2023-05-10 1:35:02 ¶ ● ⬀ ⬈

mayasaura:

> sarsaparillaswords:

> > mayasaura:

> > > sockdrawerdemon:

> > > > mayasaura:

> > > > > I don’t wanna further hijack that poor poll, but the thing about Harrow’s schizophrenia is that it’s canon. The author has confirmed it, and shared that it’s based on her own experience.

> > > > > It’s a pretty obscure bit of canon, so of course there’s no shame in not already knowing, but that’s why I’m so obnoxiously persistent about letting people know.

> > > > > Whatever else is up with Harrow, autism or cptsd or any number of likely headcanons, she is also schizophrenic. I feel like that’s too important to be handwaved away as a difference of opinion.

> > > > It’s also in the afterword/author’s note of Harrow, iirc. So not explicitly in the story, but in the book at least. Harrow has schizophrenia, but at least on the Ninth, almost no healthcare and absolutely no mental healthcare to provide any kind of language or understanding of her condition.

> > > > The 201 ghosts are certainly complicating factors.

> > > It sure is heavily implied in the acknowledgements of Harrow the Ninth!

> > > ALT

> > If anyone is looking for the author’s confirmation that Harrow has schizophrenia, specifically, it apparently happened at a panel at Boskone and someone tweeted about it:

> > https://twitter.com/saltyseaghost/status/1495099655637684224

> I know of one written interview where she talks about it, too:

> > Ciara: Something that stands out about your books is how bizarre yet honest and authentic they feel on a very deep level. It doesn’t feel like you write for anyone but yourself while trusting that those who will love it will find it. In a time where it feels like marginalised authors are more tokenised than ever, and often boxed in by expectations of ‘minority stories’ (whether they be about women, lesbians, mental illness or anything else), how do you stay true to yourself and your vision?
> > Tamsyn: It’s very difficult. There are people who talk about Harrow in terms that are fundamentally thoughtless and unsympathetic to mental illness, and the tragic thing is that I know a lot of people who discuss it would probably rather eat their feet than say something hurtful, but because Harrow doesn’t flag itself up as a story about the mentally ill they have no idea what they’re doing. They almost need those flags to remind themselves to be kind. There are other people who have dealt with that particular brand of mental illness and one or two of them have reached out to me and gone ‘This is the first time I’ve seen this, I understood it immediately,’ and it’s wonderful, it will carry me through to the rest of my life. I didn’t intend Harrow to be a compliance test or a gotcha, it’s just interesting to me how some people talk about the book in terms that make me feel tired. But I knew that going in! When I wrote about this topic I had to write a very long letter to my editor coming out of that particular closet, and he and my publisher were wonderful about it but I knew it would happen. I just wishing anticipating it would take away the sting.