As a therapist, I jumped at the opportunity to read this biography. I was interested in the complexity of a BPD diagnosis and how that would be explained. I think the author did a wonderful job of explaining the complexities related to mental health and I especially enjoyed the timeframe from childhood to adulthood in terms of how the disorder progressed. I did struggled at time to go back to this book because there is pretty heavy subject matter throughout and the narrator was not my favorite.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in mental health and the world of psychology. But, please check the trigger warnings first!

Thank you to NetGallery and the author for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this audiobook

Tricky one to review! I really liked the way this book was written. Straight to the point, short sharp sentences, the songs and diary entries and conversations, but I do feel that there was a lot of detail in things that didn’t really need it, and other things I’d have loved to know more about were skimmed over.
I also found my mind constantly thinking about how it was written by her dad but from her point of view, which did make me question the accuracy/authenticity of some of it.
It had me hooked from the start though, and was a really interesting read - something completely different to anything I’ve read before.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

Emo Reality is a fictional memoir based on the life of the author’s young daughter, Lina. I found the book to be interesting, insightful, brutal and sad at times. Lina goes through various stages of depression and mental illness but is not properly diagnosed in her younger years which leads to numerous issues throughout her teenage years, at school & with her entire family. Her mother is portrayed as immature & self-absorbed, having a relationship with her daughters that more closely resembled that of a friend. Lina’s father was away from home & worked a lot & seemed to also be unaware of the seriousness of the behavior Lina was displaying. Lina seems to spiral more & more due to the fact that no one really knows what is going on with her & are pushing her erratic, & disruptive behavior off as regular teenage rebellion.

This book takes you through her pre-teen to early adult years & all of the struggles Lina & her family go through regarding her behavior & how it affects her schooling, work & all of the relationships in her life. The book did jump around, but I believe that is because that’s how Lina’s mind worked. It gives a lot of insight into borderline personality disorder and was definitely worth the read. I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the narrator. I give this book a solid 4 stars.

I received this book thanks to Netgalley as an ARC for my honest review.

I’ve never read a book like this . It was very interesting. I felt sorry for the dad being a parent myself . I did think the book repeated a lot about her thoughts about school and mom . I finally realized that must be how her mind worked though

An interesting insight into a teenagers experience of living with borderline personality disorder and the strategies she used to cope with her distressing thoughts and beliefs and how she managed relationships with others. I listened to the audiobook of this text which was well narrated and allowed me to immerse myself in the book to a good level.
The impact on the family system when BPD is present are significant but I didn't think the book gave quite enough attention to this.
The importance of getting timely and appropriate mental health support is highlighted and is therefore likely to be helpful to other people impacted by BPD and their families.
I am grateful to the publishers and NetGalley for an advanced listener copy of this book.

I want to start this review off saying that I am someone who suffers from a variety of mental illnesses including BPD. I was excited to read this since BPD isn't something that's represented very much in books. I just felt like it was lacking something.

The writing was okay, it felt pretty basic.

I feel like this could have been a lot better. I wish the style of the book was different. Either written in the Dad's POV or as only Diary entries would have elevated the book a bit more in my opinion.

I can appreciate this book for what it is. its a memoir about the authors daughter so it makes it hard to give this a proper rating. Overall 3 ⭐

I am a parent of a (now adult) person with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) so I was really looking forward to this book. Especially knowing that it was based on the experiences of the author with his daughter. I know firsthand how hard this mental health issue is for everyone involved. I have been there with the extreme mood swings and the rage attacks that make you feel like your child has literally been possessed.
Having said that, I was disappointed in this book. If I wasn’t reading an advance copy with a promise of a review I might not have finished it. I talked to the author who assures me that the diary entries are literally condensed versions of actual journal entries. I think it would have come across better written from the dad's point of view with included journal information. I think that is what bothered me about it. Like there are multiple times in the book where Lina's false memories are pointed out. And as anyone who has lived with someone with BPD you know those absolutely happen, but I think it would have been more effective if it had been written from the parent's POV because a lot of that leaks through anyway.
The truth about BPD is that it is extremely taxing for everyone involved. It is so hard to create healthy boundaries. It is painful to see your child suffer. And it is painful to be attacked when you are just trying to do the best you can for your child. People with BPD feel ALL their emotions in overdrive. So it’s not just super sad or super angry - at times it’s also super happy, super in love, super generous. Teenage angst and moodiness are already difficult - when you add this particular mental illness on top of it it makes for really rough teenage and young adult years. I guess one of good thing this book says is that they should have sought help earlier from a mental health professional. And I liked that they give the criteria for diagnosing the disorder in the book as it may help others to recognize BPD

Thank you to Netgalley and Singapress for an advance listening copy of this book in an exchange for a review.

Emo reality, a really well done fictional memoir based on the authors daughter.
This novel broaches really tough subjects such as self harm, sexual abuse and Mental illness. It’s difficult to listen to the story of how Lina and her sister are struggling with depression through their teenage years however as a parent to a child who suffers with their mental health I found it really informative and helpful to know there’s light at the end of the tunnel.
The narrator voices Lina perfectly and held my attention throughout the book.
I would highly recommend this book.

Wow. This book was a journey. This book is a fictional memoir based on the author's daughter. It follows the mind and mental health spiral of Lina as she grows from adolescent to young adult to adult. Growing up in a dysfunctional household with her often physically and mentally distant father, her mother who speaks terrible English, and her sister who just can't seem to stay on her side for long. Lina's personalities continuously multiply while her diagnosis keeps being misinformed.

As for the audiobook, the narrator was perfect because although her voice was kind of annoying it was perfect for that of an angsty teenager.

The book itself was a very difficult book to get through. Not because it was a bad book but because the topics were HEAVY and it did get hard to keep up with after a bit. It's full of teenage angst and parental issues. Believing everyone is against you is a hard way to live. It brings to the forefront mental health issues that aren't often talked about. This often misdiagnosis or missed diagnosis of patients which leads to extended mental episodes.

Although, I think this book SHOULD be read by most, I don't know if this book COULD be read by just anyone because I feel that it won't be appreciated by everyone. Regardless - kudos to Jerold Daniels for writing a lovely book on a difficult topic.

"...I haven't lived a life of failures. I've lived a life of challenges. I'm okay."

I feel like I really cannot give this book. A fair review myself because I ended up feeling bored almost immediately. I didn’t enjoy it and I didn’t really think I was going to find the character likable. Also, the cover really creeped me out.

I just reviewed Emo Reality by Jerold Daniels. #NetGalley
( final review would be given later)
thank you net galley for sending me this audio book.

As a mentally ill teenager who also has BPD it's nice to know that I'm not alone and that other people are there too. I can't wait to finish listening to this audio book and to write on how i feel about it.

This was a very difficult read for anyone. We are immersed into the perspective of Lina, a now young adult, who’s looking back on her life with new lens on understanding her personality disorder.

This book brought me to tears as Lina recounts episodes of hallucinations and misremembering.
This was more than a case study, it was a harrowing exploration of someone’s life living with mental illness.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

This book was very very difficult! As a reader, I felt this and I am not sure how difficult would it have been for the writer. It's a memoir of a person who dealing with a personality disorder, all the while having no clue about it.

Taking you through the life of a teenage girl and the choices she made. A journey of chaotic brain health, further leading to anger issues, self-harm and much more. Throughout the story, I felt too bad for the father who was just trying to help his family in the only way he knew how. While for others I just couldn't help but have mixed feelings.

So many of the symptoms discussed in the book have been witnessed forehand in people around us. But the lack of awareness about it makes us ignore it and label those actions as bad behaviour and rebellious attitude. If only, enough of them are identified and treated at the right moment in life, they could be saved from such misery.

The book has made me sad, but also aware of so many concepts. Consuming this one in #audiobook format, I had the experience of music, songs and all that yelling. It was heavy and difficult to go through a lot of parts of the book. If my fellow readers really want to try this - I would say go through the disclaimers once.

Thank you @netgalley for the Audiobook ARC

Genre: #memoir #biographies #health #mindandbody
Content disclaimers: #trauma #selfharm #halucinations #mentaldisorders and a few more things I don't feel comfortable writing