LitPick Review
The Door at the End of Everything is a compilation of poems penned by Lynda Monahan that directs our minds to the unfathomable pain experienced by people living with a psychological health challenge. The poetry written by Lynda Monahan draws us into a realistic world where suffering is faced by those with mental health issues and where depression seems to take away their joy and happiness; for some, suicide is viewed as the only solution. The book is divided into three parts. The first part is Pulling Fire, which elaborates on the sadness that engulfs those living with this psychological illness and the feeling of grief those around them go through because of the death that results. The second part, which is Saying The Unsayable Things, reveals the loneliness and depression these ones do struggle with and their yearnings for comfort. Finally, the last part that says These Little Things That Save Us is about these mentally ill ones pulling away from the destroying hands of depression and misery by observing nature, one example of which is by listening to the gentle rhythm of the water by the shore.
Opinion:
I would say the book stood out to me in three ways. First, it enlightened me to the struggles and emotional pain patients with psychological health challenges go through. The tones used were introspective as it explored their emotions and feelings. It features a ternary structure which was in sections, with each part having its own title. This made the writing easier to understand without deviating from the main focus. Second, the poetry lacked the use of punctuations like commas, capital letters, and full stops, which allowed me to reduce my pace and take into consideration the sense of the author's narrative. Each verse's length and stanza varied, but it was not too long, and this made it clearer for me to grasp each point from each verse. There were some figures of speech used such as metaphors, similes, and personification; this improved the expressions written and created realistic images in my mind while reading. Lastly, through the narratives, I have come to understand the physical and emotional challenges of these patients. I have learned the need to shower them with care and love without hesitating to provide the required comfort to such ones.
