You know you have enjoyed reading a piece of literature when at the end it has moved you to tears.  You know you have enjoyed reading a story when you have not wanted it to end.  Finally, you also know you have enjoyed reading a book when you are still thinking about it six to seven hours after finishing it.  This all happened to me with Elizabeth Holland’s outstanding novella, The Balance Between Life and Death.

Before continuing this review, I need to admit to you that I personally know Elizabeth.  Over the last seven to eight weeks, we have developed a quite beautiful friendship via social media.  You see, we are both passionate about writing, as well as both suffering from ill mental health.  Nevertheless, I promised my new friend that this does not disqualify me from being able to write an objective account about her work. 

I had a strong desire to read this short novel because of its mental health subject matter.  There are not enough novels out there that explicitly deal with it.  Perfect by Rachel Joyce, which superbly depicts a character’s debilitating battle with OCD, is the only other one that immediately springs to mind that I have read.  The Balance Between Life and Death, promised me mental health with romance, so I was more than intrigued.

As my opening paragraph indicates, this is a novella that ticks a lot of the right boxes.  In some ways though it does not do it justice, just to describe this as a mental health story mixed with a dollop of romance.  It deals with anxiety, grieving, love, and most impressively of all perhaps, it deals head-on with the still taboo subject matter of suicide.  Regarding the latter aspect, various viewpoints are revealed about it, which I personally found great storytelling.

Elizabeth needs greatly applauding here for tackling such serious subject matter so early on in her writing career.  She has taken a gamble, which could have so easily backfired on her if they had been handled in a careless way.  The running themes of loss and trust throughout the story, are very sensitively written about.

The main character in the story is a female called Ana Adams.  Ana is half PA and half receptionist to her boss Nadine, who runs a publishing company.  Alongside her in the office are her junior colleague Grace, together with handsome new employee Noah.  Ana has lots of emotional baggage though.  It is this latter aspect that shapes the whole thrust of the narrative.  

For a short story, the pace of it is perfect.  It is an emotive tale throughout, yet at the same time there is some humour and light.  I am thinking here of Ana’s numerous amusing exchanges she has with her much beloved dog Storm. 

It is impressive that despite it being emotive throughout, narrative tension also builds up.  This comes from central character Ana, being very likeable.  The more I read on, then the more I found myself caring about her.  I love how Ana is a multifaceted character, despite all her emotional baggage.  This authentic, well-rounded representation of a sufferer with mental health issues, is important for it helps to breakdown the stigma that still exists in society today.

Overall, I thought The Balance Between Life and Death was a gripping read from start-to-finish.  The easy style of writing and the everyday language used, means that this novella deserves to be read from far and wide. 

No weaknesses for me! 5/5.