Review on 'Limits' by Susie Tate 🩺
- Aug 7, 2024
- 4 min read
Amazon Link: https://amzn.eu/d/08fmC4Hk
Author: Susie Tate
Format Read: eBook Pages: 308 Publication Date: 5th April 2018
Author Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/susietateauthor Author Website: https://www.susietate.com/
Content Warnings:
Book contains talk of social anxiety, verbal bullying
Review:
This book was just necessary in my life. I think it was really helpful to understand what people with the social anxiety actually experience on a day-to-day basis. I could resonate with this book to some degree and that made it even more special to me. It showed the real representation of how people on the outside see people who are closed off from the world, not from any fault of their own, but just because they literally cannot be around someone else. I think this was a very good plot for the novel, as she was brought out of her shell and learned that she was enough
It begins with Millie working as a radiologist in a UK hospital and Pavlos as a urologist and the director of surgery. Millie is very intelligent, and has partnered with a psychologist co-worker to publish work about CBT treatment that is revolutionary to post-op and pre-op care. However, her social anxiety will not allow her to commit to public speaking. Pavlos and other people in the hospital want her to showcase her talent at a conference. At the start of the book nobody realises that she has social anxiety, and the only friend she has is Don, the 70-year-old man, who works with her so she can consult. Libby and her daughter, Rosie, seem to understand Millie a bit more but people like Keira, Jamie, and Pavlos don't realise what is stopping her from socialising (though they are all doctors as well🤔).
Pav seems to be an impatient man as he tries to get her to speak at the conference, which is in 6 months, but she continually refuses. He thinks it's because she believes she's better than everyone, but WE all know that's not the case. It is really sad to see him react to her in this way, especially when from her perspective she is too scared and intimidated around others, especially him. He slowly (very slowly) starts to learn what drives her and learns about her social anxiety. He does try to expand her ‘limits' to show her she is not a weirdo like her parents have drilled into her for years.
Throughout the book, I believe there is a sense of self-growth and personal relationship growth with the other characters/co-workers. At the start of the book, she had two people by her side and by the end of the book she has created the family she deserves. These are the people that may have believed the rumours at first but later delved beyond the surface of her cold exterior and learnt she is a kind and lovely person. There were so many moments where you could see that she was trying, like when she paid a fake grant for her friend and brought Pav’s sister the baby nursey she wanted, but sometimes socialising just got too much for her.
Her parents were a big part of her terrible social anxiety with her mom making a scene saying “she was weird” and “it wasn't okay she was different”. They pushed her intelligence to the fact that she was doing A-levels at 13 and this resulted in her not able to socialise with people her own age. Throughout the novel, Pav starts to give her affection and is learning about Millie and her quirks, whilst Millie is learning how to interact with others without pushing herself too much.
She will never be the same as what people would classify as “normal” but that just makes her extraordinary. I was really happy with how Susie Tate wrote about this, because it is one of those stories that you can relate to somehow or even learn some insight into someone else's life.
I learnt that when Millie was helping others, like Pavlos’ sister or babysitting Rosie, she was so much better and had more confidence in her brilliance. Though her parents were horrible, especially being in the political world, it was nice to see that someone was there for her. Pavlos seemed to become her person throughout the majority of the book, and I really appreciated this.
It's sad to say, but there was a third act break up, however it was probably only about two chapters long because both characters where given a good old fashioned talk where they were told by others that they needed to actually communicate with each other. Millie even stood up for herself in front of her parents, which makes me really proud of her. I’m also so glad that she cut them off because they were not helpful in her life at all.
We end on an epilogue which I just adore. It was split into two halves. The first half is standing up to her parents again before she officially becomes Pavlo’s wife and the second part is nine years later after when she has three kids. She sees that her son has the same difficulties that she had, but the difference is she will give him the love he needs to thrive which she did not get. He will be fine.
It shows that though you may be introverted or have social anxiety or be a bit different than what society classes as “the norm”, everyone is able to have happiness in their life as long as the right person is able to break down those barriers.
So I'd like to end it with a well done for the writing of Pav and Millie. Inspirations for who people should strive to be.
Until the next chapter,
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