Feminist Reads for Angry Beans discussion

Ok I'm on chapter 6 of Daughter of the Forest. And not to spoil anything, but there's a HUGE trigger for sexual assault in this. If people have problems reading this, please don't force yourself. This makes me think that we should have group members put up lists of triggers they have so we can avoid books with them. I don't want anyone reading something that upsets them.

Well, my main trigger is the smell of rubbing alcohol so there's no danger of a book upsetting me there. I also cry a lot if a baby or beloved animal dies. But I kind of have a problem with avoiding books just because of quote-unquote "objectionable" material. Life isn't going to censor itself to make you feel more comfortable, and I believe good books push us past the point of comfort. In therapy, triggers are generally identified so you can work with and through them, not so you can avoid them for the rest of your life. If you (general you) are so traumatised by an event that you cannot bear to see a mention of something similar even in fiction, I would hope that you would seek therapy to heal that wound. Let's not avoid books for fear of upsetting content. Let's feel what the author intended us to feel - revulsion, fear, grief, and anguish included - and examine why we felt such powerful emotions in the mere reading of fictional events. Is it because real life is just as cruel and our hearts break for the sad reality that these things happen? What sorcery of language is it that pulls at us so? If it upsets you, and I think it should, because you are human after all, put the book down, collect yourself, take a step back, and try to admire the author's power to elicit emotions. Writers live to inspire emotion. Good and bad. We live the characters' triumphs and defeats, their most intimate moments, their most private sorrows. I read this book for the first time in maybe sixth, seventh grade or so, and the scene that you mention has never left me. That must have been around ten years ago. How many books have I read since then? Hundreds? That scene has stayed with me. It left an imprint on my heart, made me feel so deeply that I have never forgotten it - and I have a rusty sieve for a brain most of the time.

Books that push us past our comfort zone challenge us in so many ways. I think these books are the most valuable reads out there. What is the point of life if not to acquire deep, intense, often-moving experiences? I am limited to acquiring these from books, most of the time, because of my physical limitations. Personally, I can't get enough of books that make me cry and scream and wail and laugh and grin helplessly. They are what I live for, because the words that make me feel these things have power to transform, to change hearts and minds, to make us see life from another perspective. To me that is beyond price. So, yes, tend to your own needs, and if you feel you must skip a scene or stop reading a book because of the feelings it inspires in you, by all means do so. But I don't believe that, as a group, we ought to be limiting ourselves to "safe" reads.

I'm not limiting anybody. You misunderstand. I'm just saying that since this is recreational reading, theres no need to upset yourself. This is a "just in case" sort of thing. There are people I don't know in this group, I don't want to accidentally upset them. That's all. No issue. Reading is fun, and also different people handle things differently. If you're okay with stuff, good for you. Not everyone will be. You do you.