Scan barcode
charissem96's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
lucyisabella's review
The sexual assault he experienced was a bit too graphic for me. I recognize that this story is someone’s life but this being something I encounter working in a DV shelter I wanted to escape in a book not be reminded
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Sexual assault
ebz1022's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.75
luis10's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Beautiful Book! Definitely a must read!
bookrecsondeck's review
emotional
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Child abuse, Violence, Addiction, and Drug use
Moderate: Pedophilia and Sexual content
lit_vibrations's review against another edition
5.0
A MUST READ MEMOIR!!! I’m not a major fan of them but I’m looking to change that. I’ve only read a couple within the past year and this is now one of my top favs. D.Watkins story was soooo powerful, captivating, and filled with emotion and vulnerability. His story can be seen as relatable and inspiring because there are other black men and boys that have experienced these same things.
Watkins writing is amazing, descriptive, and precise it didn’t really read like a memoir. It was almost like having a normal conversation with him about his life experiences. I was drawn in by his honesty and how down to earth he was when expressing the things he’s been through and how it all affected him.
I was actually brought to tears after reading his camp story. As a parent we send our kids places thinking they’ll be safe only for unimaginable things to happen while they’re away and they never tell you. My heart really broke for him after that because what he experienced at camp was not only traumatic but unfair.
I love how he was able to take all of these difficult moments and use them as life lessons for survival throughout his journey. No matter what life threw his way he didn’t allow it to break him. As he stated in the book, “The people I respected taught me that fear was the worst thing a man could feel.” I hate men have been conditioned to believe they can’t show emotions or express how they feel. It was definitely a wild ride seeing the things he went through from a young child that later helped shape him into the man he is today. The story involving his wife Caron was so heartwarming too.
Overall, this was a page-turner had I not been reading other books in between I could’ve ate this up in one sitting. Special thanks to the author & @legacylitbooks for my gifted copy!!!!
Rating: 5/5⭐️
Watkins writing is amazing, descriptive, and precise it didn’t really read like a memoir. It was almost like having a normal conversation with him about his life experiences. I was drawn in by his honesty and how down to earth he was when expressing the things he’s been through and how it all affected him.
I was actually brought to tears after reading his camp story. As a parent we send our kids places thinking they’ll be safe only for unimaginable things to happen while they’re away and they never tell you. My heart really broke for him after that because what he experienced at camp was not only traumatic but unfair.
I love how he was able to take all of these difficult moments and use them as life lessons for survival throughout his journey. No matter what life threw his way he didn’t allow it to break him. As he stated in the book, “The people I respected taught me that fear was the worst thing a man could feel.” I hate men have been conditioned to believe they can’t show emotions or express how they feel. It was definitely a wild ride seeing the things he went through from a young child that later helped shape him into the man he is today. The story involving his wife Caron was so heartwarming too.
Overall, this was a page-turner had I not been reading other books in between I could’ve ate this up in one sitting. Special thanks to the author & @legacylitbooks for my gifted copy!!!!
Rating: 5/5⭐️
margonicolson's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
4.25
bookreviewswithkb's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
this is in unflinching, raw account of the author’s boyhood growing up in East Baltimore trying to make his way through the crack epidemic, assault, toxic masculinity. learning to not let joy get too close. and then it becomes a story of healing, of allowing himself to fully experience joy, to live life without letting society’s expectations dictate
i can’t believe more people aren’t reading this book
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence