But even then, reading this allowed me to think differently, and accept that everything will be okay, even if I don't believe it and even if no one else believes it. I feel like I have found a new favorite, but it is the type that can't be read again, as the anguish and pain experienced is not something I want to experience again. Reading this book made me feel like I was being pinned to a wall to witness the events the main character was feeling, seeing her struggle and not getting the answers she needed, as if reading about them was not enough.

This is the type of book that gives you a tangible feeling of pain, making you feel empty like there's no more space left for you to process the emotions you are currently feeling. You can pull it out, hold it in your hand.

Read it.' Cath CrowleyĪ heart is a mystery and not a mystery. 'Every now and then you pick up a novel and you know you've found something wonderful - a glorious voice, a character you adore. Helena Fox explores the hard, bewildering and beautiful places loss can take us, and honours those who hold us tightly when the current wants to tug us out to sea. It's a story about love, grief, family and friendship, about intergenerational mental illness, and about how living with it is both a bridge and a chasm to the ones we've lost. She knows how to float, right there on the surface - normal okay regular fine.īut when the tethers that hold Biz steady come undone - when her dad disappears along with all comfort - might it be easier, better, sweeter to float away? So she doesn't tell anyone her dark thoughts. And she has her dad, who tells her about the little kid she was, and who shouldn't be here - because he died when she was seven - but is.

She has her posse, her mum and the twins.

How it feels to float helena fox