She writes frankly about sexuality

Daley-Ward doesn’t shy away from the personal. The Terrible explores her experiences as a young girl, beginning to fumble with life under a male gaze and a burgeoning understanding of her queerness while growing up in a religious family. She speaks about the power and powerlessness that young women are subject to in a wholly fresh, clear-eyed way.

She’s honest about mental health

The Terrible extensively documents the struggles of Daley-Ward as she deals with “going under” – her way of expressing the feeling of sinking into depression. Suicide attempts, self-medication and wrenching grief are laid out on the page in unflinching detail.

She mixes poetry and prose

Daley-Ward’s memoir is an unconventional tangle of poetry and prose vignette. In theory, it sounds impenetrable. In practice, it’s achingly effective – you’ll find it hard to come away from The Terrible without a stab of recognition in your chest. Singer Florence Welch has described Daley-Ward’s work as, “like holding the truth in your hands”. We couldn’t agree more.

The Terrible by Yrsa Daley-Ward is out 5 June

This is why Yrsa Daley-Ward’s memoir The Terrible should be your next read