I chose The World Beneath by Rebecca Cantrell at random from my Kindle library, and boy was it good! Keep reading for my review, and please subscribe! I post book reviews as regularly as I can, so you’ll have tons of choices when you can’t decide what to read.
I get that way sometimes too, so I see you.
Joe Tesla (Nicola is actually a distant relative, how cool is that?) has sudden-onset agoraphobia. He has panic attacks every time he considers leaving the safety of any building.
So, a friend of his has given him a house underneath the New York subway system. This house is big enough for Joe’s needs, and doesn’t force him to go “outside.”
Joe has a set of keys that give him access to virtually any part of the underground system, that came with the house. So he has a good amount of freedom, he just has come to terms with the fact that he will never breathe fresh air again.
When Joe comes across a man underground who shouldn’t be there, his curiosity is piqued, so he uses his more than ample smarts, and research tools, in order to find out who the man was, and why he was there.
When this man ends up dead, and Joe becomes a person of interest, he has to rush to find out what happened in order to clear his name, and possibly save the world.
I loved this book. Anything having to do with mental health, or mental illness, and I’m all about it. I’ve worked in mental health clinics since 2007, and have always been fascinated with the abnormal side of mental illness.
For example, anxiety, depression, and trauma, are considered “normal” reactions. We all get depressed from time to time, and we all have anxiety from time to time.
Abnormal psychology typically refers to situations such as Bipolar disorder, Borderline Personality, and Schizophrenia.
Agoraphobia falls in this category too. These are illnesses that affect a person’s ability to function without help. Agoraphobia basically means someone can’t leave their house, or in Joe’s case, can’t “go outside.”
Joe has a certain amount of freedom, because of his home’s location, but for many people this is a crippling situation meaning the person is stuck in his or her house for an indeterminate amount of time.
So, needless to say, Joe’s issues with “outside” fascinated me, and I loved reading about how he functioned and how he managed to live his life as best he could, even with the crippling anxiety about not having a wall between him and the world.
He had an emotional support animal, Edison, who got to go on daily walks with the dog walker, and the book mentions how Joe is jealous of Edison’s forays into the world, but he also understands his own body’s reactions to a choice to go with Edison.
When Joe finds Subject 523 digging around “his” tunnels, Joe is justifiably curious. Joe’s personality is very similar to my own, because I’m not sure I could resist such a cool mystery either.
Joe was relatable to a lot of us, because how many of us have to work around issues or fears in our daily lives? How many of us succeed? Joe has found, not only a way to deal with his fear, but a way to still remain a profitable member of society.
I think that’s fantasic, and inspiring to many of us who think we are alone in our problems.
I highly recommend that you read this book. It is written from Joe’s perspective, so you get to be inside his brain for a while, and since this book is so well-written, you can also experience the thoughts of someone with agoraphobia. It’s fascinating, and I hope you enjoy it!
Let me know below if you’ve read this book, and what you thought of it! Did you find it relatable?
If you have any sort of mental illness, and you need to talk to someone, I encourage you to do so. No one should ever feel alone.
I’d love to connect with you, so if you would also subscribe to this blog, I’d love that! You’ll get a weekly notification of new posts, and I never spam. Promise!
Meeting new people, and making new friends is so fun for me, so check out my Twitter as well @PickyBookworm.
Until Next Time, Friends!
