Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - Speak, Okinawa: A Memoir

Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Speak, Okinawa: A Memoir by Elizabeth Miki Brina

13 reviews

maum's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

A super fun memoir. A lot of tragedy and sadness, but also a hopeful outlook on how people learn to deal with life. Also, generational trauma and the way the wars of the past still shape our interpersonal experiences today is super well written about.

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sofiadanielle's review

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emotional reflective medium-paced

4.25

Ah, a lot to unpack in this book from the relationship a mixed child has with their two cultures, the feeling of being ‘othered’ for not being White, the rocky relationship of an immigrant mother with her daughter, the history of Okinawa…

It’s a bit heavy, I won’t lie. I saw some of my my own habits, thoughts, emotions, all laid out in front of me in this book, as a first generation Asian child born in America. I saw my mother and I in Elizabeth and her mother, even when I wish I couldn’t. I understand her emotions, why she went through some of the situations she did, when you just want to say: well, why would you ever do that?

Beautiful read. I find the second half to be more moving. I hope to find peace with my mother in the way Brina managed, too.

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courto875's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

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boba_n_books's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

I loved how this beautiful memoir took its genre to a new level by including some of the history of Okinawa amongst personal stories. It was a creative way to juxtapose her mother’s immigration journey with the past.

This book also made me question American military presence in other countries like Okinawa. It seems to have caused more harm than good and continues to do so.

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plainplantains's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad

4.75

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seoul0613's review

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dark sad medium-paced

2.5

Although I appreciated the author’s reflection on her childhood and grappling with her identity, I found the self-hate experiences that she included and the way she treated her mom as a kid too uncomfortable for me.

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