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A Refreshing Perspective of Mental Illness

A Book Review of "Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead" by Emily Austin

By DelPublished 2 years ago 3 min read
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"Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead" is the debut book released by Emily Austin, following the life of Gilda, an anxious, death-obsessed hypochondriac.

After a minor car accident, Gilda finds herself with no job, no money, and a rising bill for the repairs of her car. Following through the first-person perspective of Gilda, it is a mix of snippets from present and past that frame Gilda's obsession around her morbid fascinations, and the crumbling family life that led her to the dysfunction she currently lives with.

After finding a flyer for free mental health support, she finds herself at a local church, where she is mistaken by the pastor for someone waiting for a job interview as a Church receptionist. Gilda, an Athiest, and lesbian, now has to play the part of a devoted Catholic woman who is single, because she simply 'hasn't found the right man yet'.

While trying to play this persona, she struggles with balancing her rapidly declining mental health, new girlfriend, and her brother's alcoholism that her parents are desperately trying to ignore. She also accidentally starts an email chat with the previous receptionist's friend Rosemary, who is not aware Grace has passed.

On top of all this, as Grace's death is seeming more and more suspicious, Gilda finds herself conducting an amateur investigation into her supposed murder.

The character of Gilda has a unique voice, and though it is not explicitly expressed, seems to display traits of being neurodivergent. It is one of the most accurate portrayals of a neurodiverse woman's perspective that I have ever read. The obsession with animals, confusion about social norms and how to respond correctly, her experiences of executive dysfunction and thoughts that seem to go on tangents or seem unrelated to the current situations all seem to show her nuerodiverse thinking pattern. This book is very refreshing to read in the sense that it shows not often depicted sides of mental illness, and a rare perspective of female autism/ADHD. It also gives an accurate look into the less "romantic" or obvious sides of mental illness such as lack of showering and dirty dishes piling up.

The characters are all incredibly interesting, and unique, with all their interactions feeling natural and conducive to the plot, without any of the characters feeling jarring or unnecessary. The character of Eli, Gilda's brother, was a particular favourite of mine, with interesting insights into how addiction changes people over time and how it affects their loved ones. There is a great exploration into the neurotic behaviour of Gilda and Eli's parents growing up, and the unstable childhood that caused both these characters to behave the way in which they did.

The book is the perfect mix of funny and insightful, with many quotes about the nature of death really sticking with me. I thought it was the perfect portrayal of the way humans behave around death and had some amazing insights into how we as a society can become obsessed with death.

I felt it was an interesting perspective as instead of feeling like you lived in the world Gilda did, you instead felt as if you were living inside Gilda's head while she experienced the world around her. Not many books succeed in making you feel so connected to the character and their thought processes, so this is a rare gem in that regard.

I am keen to see more of what Emily Austin has to write in the future and hear more about her thoughts and feelings towards certain issues. I think she has a particular talent for character and worldbuilding, creating characters that are endearing without being inherently flawless and perfect.

book reviews
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About the Creator

Del

writer and artist

instagram - @skelitonizerr

Poetry, creative stories, essays and book reviews

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