Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father by Augusten Burroughs

5 reviews

4sas's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, and Stalking

renzbenz9999's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Chronic illness, Rape, and Gaslighting

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

teslacannon's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

3.75

I read reviews complaining this book isn’t funny. Anyone who expected “a memoir of psychological cruelty” to be humorous has clearly never lived with an abusive, domineering presence looming over their lives. I listened to the audiobook, and Augusten reads it in a poetic, musical way whenever not speaking dialogue. This book was hard to face at parts, with the rape, mind games, and I especially struggled getting past all of the animal abuse. It starts early and sets the tone. I’ve never read Running with Scissors, but I don’t know that I want to be exposed to more of his trauma filled memories.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Rape

_bxllxe_'s review against another edition

dark funny sad tense slow-paced

3.0

A father can be many different things. Doting. Deadbeat. Homicidal. The father in this book chilled me to the bone. Stephen King couldn’t write a better villain.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness

Moderate: Gaslighting

Minor: Suicide attempt and Death of parent

v171's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.0

I have read several books by the author in the past, and have really enjoyed his work. I knew his talent lay in memoirs, and I had heard that this was slight deviation from his other works. That didn't prepare me for this utterly shocking recollection of a childhood filled with trauma and horror. I can't image the sheer terror that Burroughs dealt with every day in his most formative years, and how he pushed through the difficulties that obviously followed him into adulthood. It was heartbreaking but very powerful in the way that the stories were constructed. I didn't walk away from this book with feelings of anger or horror. Just a profound sadness for the love that Burroughs was deprived. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction and Alcoholism

Minor: Chronic illness, Gun violence, and Car accident