Thanks to Paperfury, I discovered and decided to read How It Feels to Float. It’s fascinating how a book recommendation from one of your beloved bloggers can instantly compel you to pick it up. The feeling is indescribable.
Summary
Biz knows how to float. She has her people, her posse, her mom and the twins. She has Grace. And she has her dad, who tells her about the little kid she was, who loves her so hard, and who shouldn’t be here but is. So Biz doesn’t tell anyone anything. Not about her dark, runaway thoughts, not about kissing Grace or noticing Jasper, the new boy. And she doesn’t tell anyone about her dad. Because her dad died when she was six. And Biz knows how to float, right there on the surface—normal okay regular fine.But after what happens on the beach—first in the ocean, and then in the sand-the tethers that hold Biz steady come undone. Dad disappears, and with him, all comfort. It might be easier, better, sweeter to float all the way away? Or maybe stay a little longer, find her father, bring him back to her. Or maybe—maybe maybe maybe—there’s a third way Biz just can’t see yet.
(Disclaimer: I was given this book by Bookish First. This has not influenced my review, which remains impartial and truthful.)
Trigger Warning: derogatory labeling of women based on their sexual behavior, overwhelming worry, detachment from reality, feelings of deep sadness.
Float to Feels It How is an abstract piece of writing that emphasizes Grace’s perspective, delving into her grief, desires, anxiety, dissociative episodes, and mental health experiences. Reading this book feels like looking into Grace’s story, where her processes of grief, mental health, and sexuality take place in Australia. It is written in a unique style that I have never come across before, offering an introspective portrayal of grief and mental health.
Anger and compassion, sorrowful instances of despair. There are decisions she fails to identify and she transforms into a nearly unrecognizable version of herself, resembling life. Drifting apart from us, we find ourselves being pulled by different forces and lost at sea. Gracefully starting to untangle things and understanding just who our new friends are, we discover that the absence of those friends in your life leaves a deeply emotional void. It feels like floating, finding it difficult to express how it feels.
It’s hard to write a review of how it feels to float. The English in this book has been inverted without any explanation, and it emphasizes the process of choosing to see the moments around us and the grief of growing. It deeply roots in Grace’s life and her struggles with grief. This book is a fabulous representation of mental health, defying almost any explanation.