Discontinue if Death Ensues: Tales from the Tipping Point (Beyond and Within)
Edited by Carol Gyzander and Anna Taborska
Flame Tree Publishing, 2024
Reviewed by Nora B. Peevy
There is a great quote at the beginning of the book in the “About the Title” section which summarizes the entirety of this book as a whole: Scientists was of a possible domino effect of climate tipping points… leading to a global tipping point… But what if —and we are now entering the realm of the speculative—what if this is somehow linked to another tipping point at which the female body can no longer passively withstand all the violence and atrocity that has been unleashed upon it since time immemorial?
This quote describes perfectly the stories you will find by all the strong female writers in this book. Yes, some of the stories are very sad and will make you very angry, but some of them also offer seeds of hope too. It’s a beautiful tapestry that has been woven, a wonderful piece of art that moved me so deeply, I had to take a few months off from reading it and come back to it again. That’s how powerful the voices are in this book. I’ve never had to put down a book and take a break from it before. Ever. But this one spoke to my soul as a woman. It made me cry, it made me laugh, and it gave me hope that someday things out there could be better for us.
Not only is the writing beautiful, but the book itself is beautiful. The cover design is eye-catching and the pattern continues out to the edges of the book in the same color. It’s a hardcover and it’s not only glued, but stitched, so you know it’s a good quality book, but it also has ribbon bookmarkers which I always geek out over because they’re so pretty!
Now on to my favorite stories. Well, for this book I can’t say I have one. Each one touched my heart in a special way. The writers found a way to connect with me intimately like the stories were written just for me and nobody else. I also felt they were speaking with a sense of urgency and call to duty to all women to ponder more about what it means to be a woman in today’s world and what we have lost and have to gain. I hope when you read it you find it as creative, inspiring, and thought-provoking as I did. It is a beautiful and necessary piece of art.
