"You said you would be on the other side of the door. That's how perfect love is at first sight. Solutions are simple and problems are laid out simply."
Heart Berries by Teresa Marie Mailhot is a novel (well technically a memoir) that I didn’t know I needed in my life until now. For those who do not know what a memoir is, Google defines it as: “a historical account or biography written from personal knowledge or special sources.” Mailhot’s memoir was such an eye opener that you would believe came straight out of a movie with the dynamic between the two main characters: Teresa and her husband Casey. After reading this you would be amazed to believe that these two end up getting married and is still married to this day! Love really does prevail, and is definitely a challenge for any and every one.
This memoir focuses on different topics varying from: Native American culture, mother and daughter relationships, mental illness, but the main one being how far would you go to be with the one you love. During and after reading, I felt bad for judging the relationship between Teresa and Casey. Who am I to judge? My own relationship isn’t cake and ice cream, there’s a point in every relationship where you go through your rough patch until you start to think if the relationship is worth it. In Teresa’s case, she was a Native American woman who was traumatized by her childhood that began to play a big part in her relationship with her now husband.
We learn that Teresa suffered from an eating disorder, bipolar II, and PTSD. She then goes to check herself into the hospital to prove to Casey that she wasn’t crazy and that there could be a chance for the two of them to be together. Now while I stated that I have no place to judge the relationship, I do have an opinion on how toxic Teresa and Casey were for each other. Due to the fact of being a Native American woman, Teresa, felt as if she was being used for sex by Casey and that his love for white woman was something he cherished more than his relationship with Teresa. Although I wasn’t behind closed doors, and due to the fact of this being a memoir I can’t say that what Teresa felt was how Casey truly felt. Unless Casey helped writing this memoir (which I don’t know if he did) Teresa played her part in being an abuser towards Casey as well. She was violent (giving him black eyes, etc), invasive of Casey’s privacy, and didn’t believe anything Casey would say to her even if it was the truth or not.
This memoir did a fantastic job on showing its readers how far one would go to be with the one they love. I also appreciated the Native American culture that Teresa gave throughout the memoir as well. For example, her memories with her mother and grandmother. We see through Teresa’s story how much a parent or parent figure can mold a child’s life that can then play a part into their adult life. I would love to read more about Teresa’s story not only because of what she has been through and see how she grows from it day by day, but also her giving a voice to Indigenous people that we aren’t able to hear on a daily. Here’s a link of Teresa Marie Mailhot discussing being a voice for Native American people and Heart Berries on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.
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