The Wrathful Reader II
More feral female book recs
The Wrathful Reader Vol. I
Still, almost every womon I have ever met has a secret belief that she is just on the edge of madness, that there is some deep, crazy part within her, that she must be on guard constantly against "losing control" - of her temper, of her appetite, of her sexuality, of her feelings, of her ambition, of her secret fantasies, of her mind. — Elana Dykewomon
With love from She with the infamy for Unrelenting Fury to all ladies virtuous in all things exhaustively angry, sad, abject, scary, hysterical, maniacal, chaotic, psychotic, crazed, outraged, depraved, depressed, disturbed, disordered, insane, frantic, feral, furious, messy, monstrous, misunderstood, unashamed, unhinged, in deep shit, over their heads, out of control, out of their mind, or just plain fucked up or pissed the fuck off: This reading list is for you. I love you!!!!!
NONFICTION
Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy —
At age nine, Lucy Grealy was diagnosed with a potentially terminal cancer. When she returned to school with a third of her jaw removed, she faced the cruel taunts of classmates. It took her twenty years of living with a distorted self-image and more than thirty years of reconstructive procedures before she could come to terms with her appearance. In this lyrical and strikingly candid memoir, Grealy tells her story of great suffering and remarkable strength without sentimentality and with considerable wit. She captures what it is like as a child and a young adult to be torn between two warring impulses: to feel that more than anything else we want to be loved for who we are, while wishing desperately and secretly to be perfect.
Welcome to My Country by Lauren Slater —
Writing in a powerful and original voice, Lauren Slater interacts with and strives to understand patients suffering from mental and emotional distress-the schizophrenic, the depressed, the suicidal. As the young psychologist responds to, reflects on, and re-creates her interactions with the inner realities of the dispossessed, she moves us to a deeper understanding of the complexities of the human mind and spirit. And then, in a stunning final chapter, the psychologist confronts herself, when she is asked to treat a young woman, bulimic and suicidal, who is on the same ward where Slater herself was once such a patient. Beautifully written, captivating, and revealing book, an unusual personal and professional memoir that brings us closer to understanding ourselves, one another, and the human condition.
Becoming Dangerous: Witchy Femmes, Queer Conjurers, and Magical Rebels by Katie West —
Edgy and often deeply personal, the twenty-one essays collected here come from a wide variety of writers. Some identify as witches, others identify as writers, musicians, game developers, or artists. What they have in common is that they've created personal rituals to summon their own power in a world that would prefer them powerless. Here, they share the rituals they use to resist self-doubt, grief, and depression in the face of sexism, slut shaming, racism, patriarchy, and other systems of oppression.
Bitch: In Praise of Difficult Women by Elizabeth Wurtzel —
The ostensible subject of Bitch is the seductive, disturbed, and dangerous woman—a female type with which Wurtzel has long been fascinated. . . Elizabeth Wurtzel is articulate enough about the disturbances of her life, and of the times in which she grew up, to allow one to conclude that she could not have been left at more of a loss for examples of how to behave, or of what kind of woman to be, than if she had come from Mars. In turning to popular culture for images of glamor and significance, she finds women who can also be, however absurdly or meretriciously, vehicles for the expression of emotion. In this they do indeed have a wholly feminine significance—and not just for her—that is nowhere to be found in the contemporary landscape, a landscape marked by the continuing failure of feminism to shape women in its image.
The Complete Poems: Anne Sexton —
The Complete Poems: Anne Sexton comprises the poet's ten volumes of verse, including the Pulitzer Prize-winner Live or Die, as well as seven poems from her last years. From the joy and anguish of her own experience, Sexton fashioned poems that told truths about the inner lives of men and women. "Women poets in particular owe a debt to Anne Sexton, who broke new ground, shattered taboos, and endured a barrage of attacks along the way because of the flamboyance of her subject matter...Sexton has earned her place in the canon."—from the Foreword by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Maxine Kumin.
Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide by Kay R. Jamison —
Critical reading for anyone wanting to understand the tragedy of suicide. “A powerful book [that] will change people's lives and, doubtless, save a few.” The first major book in a quarter century on suicide — and its terrible pull on the young in particular — Night Falls Fast is tragically timely: suicide has become one of the most common killers of Americans between the ages of fifteen and forty-five. Dr. Jamison has also known suicide firsthand: after years of struggling with manic-depression, she tried at age twenty-eight to kill herself. Weaving together a historical and scientific exploration of the subject with personal essays on individual suicides, she brings not only her remarkable compassion and literary skill but also all of her knowledge and research to bear on this devastating problem. This is a book that helps us to understand the suicidal mind, to recognize and come to the aid of those at risk, and to comprehend the profound effects on those left behind.
Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament by Kay R. Jamison —
The definitive work on the profound and surprising links between manic-depression and creativity. One of the foremost psychologists in America, "Kay Jamison is plainly among the few who have a profound understanding of the relationship that exists between art and madness.” The anguished and volatile intensity associated with the artistic temperament was once thought to be a symptom of genius or eccentricity peculiar to artists, writers, and musicians. Her work, based on her study as a clinical psychologist and researcher in mood disorders, reveals that many artists subject to exalted highs and despairing lows were in fact engaged in a struggle with clinically identifiable manic-depressive illness. Jamison presents proof of the biological foundations of this disease and applies what is known about the illness to the lives and works of some of the world's greatest artists including Vincent Van Gogh and Virginia Woolf.
The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath —
Sylvia Plath's journals were originally published in 1982 in a heavily abridged version authorized by Plath's husband, Ted Hughes. This new edition is an exact and complete transcription of the diaries Plath kept during the last twelve years of her life. Sixty percent of the book is material that has never before been made public, more fully revealing the intensity of the poet's personal and literary struggles, and providing fresh insight into both her frequent desperation and the bravery with which she faced down her demons.
Madness: A Bipolar Life by Marya Hornbacher
Marya Hornbacher tells the story that until recently she had no idea was hers to tell: that of her life with Type I ultra-rapid-cycle bipolar disorder, the most severe form of bipolar disease. In Madness, Hornbacher relates that bipolar can spawn eating disorders, substance abuse, promiscuity, and self-mutilation, and that for too long these symptoms have masked, for many of the three million people in America with bipolar, their underlying illness. Hornbacher's fiercely self-aware portrait of bipolar, starting as early as age four, will surely powerfully change the current debate over whether bipolar can begin in childhood. Through scenes of astonishing visceral and emotional power, she takes us inside her own desperate attempts to counteract violently careening mood swings. How Hornbacher fights her way up from a madness that all but destroys her, and what it is like to live in a difficult and sometimes beautiful life and marriage — where bipolar always beckons — is at the center of this brave and heart-stopping memoir.
Get Me Out of Here: My Recovery from Borderline Personality Disorder by Rachel Reiland
With astonishing honesty, this memoir, Get Me Out of Here, reveals what mental illness looks and feels like from the inside, and how healing from borderline personality disorder is possible through intensive therapy and the support of loved ones. A mother, wife, and working professional, Reiland was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder at the age of 29--a diagnosis that finally explained her explosive anger, manipulative behaviors, and self-destructive episodes including bouts of anorexia, substance abuse, and promiscuity. A truly riveting read with a hopeful message.
The Diaries of Anaïs Nin Vol. I 1914 - IX 1977 —
The Diary of Anaïs Nin is the published version of Anaïs Nin's own private manuscript diary, which she began at age 11 in 1914. Over the years, the diary would become Nin's best friend and confidante. Despite the attempts of her mother, therapists, and writer Henry Miller to break Nin of her dependence on the diary, she would continue to keep a diary up until her death in 1977. The published version of her diary would be very popular among young women, making Nin a feminist icon in the 1960s. Six more volumes of her diary would follow.
FICTION
Lithium for Medea by Kate Braverman —
Lithium for Medea is as much a tale of addiction--to sex, drugs, and dysfunctional family chains--as it is one of mothers and daughters, their mutual rebellion and unconscious mimicry. Here is the story according to Rose--the daughter of a narcissistic, emotionally crippled mother and a father who shadowboxes with death in hospital corridors--as she slips deeply and dangerously into the lair of a cocaine-fed squalor of Venice. Lithium for Medea sears us with Rose's breathless, fierce, visceral flight--like a drug that leaves one's perceptions forever altered.
Animal by Lisa Taddeo —
Joan has spent a lifetime enduring the cruelties of men. But when one of them commits a shocking act of violence in front of her, she flees New York City in search of Alice, the only person alive who can help her make sense of her past. In the sweltering hills above Los Angeles, Joan unravels the horrific event she witnessed as a child—that has haunted her every waking moment—while forging the power to finally strike back. Animal is a depiction of female rage at its rawest, and a visceral exploration of the fallout from a male-dominated society.
Difficult Women by Roxane Gay —
Gay returns with Difficult Women , a collection of stories of rare force and beauty, of hardscrabble lives, passionate loves, and quirky and vexed human connection. The women in these stories live lives of privilege and of poverty, are in marriages both loving and haunted by past crimes or emotional blackmail. Gay delivers a wry, beautiful, haunting vision of modern America.
Supper Club by Lara Williams —
Roberta spends her life trying not to take up space. At almost 30, she is adrift and alienated from life. But when she meets Stevie, a spirited and effervescent artist, their intense friendship sparks a change in Roberta. Together, they invent the Supper Club, a transgressive and joyous collective of women who gather to celebrate, rather than admonish, their hungers. They gather after dark and feast until they are sick; they break into private buildings and leave carnage in their wake; they embrace their changing bodies; they stop apologizing. Yet as the club expands, Roberta is forced to reconcile herself to the desire and vulnerabilities of the body — and the past she has worked so hard to repress.
She’s come undone by Wally Lamb —
In this extraordinary coming-of-age odyssey, Lamb invites us to hitch a wild ride on a journey of love, pain, and renewal with the most heartbreakingly comical heroine to come along in years, Dolores Price. She's 13, wise-mouthed and also deeply wounded, having bid her childhood goodbye. Stranded in front of her bedroom TV, she spends the next years comforting herself with junk food her depressed and anxious mother supplies. When she finally orbits into young womanhood, Dolores is no stronger and life is no kinder. But this time she's determined to rise to the occasion and give herself one more chance before she really goes under.