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Coming Undone: A Memoir
'BREATHTAKING' Dolly Alderton, 'REMARKABLE' Marian Keyes, 'LIFE-CHANGING' Emma Jane Unsworth, 'COMPELLING' Amy Liptrot, 'EXTRAORDINARY' Sali Hughes
To everyone else, Terri White appeared to be living the dream – living in New York City, with a top job editing a major magazine and named one of Folio's Top Women in US Media. In reality, she was struggling with the trauma of an abusive childhood and the demands of a difficult job in a new country, and rapidly skidding towards a mental health crisis that would land her in a Manhattan psychiatric ward.
Coming Undone is Terri's documentation of her unravelling, and her precarious journey back from a life in pieces.
To everyone else, Terri White appeared to be living the dream – living in New York City, with a top job editing a major magazine and named one of Folio's Top Women in US Media. In reality, she was struggling with the trauma of an abusive childhood and the demands of a difficult job in a new country, and rapidly skidding towards a mental health crisis that would land her in a Manhattan psychiatric ward.
Coming Undone is Terri's documentation of her unravelling, and her precarious journey back from a life in pieces.
- GenresNonfictionMemoir
256 pages, Paperback
Published September 7, 2021
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107 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 15, 2021
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June 5, 2021
Trigger warning: Explicit descriptions of sexual and physical abuse, self-harm, addiction and suicidal ideation.
Born to a teenage mum in the small village of Inkersall, just north of the Derbyshire town of Chesterfield, Terri White’s childhood is a nightmare of violence, poverty and abuse (two of her mother’s boyfriends sexually abuse her), leaving her feeling that her life ended at the age of five.
She works hard to attend university, then moves to London where she begins her career in journalism, quickly rising through the ranks, while increasingly seeking escape through drink, drugs and self-harming.
In 2012, a successful magazine editor, she moves to New York, the glittering skyline of her dreams, to begin a new job, yet she quickly begins unravelling due to her mental state, addictions and unsustainable lifestyle.
Eighteen months later she returns to London afraid of what will happen to her if she stays in New York. She falls into an impossible love affair in London and when she is offered a top editorial position in New York she returns once again, putting distance between her and the heartbreak that threatens to destroy her.
In New York, at the age of thirty-four, she is hospitalized after an overdose and forced to receive treatment in a psychiatric ward before she returns to England and the position of editor-in-chief of the world’s biggest movie magazine.
‘Coming Undone’ is a powerful, eloquent and searing memoir about life lived in the depths of pain and self-destruction. It is often an uncomfortable, harrowing read. White has offered up her most private experiences to scrutiny in the hope that her past will be of help to anyone in a similar situation. I would not recommend ‘Coming Undone’ to anyone who may be triggered by graphic descriptions of sexual and physical abuse, self-harm, addiction and suicidal ideation.
A huge thank you to @NetGalley and @CanongateBooks for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Born to a teenage mum in the small village of Inkersall, just north of the Derbyshire town of Chesterfield, Terri White’s childhood is a nightmare of violence, poverty and abuse (two of her mother’s boyfriends sexually abuse her), leaving her feeling that her life ended at the age of five.
She works hard to attend university, then moves to London where she begins her career in journalism, quickly rising through the ranks, while increasingly seeking escape through drink, drugs and self-harming.
In 2012, a successful magazine editor, she moves to New York, the glittering skyline of her dreams, to begin a new job, yet she quickly begins unravelling due to her mental state, addictions and unsustainable lifestyle.
Eighteen months later she returns to London afraid of what will happen to her if she stays in New York. She falls into an impossible love affair in London and when she is offered a top editorial position in New York she returns once again, putting distance between her and the heartbreak that threatens to destroy her.
In New York, at the age of thirty-four, she is hospitalized after an overdose and forced to receive treatment in a psychiatric ward before she returns to England and the position of editor-in-chief of the world’s biggest movie magazine.
‘Coming Undone’ is a powerful, eloquent and searing memoir about life lived in the depths of pain and self-destruction. It is often an uncomfortable, harrowing read. White has offered up her most private experiences to scrutiny in the hope that her past will be of help to anyone in a similar situation. I would not recommend ‘Coming Undone’ to anyone who may be triggered by graphic descriptions of sexual and physical abuse, self-harm, addiction and suicidal ideation.
A huge thank you to @NetGalley and @CanongateBooks for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
April 16, 2021
Coming Undone by Terri White is one of the most compelling memoirs I have read. Humorous at times, painful throughout, yet ultimately uplifting and empowering.
When I read that the book would highlight alcoholism and mental health issues as well as early life trauma, I was unsure what to expect. Many such books have such an eye toward the larger message, whatever that particular book's message is, that we lose some of the personal elements. By that, I don't mean we lose sight of the person writing the memoir but rather that we don't always get much of that person at the specific moments in their past that they recount. Such is not the case here. This is both inspirational on the bigger picture level as well as heartrending on the personal in-the-moment level.
Early in the book, when describing her thoughts and feelings as she realized she was not going to be turning and walking out the door, I felt every bit as trapped and confused as she did. At that moment I knew this memoir had me hooked. The writing both conveyed what she was going through at the time while also offering reflective thoughts from the other side.
Aside from having the utmost respect and compassion for White, I am also in awe of her ability to present such moments from her life with strength and a strong sense of who she is.
Highly recommended for readers of memoirs in general as well as those who seek insightful accounts of abuse, alcoholism, and mental health.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
When I read that the book would highlight alcoholism and mental health issues as well as early life trauma, I was unsure what to expect. Many such books have such an eye toward the larger message, whatever that particular book's message is, that we lose some of the personal elements. By that, I don't mean we lose sight of the person writing the memoir but rather that we don't always get much of that person at the specific moments in their past that they recount. Such is not the case here. This is both inspirational on the bigger picture level as well as heartrending on the personal in-the-moment level.
Early in the book, when describing her thoughts and feelings as she realized she was not going to be turning and walking out the door, I felt every bit as trapped and confused as she did. At that moment I knew this memoir had me hooked. The writing both conveyed what she was going through at the time while also offering reflective thoughts from the other side.
Aside from having the utmost respect and compassion for White, I am also in awe of her ability to present such moments from her life with strength and a strong sense of who she is.
Highly recommended for readers of memoirs in general as well as those who seek insightful accounts of abuse, alcoholism, and mental health.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
September 15, 2023
As I have BPD, a past drinking problem and an addiction to self harm (you definitely need to check trigger warnings for this one) this really resounded with me. The author is some kind of wizard the way she puts words to emotions and thoughts that are for others, too complex. Not since Marya Hornbacher's "Wasted" have I read a more mesmerising take of an intelligent woman racing to self destruct. The writing is perfect and so emotive. There are parts that are hard to read but I couldn't look away. This story is so raw and unflinching and is told in such a visceral way. I read it all in two sittings
August 19, 2021
Content Warning: Suicide, violence, self harm etc.
Amazing raw read that left me filled with admiration for Terri. It us a memoir so don't expect too much detail on the magazine business, or particulars in her life - many actual details are absent, but as a portrait of a life spiralling out if control, alcoholism and the specific female experience of abuse and neglect this is absorbing and rich. A difficult read, you may want to read it all in one breathless sitting, or need breaks between vignettes.
Amazing raw read that left me filled with admiration for Terri. It us a memoir so don't expect too much detail on the magazine business, or particulars in her life - many actual details are absent, but as a portrait of a life spiralling out if control, alcoholism and the specific female experience of abuse and neglect this is absorbing and rich. A difficult read, you may want to read it all in one breathless sitting, or need breaks between vignettes.
July 27, 2021
This book is so powerfully and emotionally written that I'm really not sure how best to sum it up. I've admired Terri's work with Empire for a long time, and to see her bare her soul and life so openly has made me respect her all the more. For any who has suffered or is suffering with mental health issues, you can find comfort and solace in this memoir to know that you arent alone in how you feel. Such a brave work of literature.
August 19, 2021
Extremely graphic and raw. White does not spare the reader in providing the most gruesome details relating to her self harm and alcoholism. It made me sick to my stomach a couple of times. I even needed a break between the first and second half of the book. It was very powerful, but I felt there was a lack of reflection. She never deeply reflects on what spending time in the psych ward meant to her. Granted, she doesn't owe the reader anything. It is already an extremely vulnerable story.
May 13, 2022
Terri's story is much like my own. I truly identifed with everything she wrote, and so admirably and beautifully too. Raw, visceral, honest and brutal this is a must read for any memoirist or survivor of CSA and addiction.
October 6, 2024
A deeply moving and bare all true life story
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews