Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold

14 reviews

yossy_cookie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

3.5

An interesting look at the victims of Jack the Ripper. This is not true crime, there is nothing at all about the killings but this focuses on the lives of the women. It is an interesting insight into what life was like in Victorian London and the attention to detail is superb. It is, however, slow paced and quite heavy going 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexism, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Classism, Trafficking, Death, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Murder, Misogyny, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment

mahmabaer's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

4.0

I enjoyed it for the most part and the author's basic theory

that all the women were not prostitutes

, does give one something to consider.  I do wish she hadn't been so heavyhanded in her attempt to find no blame towards the women themselves, as it makes it come across as if she is less interested in telling the stories of the five victims and more interested in proving her point.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Death, Emotional abuse, Dementia, Bullying, Death of parent, Addiction, Grief, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Abortion, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Murder, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Violence

thinkingcatss's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, Classism, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Sexism, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Abandonment, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Trafficking, Death, Drug use, Pandemic/Epidemic, Miscarriage, Medical content, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Child death, Alcohol, Grief, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Violence

tiernanhunter's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Medical content, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Violence, Abandonment, Abortion, Child abuse, Child death, Infertility, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Trafficking, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Miscarriage, War, Classism, Death, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Sexual harassment, Blood, Grief, Infidelity, Addiction, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Terminal illness, and Mental illness

jacs63's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

5.0

This is a stunning book for so many reasons. 
It gives a face, a name and a voice, to the 5 victims of JtR. 
We so often only hear about the perpetrator, and not the victims. 
The book discusses the fact that thru the falsehood and misinformation spread by the Metropolitan Police and journalists at the time, it was convenient for us all to think that JtR only killed prostitutes. 
Only 2 of the 5 were actually known to be sex workers. 
There is no evidence that the other 3 were sex workers at all, but I for one believed the misinformation that was spread. 
One thing that all 5 women shared was that they are all alcoholics. 
I wonder why?? 
Maybe because cheap alcohol was the only thing that dulled the pain, if only for a while, of the poverty; the hunger; the homelessness; the early death of family members, including their own spouses or their own babies/ children; the death sentence that they were given if their spouse died and left them, and their children, destitute; their treatment as a woman with no legal rights; the living hell that was the 'Workhouse'; the lack of education for woman; the disease; the filth and vermin; the lack of medicines; the lack of clean water and sanitation; the violence; the lack of hope, respect and dignity etc etc etc. 
Basically the treatment of women/girls in the 1800's. 

It's full of interesting and informative historical facts about what life, and death, was like, for women in particular, in the Victorian 1800's. 

It's sad and horrific and devastating. It's a book that won't leave me for a while, I don't think. 
Probably not a book to read if you are depressed or feeling melancholic.

We will never know who JtR was. 
But we can know who his victims were. 
These women were daughters; sisters; wives; lovers; mothers; friends. 
May they never be forgotten. 
RIP and love, Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Kate and Mary Jane.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Child death, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Physical abuse, Excrement, Misogyny, Medical content, Alcohol, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Stalking, Terminal illness, Violence, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective slow-paced

4.25

I really appreciate how intensively this was researched, and I think it's a really important idea. I could definitely see revisiting this and reading it again in small pieces. It tells such an interesting story about just women in general during this time period in England, and I think it's fascinating how so many ideas that were standard then are still hanging on today.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Addiction, Alcohol, Abandonment, Classism, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Death, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Murder, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Minor: Blood and Child death

vixenreader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.75

It is good to see the victims of Jack the Ripper as human beings instead of faceless statistics to be gawked at. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Body shaming, Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Child death, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Grief, Trafficking, Gun violence, Infidelity, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and Rape

Minor: Racism, Gore, and Xenophobia

There is a lot of talk about the abuse within the workhouses and dissolving of familial dynamics.

walkie_check's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Classism, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexism, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Violence, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, and Child death

rach59r's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Sexism

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Child death, Violence, and Classism

epeolatri's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

I have never heard anything about the women killed by jack the ripper before this book. It was very well informed and I’m so glad I read it. As the author said, it is important to remember these women as human beings and not just victims of a famous man. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Addiction, Sexism, Mental illness, Misogyny, Violence, Classism, Death, Alcoholism, Child death, Alcohol, and Murder

Moderate: Cursing, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, and Sexual content