Toots for mandyist@mstdn.social account

Written by Mandy on 2025-01-27 at 17:38

For an extremely harrowing account of the reality of mass graves in Rwanda and Bosnia, I recommend Clea Koff's The Bone Woman

[#]HolocaustRemembranceDay

[#]HolocaustMemorialDay

Link to my review: https://passiontounderstand.blogspot.com/2008/06/i-read-news-today-oh-boy.html

@histodon @bookstodon

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Written by Mandy on 2025-01-27 at 16:19

My War Gone By, I Miss It So by Anthony Loyd is an astonishing account by a (then) young reporter in Bosnia during the war, both in Srebrenica and in Sarajevo during the siege

[#]HolocaustMemorialDay

[#]HolocaustRemembranceDay

Link to my review: https://passiontounderstand.blogspot.com/2015/12/my-war-gone-by-anthony-loyd-2015.html

@histodon @bookstodon

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Written by Mandy on 2025-01-27 at 15:32

I'm Not Leaving is the incredible story by Carl Wilkens, one of the only Americans to remain in Rwanda during the Tutsi genocide. I'd highly recommend this book and the film too

[#]HolocaustMemorialDay

[#]HolocaustRemembranceDay

Link to review of book: https://passiontounderstand.blogspot.com/2012/02/book-review-im-not-leaving-by-carl.html

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Written by Mandy on 2025-01-27 at 13:57

For an oral history of the Tutsi Genocide, I'd recommend two of Jean Hatzfeld's books: Into the Quick of Life (survivor testimonies) and A Time for Machetes (perpetrator testimonies)

[#]HolocaustMemorialDay

[#]HolocaustRemembranceDay

Link to review of latter: https://passiontounderstand.blogspot.com/2010/09/book-review-time-for-machetes-rwandan.html

@histodon @bookstodon

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Written by Mandy on 2025-01-27 at 12:21

For an #OwnVoices account of the Tutsi genocide in Rwanda, I'd highly recommend Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza

[#]HolocaustMemorialDay

[#]HolocaustRemembranceDay

https://passiontounderstand.blogspot.com/2010/03/book-review-left-to-tell-by-immaculee.html

@bookstodon

@histodon

[#]Bookstodon

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Written by Mandy on 2025-01-27 at 11:00

I #amreading Hasan Hasanović and Ann Petrila's Voices from Srebrenica: Survivor Narratives of the Bosnian Genocide. It is an #OralHistory available on ebook for £14.99. #HolocaustMemorialDay

[#]Bookstodon

[#]Histodons

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the #genocide in #Srebrenica

https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/voices-from-srebrenica

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Written by Mandy on 2025-01-27 at 10:39

For the remarkable biography of Hershl Sperling, one of only 67 people known to have escaped Treblinka, I recommend Mark S. Smith's Treblinka Survivor: The Life and Death of Hershl Sperling #HolocaustMemorialDay

[#]Bookstodon

[#]Histodons

Link to my review: https://passiontounderstand.blogspot.com/2011/04/book-review-treblinka-survivor-life-and.html

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Written by Mandy on 2025-01-27 at 10:39

It's #HolocaustMemorialDay, the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. To commemorate, I call on everybody to read, buy for their kids, or recommend one book related to the Holocaust or other genocides (because #NeverAgain should mean just that). I'll go first (thread to be updated throughout today)

@histodons

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Written by Mandy on 2025-01-24 at 12:30

I ran out of space in my #introduction but I should say that I tend to talk these days about my successes with #PTSD recovery and overcoming #insomnia but #depression is a lifelong battle that requires daily vigilance

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Written by Mandy on 2025-01-24 at 12:28

I need to update my #introduction because it's been all change in the 2 years since my last one

Lives: Kent, England with three #cats & a long-suffering spouse

Tribes: #AdoptDontShop #CrueltyFree #PanRomantic #Ally #Socialist #AntiRacist #Introvert

Fun: #TV #books #horror #film #music #peloton #walker #photographer

Studies: studied #psychology, #sociology & #politics at uni & maintained a life-long interest in #apartheid and #genocide studies

Also: talk about #PTSD #depression #insomnia

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Written by Mandy on 2025-01-23 at 20:43

𝗛𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝗿 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗺 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄: 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 (𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰) ★★★★★

Directed by Steven Soderbergh, starring Lucy Liu, Chris Sullivan and Callina Liang

With impeccable direction (and some clever misdirection), stunning camerawork, strong performances, and enough scares to keep you on edge, 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 is an easy 5 stars from me

Full review: https://www.addictedtomedia.net/2025/01/horror-film-review-presence-2024.html

[#]HorrorMovies #HorrorFilm #FilmReview #FilmBlogger #Presence #LucyLiu #ChrisSullivan #CallinaLiang #StevenSoderbergh #HorrorFamily

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Written by Mandy on 2025-01-16 at 11:44

Today I learned that the space above my microwave is no longer a safe place to hide sweet, starchy treats from my kitten Poppy.

Luckily she likes choc-chip shortbread, which is my least favourite, but I can't trust that she didn't lick my other shortbread so I had to throw a precious piece away

Naturally, she denies any involvement whatsoever

[#]CatsOfMastodon #Kitten

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Written by Mandy on 2024-08-14 at 09:59

Insomnia is insidious and devastating. I've posted this hoping that if I can just help one more person, then I've done my job

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Written by Mandy on 2024-08-14 at 09:56

I've had #insomnia since 2015, first saw a doctor in 2019, attended a sleep study in 2022. I have mild sleep apnoea & nightmares due to PTSD.

Gabapentin did help with nightmares but not with the dependence on sleep meds.

I downloaded the CBT-i Coach app in April on advice of my sleep specialist. I went from 15-18 insomnia episodes a month in the first quarter to 5 last month (and it would have been less had I not contracted covid). I'm on a 17 day streak right now without an episode

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