Cells is a book about a gay man's experience with identity and his rocky connection to his mother. It begins with the man reflecting on his relationship with his mother, describing how strong it was and how it changed after he came out as gay. He then goes on to recount a traumatic experience he had a few years after. It is saturated in the complex mind of the man, while being clear enough to pull the reader in to feel his pain. The book is vivid and flows beautifully to keep the reader wondering where the man's life goes next page after page. ( )

This was an exceptionally well-written, authentic, emotionally raw, courageous memoir. The term "cells" takes on various meanings in this book - representing the family unit, human cells, and the personal prisons people create for themselves. The writing is intelligent and introspective. The author carefully analyzes the factors leading to some of the most traumatic memories from their past and tries to untangle the emotions and pain linked to them.

The story explores the author's relationship with their family, but the relationship with their mother is at the heart of this memoir. There’s no self-pity in these pages. The author acknowledges the mistakes of others, but also openly discusses their own decisions that may not have been the best for themselves or others.

I loved the author's courage and unreserved honesty. The story provides an authentic portrayal of the journey toward healing and personal growth, and the author acknowledges its challenges, which makes their approach both incredibly genuine and touching.

There’s so much wisdom to be drawn from this memoir about the dysfunctional family dynamics, and how damage can echo through generations, but also how this kind of experience can give birth to strength, beauty, and healing. There was no clear resolution in this book, so it felt that the story ended in the ongoing process of the author’s emotional healing, which is yet another thing that made this memoir so relatable and genuine. The author’s detailed breakdown of their dreams was clever and intriguing. I loved these little glimpses into the author’s subconscious. It's a phenomenal book – although it can be hard to read at times, it's also inspiring, clever, and hauntingly beautiful. It will stay with me for a long time, and I can see myself rereading it in the future. I can’t recommend it enough!

Thank you, LibraryThing, the publisher Scribe Publications, and author Gavin McCrea for the gifted copy! I received a free copy of this book, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. ( )

This is an author I'd not heard of before, and now, because of this book, I'll be picking up everything he's written before and will write in the future. Wonderful, sharp prose, an intense narrative, everything I love about reading. Thoroughly enjoyed.

A book that I felt was meandering at first but then took form later. The book was a very raw meditation of past, present, future, for a family that was forced to stop and coexist in close quarters due to the pandemic. Within all of that is the pain of growing up gay in 90s Ireland as well the suicide of a father while marching towards the goal of a writing career. ( )

this book was very difficult to read. though i don't know what, whether crassness or manish-ness or psychotherapish-ness, or else maybe irish-ness, but something in it ran up against the edge of my head and couldn't push through the semi-permeable membrane. there were some beautiful images, but mostly a feeling of somehow alien voyeurism, like looking at things that i cannot understand but are anyways embarrassing to see.