Reviews tagging 'Dementia'

All the Young Men by Ruth Coker Burks

5 reviews

paniquemecanique's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

Pfew. Obviously from the pitch you can expect it to be a lot to challenge emotionally, and it really really is. It was so hard to put it down, because I felt like Ruth took me with her every step of the way, and to stop reading would have been to let the guys down.
It was a really good memoir, focused on a very specific period of time, telling stories in a factual way while still being heart wrenching. I guess we could reproach her to write in a way that is not full of emotions, but considering it is her real life and it would be to go through so much pain again, it is understandable. Also the events are so tragic that even without a sappy writing style, you will be completely upset.
I am again putting people on pedestals and won't do it here, but i still felt very very inspired by her dedication and how much of a calling this was for her. My favorite chapter is the number 14, where she describes her first experience at a drag show.  You could feel her falling I love without meaning to, and I could feel it from where I was. It was magical and horrendous at the same time to feel so close to the gay community at the time.
So, it is a must read, but always to read with a bit of a step back remembering the perspective of the person and the political aspects. But I would definitely always recommend it to anyone.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Grief, Homophobia, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Vomit, Body horror, Dementia, Gore, Religious bigotry, and Death

Moderate: Bullying and Adult/minor relationship

xashleyxvix's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, and Homophobia

Moderate: Bullying, Medical content, Religious bigotry, and Child abuse

Minor: Dementia

lily_west's review

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

4.0

I devoured this book in a day, mostly so I could get all of the crying over with. The story is so sad and so necessary. Ruth Coker Burks writes in a way that is intriguing, enveloping, desperately sad, lighthearted when it's needed, and even funny. You get a sense of the real people behind her stories. The insight of a straight person into gay clubs and drag culture in the eighties and nineties is well done, too.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Hate crime, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Dementia, Death, Homophobia, and Medical content

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Drug use and Addiction

house_of_hannah's review

emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

This book just grips your heart, and does not let go. It is absolutely horrible how human beings can treat each other, and the tears wanted to come within the first few chapters. Being bisexual, and in love with the drag community, I've heard stories of those people lost to HIV. However, I never truly realized how damning the situation was, and how terrible the public response was. It's just so heartbreaking.

The only issue I have with this book is the way the chapters are setup. Often there would be a complete scene change that would confuse me for a few sentences before I realized what was going on. Sometimes it just didn't feel like we were done talking with one person before a different situation was being talked about.

I 100% believe everyone needs to read this book. It will open your eyes to some of the horrors of life, but also it's love, compassion, and determination. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Grief, Homophobia, Medical content, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Suicide attempt

Minor: Blood, Car accident, and Drug abuse

foreverbookwandering's review

challenging emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, Grief, and Hate crime

Moderate: Dementia and Emotional abuse