While the Plants Were Dying

by Elizabeth Bedlam

Terra knew she was lost in depression again when she saw three hours had passed and she hadn’t noticed. She’d been mindlessly scrolling through used clothes on eBay, thinking maybe if she got the bright yellow dress, or the striped red pants, things would change. Her mood and her life, things would happen so naturally, she wouldn’t even realize it. After spending a life wandering around, confused, anxious and alone, Terra, a florist, acquires a series of six esoteric self-help discs that are designed to help those struggling to ascend to their higher selves from her sister’s yard sale. ...Terra looked down at them. She’d never seen DVDS in a leather case before. “Are they home movies or something? They just look... odd. I don’t know. It’s strange there’s no title, right? Were they Bryon’s?” “Uh, no, one of those patients left them for me…” Her sister, Margo said, turning away. Terra placed the leather folder down on the corner of the table beside the stack of DVDs. It seemed out of place there….It didn’t seem to belong anywhere, just like Terra.

Genres: Horror

102 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 8, 2021

About the author

Elizabeth Bedlam is a writer of satire, dark humor, and low-brow literary fiction. She has been featured in anthologies and zines that you've probably never heard of including Anti-This/Anti-That, Low Life, Horror Sleaze Trash, and Soiled Purity.

Her most-read works include Rabbit Skin Glue and Lucy the Satanist. She has been praised for her realistic depictions of neurotic females.

Elizabeth is a Michigan native. She currently lives and writes from Melbourne, AU.

Correspond!
Instagram: @elizabeth.bedlam or @swann.bedlam
Email: elizabethbedlam@gmail.com
Website: swannbedlam.com

Reviews

[Emily Coffee and Commentary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A shocking novella on the pursuit of wellness. Tense and brooding, we see the consequences of loneliness, desperation, and self loathing. A great allegory of roots; the psyche flourishes off of insecurity and resentment, just as a plant absorbs minerals from soil. A really interesting and lesser known piece.

[Janie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terra, a drastically disturbed young woman, comes across the cds of Dr. Eustace Gish. These supposedly therapeutic cds were first introduced to us in Elizabeth Bedlam's previous book, Hello Old Friend. Supposedly benign and harmless, these tapes have ominously influenced other people to end their own lives. Poor Terra. She has finally found a new path to take control of her life and problems. Woe to the person who dares annoy her. This is a dark, disturbing and direly comic story of a person who just wants to be herself in a confusing and self-centered world. Elizabeth Bedlam has yet again provided us with a most captivating character.

[Jeffrey Caston · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m going to go with 4.5 on this. Rounded up because of Goodreads’ system, and well, this one in some ways hit me harder that Hello, Old Friend.

I read While the Plants Were Dying right after I read Hello, Old Friend. This novella takes place shortly after the events of Hello, Old Friend. I highly recommend you read that novella first and then read this one right after it.

Well.
Worth.
The.
Time.

Dr. Gish’s dastardly insidious discs are preying upon another person struggling with mental health issues. This time, it is a kindly, good-hearted florist, Terra. Dr. Rutt has a larger role and a different role to play in this story. More personal.

I found Terra’s struggles so much more despair-inducing. It takes, if I may be so bold to say, quite a bit to freak me out. Bedlam managed to do that here. What Terra goes through as she progresses through Dr. Gish’s discs is horrifying. It was interesting to see Terra’s reactions and views of the discs. Dr. Gish seemed more malignant, but in an understated way that made him even more dangerous, compared to what Eve experienced in Hello, Old Friend.

I like that while this novella in the broadest strokes followed the same ideas and format as Hello, Old Friend, it took me to unexpected places and had some twists in that kept it from being formulaic. And despite the short length, there is a good deal of creative and compelling character development.

As with the prior novella, I sure do hope that Bedlam revisits the world created by the self-help discs that will not die and get passed around.

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘Mighty oaks from little acorns grow.’

Terra, the florist, is a sad, lonely and depressed young lady who is full of self-loathing and dark, dark negativity. In order to let out the inner goodness that lies at her very core she constantly picks and scratches at her skin which, although causing severe pain and deep physical scarring, also seemingly allows her some measure of control. Then, in order to move on and make further improvement she decides to follow Dr Eustace Gish’s self-help 6 cd course, given to her by her sister, Margo, which promises to change her life forever, in fact, right to the very end. Soon, however, she finds that starting from a positional of quiet distressing vulnerability things rapidly move forward leading her on a path to either making a complete and full recovery or ending in utter crazed insanity and outright personal ruination.
Yes,Terra is now learning to take even greater control and things are beginning to move in the right direction, but are these recent positive changes real or just illusionary and nothing more than a heartbreaking horrific distortion of an imaginary truth?

This touching and highly emotive story is brilliantly constructed, allowing each utterly compelling event to naturally develop into the next stage of Terra’s story. Although sad and heartbreaking to read at times the dark humour and fast-flowing action is always creative and highly imaginative, which just lends itself to drawing the reader further into the story, whilst also engendering a positive, healthy eagerness for Terra to eventually overcome her problems and ultimately succeed in her quest for peace and happiness.

I found that this book makes the perfect partner for ‘Hello, Dear Friend,’ the sister tale involving Dr. Gish and his set of harmful cd’s, as the two leading protagonists cleverly possess names, Eve (HDF) and Terra (WTPAD), which are both implied, deeply rooted and entrenched in earthly matters, although the state of their mental health is far less stable and much more difficult to comprehend and understand. This book just seems to build on the wonderful foundations laid in HGF and takes the action and encrypted psychological messaging to an altogether even higher level. Excellent!

Yes, both of these books are ‘must’ reads as each is superbly crafted as well as being quite simply fantastic, utterly fascinating and totally absorbing uniquely original tales. Thoroughly enjoyable and definitely, definitely, definitely not to be missed. Thank you EB - great stuff!

Simply enjoy!

Rating: 5.2 Gloriously bright, botanically brilliant stars.

[B.J. Swann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Eustach Gish is back, ready to dispense more self-help through the medium of a cursed CD-ROM. This time his patient is Terra, a florist with a habit of compulsively picking at her face. With Gish’s help she’s about to start picking at her life instead – with gruesome and darkly hilarious results.

A sister novella to Bedlam’s excellent HELLO OLD FRIEND, WHILE THE PLANTS WERE DYING is bloodier and even more blackly funny than the original. The prose is crisp and concise, with flourishes of poetic detail. Terra is a wonderfully realized character, both compelling and likeable. The reader suffers a sort of folie a deux as they follow her into madness, wishing against all sense and reason for her impossible plans to succeed. Eustace Gish is a wonderfully nebulous monster, and it’s a delight to see him cause havoc again.

With shades of THE KING IN YELLOW, and language that evokes the fathomless wonder of dreams, WHILE THE PLANTS WERE DYING is another excellent book from Elizabeth Bedlam, the coolest author I know.

[MadameD · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story 5/5
Narration 4/5 I like that Elizabeth Bedlam is the narrator of her story. Good job 👏🏾

While The Plants Were Dying, is the story of Terra a deeply depressed woman and her psychosis.

I love this story.

I like how Elizabeth Bedlam writes about mental Illness and shows us how horrific it can be, if Dr Gish is involved.
Terra is his third patient. We met the two previous ones in Hello Old Friend.
Dr Gish helps his patients to become more. But unfortunately for them, the ending is always horrible, from the point of view of a healthy person. What is a mentally healthy person?😉🤪😆
Elizabeth Bedlam’s stories, always let me think. I love her writing style and her creativity.

I highly recommend this book, as well of the others two in this series.

[River Dixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, this is one of the best book titles I have seen in a long time. What makes it even better is that it perfectly encompasses the poetic quality of this story. Bedlam really excelled with this one, I highly recommend it.

[Hail Hydra! ~Dave Anderson~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terra’s trembled, feeling the knots of nerves loosen as she took Dr. Gish into her hands. The weight felt familiar. Terra couldn’t wait to show these to the other patients. If anyone could help crazy old Mr. Chandler or Muttering Lucy, it was Dr. Gish.

[Seb · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I chose to read this one, I didn't know it was a follow up to Hello, Old Friend I read a few weeks ago.

That came as a total surprise. But, I don't know, I liked this one less. It felt more written to shock than to express mental illness. The story was more violent than I had come to expect from Elizabeth Bedlam's novellas.

3.5 stars rounded down

[Paul (Life In The Slow Lane) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terra = earth = the stuff plants grow in.

Terra is a florist and plant lover. I like her already. Sadly, she's got too many kangaroos in her top paddock (full of problems in the cranial computer department). Along comes good old Dr Eustace Gish who pushes poor Terra over the edge. She must clean out her life. Take out the trash, human and otherwise. I like how Elizabeth has constructed this rather gory answer to Terra's problems. If you've read Hello, Old Friend, you'll know what's coming - or maybe not. The ending was unexpected, but still satisfying. The plot is quite well constructed and made for compelling reading. Ms Bedlam has a very active imagination and it shows. I kept wondering how she comes up with this stuff. Gee, I hope Terra isn't based on the author's real persona. Hmm. Maybe Eustace Gish could help me. Where do I get those friggin' DVDs?

For me -⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ five stars. Don't be so judgy! I hear you saying, "HEY! Wait a minute! You're awarding this the same rating that you gave to Moby Dick and David Copperfield!!! That doesn't seem right." Well, yes. But they were literary masterpieces and their authors were freakishly good. I'm basing this rating on enjoyment factor alone. Good job Elizabeth. (Psst. This is way better than book one.)

Observation 1. In my mind's eye, Eustace Gish kept appearing as Samuel L. Jackson...with his distinctive voice. Let me know who you think he is in your theater of the mind.

Observation 2. Apparently, those big warehouse hardware stores in the USA have the same useless, disinterested staff as they do here on the other side of the planet. Must be one of those "universal laws".

Observation 3. I like Elizabeth's book covers.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing Sequel

This was an awesome sequel to “Hello Old Friend” I loved following Terra on her way into a deep, dark, and depressing madness journey. Another great book by this author!

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great novella. Already ordered 3 more of her books.

[Renée · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and amazing. Elizabeth Bedlam is becoming one of my favourite authors.

[Peter Topside · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's always an author's dilemma to try new things versus sticking with certain tropes and plots and characters, etc. Readers can be very finnicky but, when it comes down to brass tacks, a writer must stay true to their vision no matter what. But it can be exhilarating to study a fictional character's organic responses to certain situations. Maybe it's a person with a carefree life who doesn't know how to respond to difficult life circumstances for the first time. Or possibly a very troubled character that's just wallowing in their misery and mental health challenges, getting worse as each page passes. There's no wrong approach, but it all has to be coordinated just right to hit all the right notes. And, here, Elizabeth Bedlam did just that. Terra, our lead, is so very damaged and we are gifted the opportunity to sit in the passenger's seat during her wild ride. I thought the narrow focus on her was perfect, the usage of the male suitors and plants to compliment her plight were solid, and even the dynamics with her sister just added to the mix. It was also long enough to flesh out this particular portion of the character's life without overstaying its welcome, too. And the horror elements, albeit brief and minimal, fit right in, as well. It all came together and created something very unique. I had a very good time with this.

[Clara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this right after Hello, Old Friend and loved it!

What happens if you follow the 6-disc program but get stuck, or become interrupted in one of the steps? Terra’s story illustrates this. There were quite a few moments that made me wince, especially when Terra exfoliated her face. Terra is endearing in her disturbed and timid ways. I find myself wishing for, and wanting to witness how Terra would eliminate her “obstacle” in the form of Margo. Ah! There is a vengeful sadist in me.

The next book in the same world is Such Tragedies. I can’t wait to dive in!

[Nathaniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy weird horror novellas that leave me feeling very unsettled and a little strange. This did just that. Do I recommend it? Genuinely have no one to recommend it to. If you’re friends with me, don’t read this. It’s not my usual type of story and it’s not something you would enjoy. If you’re a stranger on the internet?
I don’t know you so go ahead.
This follows in the vein of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke. I’d say if you enjoyed that, you’ll enjoy this.

[Joseph Barber · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 2nd book of, Hello Old Friend!

Dr. Gish's self help tapes are out again.

Margo's sister , Terra picks her skin and don't like going out. Margo has a binder of self help tapes in her garage sale. Her sister takes them and watches them. I'm sure you know what happens next, well maybe.

Read Hello Old Friend, first.

[John Esse · Rating 3 out of 5]

The books in this series all have a compelling premise: people looking for help with their mental health problems fall victim to dangerous self-help gurus who make them go insane. These books would be a lot better if the characters who went insane were more relatable and interesting. Some more plot would be nice too. And I think it would be scarier with less magic.

[Paul Ataua · Rating 4 out of 5]

Terra is in deep depression with no light at the end of the tunnel when she comes across a leather case of DVDs that might help to turn her life around. In the end, they do have a major effect on her life. It’s the follow up to “Hello, Old Friend’ and much the same with lots of extreme horror and this time with a facial recipe to brighten up your day. I do like the way Bedlam writes.

[Alexander Cotton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Dark, Funny, and Violent Descent into Madness

This the third book by Elizabeth Bedlam I’ve read this month, and they’ve all been amazing. Highly recommended if you’re into dark literature.

[Randy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and wanted to give it a better rating but, it really needs an editor. Other than that, great read.

[Dawn Shea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had no idea that this was a sequel to Goodbye Old Friend. I bought it because someone suggested it. I had previously read Goodbye Old Friend and loved it. Soon after starting While the Plants Were Dying, I figured out it was the sequel. It was a great follow up to the first one. I have always been fascinated by people with mental disorders, especially dealing with their ability to be easily manipulated. The internal and external struggles that go in within these books are eye opening. It makes me understand some of my past patients better. Well done!