Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Ten Steps to Nanette: A Memoir Situation by Hannah Gadsby

73 reviews

emwilliams's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

The last two sections about the composition of Nanette the comedy show is incredible in its structure. The previous eight sections are the context you need to appreciate what Gadsby is doing and why. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Fatphobia, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Pedophilia, and Grief

teatunesandtales's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Ableism

Moderate: Medical content, Mental illness, Abortion, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Sexual harassment, and Homophobia

shortstackz's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective slow-paced

5.0

If you are a fan of Hannah Gadsby's performances, I highly recommend this in audiobook format. They lay their life bare, looking the hardest moments of their life directly in the face while still being kind to their "villains". That being said it is not something that everyone can read, it deals with a lot of the nuance of moving through trauma after rape or the systemic oppression of being a queer person before marriage was even a possibility. Please proceed with caution.

It's a story told honestly and gives context to the world around itself. I love how they contextualize Tasmania and the political climate of Australia in reference to their own journey through developing as an undiagnosed neurodivergent human. Hannah put forth the effort of acknowledging where their own privilege lies, and unapologetically says "please see the affected group for more on that". At it's heart, ten steps to Nanette is the directors cut of the Netflix special Nanette. The audiobook is definitely worth it on this one

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Grief, Homophobia, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Dysphoria, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

team_mosaic's review against another edition

emotional funny medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Bullying, Homophobia, Child abuse, Fatphobia, and Pedophilia

psitstorrie's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective tense slow-paced

5.0

This book was extremely healing for me. It’s dark and messed up, but the way they tell their story is unlike any other book I’ve read. There are hard parts but the humor is balanced so well that it never is too much. If you are neurodivergent or queer, this book will make you feel seen and loved. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Rape, Body shaming, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, and Violence

nosmallthing's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Hate crime, Mental illness, and Homophobia

Moderate: Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Body shaming, Drug use, Fatphobia, Ableism, and Suicidal thoughts

augustar14's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative medium-paced

5.0

Like Nanette but for an entire book.  Exceeded my expectations and I was already delighted to see that it was read by Hannah herself.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Lesbophobia, Eating disorder, Chronic illness, Bullying, Body shaming, Misogyny, Mental illness, Hate crime, Grief, Cancer, Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Ableism, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Homophobia

Moderate: Classism, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Addiction, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Rape

mads_jpg's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective slow-paced

3.75

Bloody funny and emotional but also bloody long. I genuinely really enjoyed it but I do wish some parts were edited down just a liiiittle bit more, but I can see with a story this personal it must've been hard to cut it down. If you liked Nanette then you'll obviously like this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

biscuithead's review against another edition

challenging dark funny informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

Haven't looked into all the Pablo Picasso stuff but the "feedback" I read on it reinforces my opinion that most people would rather dog pile on someone for laughs or to signal that they're "smart" and "hip" and "cool" instead of having a single nuanced brain cell. If you didn't like whatever Hannah was saying with the Picasso exhibit just say that and move on, or just don't say anything at all! I'm tired of cruel takes. Anyways this was a good memoir and I'd read another one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Homophobia, Hate crime, Rape, and Violence

Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, and Bullying

Minor: Drug use, Fatphobia, and Classism

sabsey's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny reflective

5.0

"If pushed, I usually say that a friend entered me into the Raw Comedy competition because I was making him laugh and he thought I needed to broaden my audience. Sometimes I will elaborate and say that at the time I was recovering from surgery and unable to work, was looking for something to do. On rare occasions I'll go as far as to explain that I'd be injured while working on a farm and had undergone a partial wrist fusion. None of this is untrue, but it is a gross simplification. It does nothing to accommodate the reality of my situation, the drifting, the isolation, the houselessness....what can I say? There is just never a straight line to be found through a life punctuated by trauma."


I don't have a lot to say that isn't just: go read this for yourself.

There is one particularly moving (and frightening aspect) of this memoir is in the opening third as Gadsby recounts her childhood growing up in a particularly conservative region of Tasmania - and that is the rhetoric and slander she recounts surrounding the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Tassie in the 90's is the exact same rhetoric and slander that is now being used to pull lgbtq+ books off shelves in america, the same phrases that are turning story time's in public libraries from safe spaces to dangerous ones, the same propaganda that is killing trans people all across the world - and it's a bit shocking to read how the same attitudes and logic from the 90's are still being spread today.

"The reasons they [George Brookes, Chris Miles, and Say No To Sodomy Group] and other speakers, gave as reasons for 'saying no to sodomy' at the rally were similar to those outlined in the pamphlet - the real gay agenda being the complete removal of the legal age of consent, which is the classic tactic you should now be very familiar with: equating homosexuality with pedophilia."

That's not a big - or any part of the story really, however - but what is the focus is how these institutional structures, how shame and ignorance has a deep, meaningful and lasting impact on young lgbtq+ people for their ENTIRE lives. This is an amazing read, and Gadsby (for all her claims of being a coward) does not hold back in a lot of places where it matters most. 

Dont' get me wrong - there is a lot of great humour in here as well, but it's also a pretty confronting biography. It contextualises not just her comedy special, but serves as a pretty important perspective on how our attitudes towards mental illness, neurodivergence and lgbtq+ youth has not come nearly as far as we think it has.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Homophobia, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault