Emma Forrest, an English journalist, was twenty-two and living in America when she realised that her quirks had gone beyond eccentricity. A modern day fairy tale of New York, Your Voice in My Head is a dazzling and devastating memoir, clear-eyed and shot through with wit. In a voice unlike any other, Emma Forrest explores depression and mania, but also the beauty of love—and the heartbreak of loss.
I just finished reading this memoir. I received it from NetGalley and have been unable to put it down since I started it.
This is an honest book. If you’re looking for powdered-sugar lies, then this is not the right book to read. If, like a large number of us, you have suffered through major depression or manic depression, this is a must read.
Ms. Forrest writes beautifully, there’s no denying that, but it’s not the beauty of her phrases that captivate the mind, but the spine of truth that allows each sentence to reach that deeper goal: understanding. I found myself nodding to her words in open-hearted agreement.
Now, it is not all fabulous. The relationship with GH (Gypsy Husband) drags on for too long, taking precedence over anything and everything, so that Forrest does not touch base with us. I yawned through yet another description of GH’s sensitivity, his tender whispers, his deep text messages. Eh. Did not do it for me. The relationship with her psychiatrist fares much better. Dr. R becomes a real person in our eyes not just some teenage fantasy.
Once she takes the focus off this relationship that consumed her writing as much as her life, she shines once again. The last few pages are glorious, and I do not use that term lightly.
This book is on my list of favorite memoirs, go read it and add it to yours.
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