A Difficult Read

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Helena Fox's novel How It Feels To Float isn't one you'll read lightly, and much of the content you'll read more than once to make sure you've read correctly. It's quite a difficult read as a matter of fact, and there were many times when I was uncertain if the novel was worth plodding through the sadness, awkwardness, and otherness clinging to the main character.

Thank goodness for the short chapters, which do tend to help ease the pace of the strangeness you constantly feel coming from Biz and the repetitive negative thoughts whirling through her about herself, her family, her friendships, and her life. And always present, the memory of her dead father and the memories he shares with her of their life together and how things were then.

After Biz loses her best friend Grace, there's a short chapter on grief and what Biz thinks it feels like. This page and a half is totally exquisite. Biz doesn't return to school and gets to the point that she rarely leaves her home. She finally starts seeing a therapist and enrolls in a photography class where she meets Sylvia, an 83-three year old, who is filled with spunk, kindness, patience, and a knack for trying new things. They immediately bond, as far as Biz can bond with anyone, and the book improves substantially after this point, if only for the glint of hope Sylvia brings to the table.

Overall, I'm glad I read the book and know that certain types of mental illness can cause numerous problems in relationships and our perceptions of those relationships, even between what is true and what is not or what is imagined. This book defined many of those aspects and is an eye-opener for those who have never closely struggled with mental illness in the family.