of serious ideas. But there is so much love and emotion here, strength of will, too. It has the creeping tones and social commentary and outright horror of many modern horror films but feels so rooted in Alice and her love of her family that these big themes are an important part of her story, and not the story themselves. Wonderfully done and an incredibly enjoyable heart wrenching read.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review. The following opinions are my own.

I was really happy to receive this book as it has been on my list for a while. I'm trying to get my hands on as much indigenous literature as I can. Admittedly I knew going in this would be a difficult read just based off the premise. I really liked the structure of the book though. The first half describes the main characters descent as she spirals with her mental health. The second half is a conversation she is having between her and her granddaughter.