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  • Essay / A review of The Last Day of Regret by Matthew J. Diaz

    'I am honored to admit my failures because they are what make me human. We all make mistakes in our relationships. We need to extend more grace to ourselves, to our friends, to our brothers and sisters, to our parents, and to our children. “Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay In The Last Day of Regret, Matthew J. Diaz seeks answers to questions surrounding the untimely death of his twenty-something four years. sister, Hannah. Had she planned to kill herself or was her suicide an accidental overdose? Diaz poignantly chronicles their relationship and Hannah's struggle with suicidal thoughts, addiction, and borderline personality disorder. He discusses the family dynamics and timeline that led to Hannah's death and openly expresses his guilt and regret regarding his inability to show compassion to his sister in her time of need. Diaz expresses the range of emotions and helplessness that affect family members of people with mental illness. From his heart, he shares what he has learned from his sister's life and her journey from brokenness to healing and redemption. Losing a loved one is always painful, and Diaz's account of her sister's unexpected death, while heartbreaking, is a meaningful tribute to her life. It eloquently conveys the complex dynamics of a blended family and addresses themes such as acceptance, faith, compassion, grace, guilt, regret, forgiveness and redemption. Diaz's thoughts are supported by scriptural references in a way that is comforting without being preachy. I especially love Diaz's heartfelt honesty as he shares painful memories of his own shortcomings in his relationship with his sister. He is brutally transparent and sometimes his emotions are raw. Anyone who has experienced mental illness or addiction with a loved one will understand that Diaz questions her reactions to her sister. I also appreciate his willingness to share the lessons he learned from Hannah's life and their relationship. My only distaste is the author's tendency to repeat content. Due to the nature of the book, I understand his need to draw on the events leading up to his sister's death to establish the family timeline. However, certain circumstances repeat themselves, as if new to the reader, interrupting the overall flow of the story. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Additionally, there are a few editorial issues that leave me to conclude that the book is not professionally edited. First, each chapter begins with the first page; Duplicate page numbers are confusing and, when combined with repetitive content, add to a lack of cohesion. I also noted missing words, typos, and blank photo spaces to illustrate Hannah's headstone and meaningful tattoos. The PDF I received may be an unedited version that has since been corrected. Nonetheless, as it stands, I rate the book 3 stars out of 4; with a little polishing it could easily get a perfect score. I recommend it to Christian readers and families who have been affected by mental illness or suicide. On the other hand, readers who don't like reading scriptures may prefer to leave this one aside..