Book Title: Don’t Pity the Desperate
Author: Anna B Moore
Publisher: Unsolicited Press
Genre: adult/new adult fiction, contemporary fiction
Release Date: September 10, 2024
Synopsis:
Don’t Pity the Desperate tells the story of Myra, a self-aware teenage girl who perseveres when her father admits her to an inpatient treatment center against her will. Under tight surveillance, Myra must confront both her alcoholism and her compulsion to pull out her hair. She finds hope in faith and confession, two key principles of recovery. As her peers-an ensemble of abused, neglected, and sometimes unrestrained addicts-grow to rely on the solutions offered at Our Primary Purpose, Myra decides to follow the rules. But when her counselor betrays her, her boyfriend rejects her (doesn’t he?), and God remains indifferent despite her prayers and devotion, Myra must twist her narrative to move forward. Her quest for love and acceptance is a dark anthem of Gen-X pop culture
and an affirmation of the suffering of growing up.
Favorite Quotes:
“Why did she always have to care so much about what everyone thought? Because it mattered, that’s why. And it wasn’t depression, and it wasn’t a disorder just because you wanted everyone to love you and wanted to make sure they did, because if everyone did love you and you knew it, wouldn’t you be confident and happy for the rest of your life, no matter what? Wouldn’t panic disappear?”
“A painting bright with tragedy”
“Did Nancy think of Myra as a friend? She felt flattered and tried to fight it, to talk herself out of feeling flattered by the attention of someone she found interesting or gorgeous or smart or lovely, because if she ever felt too secure in love and attention they would turn to nothingness before she even knew they were gone, like stars disappearing as night turned to day.”
“Why was she so afraid? She had always been afraid, even though her head was full of conversations she wanted to have and images of the way she wanted to present herself, to appear, to seem to other people. And what was she afraid of? She’d understood it when Judy, the counselor she’d seen when she was fourteen, had told her she was afraid of rejection and abandonment because her mother had died. But Myra also understood how illogical this fear was when Judy tried to make her fear go away…”
“So what if someone doesn’t like you? she asked. What does it mean if someone doesn’t like you?… And Myra offered answers that were stupid, that made no sense when you said them out loud or wrote them down. That I am unlikable. That I am ugly. That I am alone and no one will be my friend. That I will never know love or be loved. She knew those answers were not true, that when you saw them written on paper or said them out loud, you could see how wrong they were. Myra knew her views were distorted.”
“And why did these moments of potential security and love and desire always have to be moments, flickers? Why couldn’t a moment last longer than a minute? Why not hours, days? Why couldn’t her life be full of security and contentment all the time? What was so wrong with a desire for such an existence?
“Myra sniffled. She felt like the architect of everything built wrong, one structure after another, beams collapsing and deteriorating beneath her, over her head, all the way out into an invisible distant place in the earth.”
“Myra had come to realize that serenity looked different to everyone.”
“She underlined sentences, paragraphs, and passages because if the words on the page triggered any emotion, they might have the potential to change her. The words became answers to questions she already had and those she could not articulate. Paths toward serenity.”
“She felt like a child. She didn’t know what else to say. There was space between them that he should have filled but never did. It was always up to her to make conversation with her father, and it wasn’t fair.”
My Review:
2/5 stars
**First thank you to Mindbuck Media for providing me with an ARC copy of this book**
I was asked to read this book in exchange with a review. I was hesitant at first because this topic is not something that I usually choose to read about. However, I thought it would be okay to go outside of my comfort zone.
At first I thought the story line was okay with a lot of good quotes depicting a teenager and what they may be going through. The storyline was a bit confusing throughout and I felt as though it jumped around too much. I couldn’t exactly decipher if the book was written in first or third person (unless it was just me and it was specific to a point of view). I did try to take my own opinion away from my thoughts on the book, but I was unable to. In the end, I was not a big fan of the book, I believe mostly due to my standpoint about the theme of the book. Even though I only gave this book two stars, I would still encourage others to read this book.
Author Websites:
Living in a World of Book Quotes 