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4.31 AVERAGE
4.31 AVERAGE
javalibrarian's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
Grace Talusan’s extraordinary voice & soul shines throughout her intimate memoir. I was immersed in her powerful & personal prose!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Minor: Racism and Xenophobia
hamletseinquieta's review
4.0
This is quite a powerful memoir, and its prose is vivid, so much so that it made the middle part of the memoir rather difficult for me to get through. You feel her trauma along with her, and she moves through it unflinchingly.
crybabybea's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
3.75
Beautifully nuanced memoir about what it means to exist in a body and all of its intersections. Lots of insightful anecdotes about growing up as an Asian immigrant, person with fertility issues, abuse survivor, and so much more.
I was struck by the author's repeated gentleness in the face of truly horrific things that happened to her. She has the ability to look past the incident and think about the past events that led to each situation, finding, if not forgiveness, then understanding and empathy for the struggles passed on by her parents and their parents before her. Although everyone's journey with their trauma is different, and there is no "correct" way to heal, Grace Talusan shows a clear reflection and does a great job tying up so many complex topics into one central theme.
The writing was just okay for me. It didn't have the same narrative, poetic feel as other memoirs that I've read and greatly enjoyed. There were some profound quotes, and like I said Talusan brings a sense of gentleness and loving reflection, which lends itself to an overarching hopeful tone, and sets it apart from similar memoirs. Although the topics dealt with are intimately intertwined with Talusan's personal trauma, she doesn't go into much detail regarding the healing process itself, which is completely fine but may not appeal to fans of other memoirs like What My Bones Know.
Despite my feelings about the writing itself, I have to acknowledge that this book hits a lot of topics that are not talked about in the mainstream, something that the author herself speaks a bit about. Thanks to other diasporic Asian people sharing their stories, I know that discussions about mental health and personal experience are quite taboo in a lot of Asian cultures, but I was surprised to learn just how secretive Filipino culture is, and the political and historical reasoning behind the cultural habits of Filipino people. Because of this, I recognize that Talusan's book will be incredibly helpful for a lot of people.
Although this wasn't my favorite memoir of all time, it was still beautiful, unique, and eye-opening. It occupies a specific, nuanced space in the memoir space, and is 100% worth reading.
I was struck by the author's repeated gentleness in the face of truly horrific things that happened to her. She has the ability to look past the incident and think about the past events that led to each situation, finding, if not forgiveness, then understanding and empathy for the struggles passed on by her parents and their parents before her. Although everyone's journey with their trauma is different, and there is no "correct" way to heal, Grace Talusan shows a clear reflection and does a great job tying up so many complex topics into one central theme.
The writing was just okay for me. It didn't have the same narrative, poetic feel as other memoirs that I've read and greatly enjoyed. There were some profound quotes, and like I said Talusan brings a sense of gentleness and loving reflection, which lends itself to an overarching hopeful tone, and sets it apart from similar memoirs. Although the topics dealt with are intimately intertwined with Talusan's personal trauma, she doesn't go into much detail regarding the healing process itself, which is completely fine but may not appeal to fans of other memoirs like What My Bones Know.
Despite my feelings about the writing itself, I have to acknowledge that this book hits a lot of topics that are not talked about in the mainstream, something that the author herself speaks a bit about. Thanks to other diasporic Asian people sharing their stories, I know that discussions about mental health and personal experience are quite taboo in a lot of Asian cultures, but I was surprised to learn just how secretive Filipino culture is, and the political and historical reasoning behind the cultural habits of Filipino people. Because of this, I recognize that Talusan's book will be incredibly helpful for a lot of people.
Although this wasn't my favorite memoir of all time, it was still beautiful, unique, and eye-opening. It occupies a specific, nuanced space in the memoir space, and is 100% worth reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Incest, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, and Physical abuse
Minor: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Colonisation, and War
maureenstantonwriter's review
5.0
Powerful and personal memoir about how identity, and sometimes fate, is marked on the body. Beautifully written in essay-like chapters. Honest and heartfelt, and an important story for our #metoo moment. We need these courageous stories and authentic voices.
inwonderland122's review
4.0
Listened to this for AAPI month. A good memoir. Depressing story of a first generation American woman from the Philippines.
chelsn99's review
challenging
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
This is an extremely honest, even at times uncomfortable, memoir written by a Filipino immigrant who came to the US with her parents when she was very young. She is blunt about her childhood experiences and growing up in the suburbs of Boston, feeling ashamed of her culture and trying her best to assimilate. Reading about Talusan’s conflicting emotions during her youth stirred some uncomfortable memories of my own, that desire to fit in, even if it meant distancing yourself from your culture. Talusan definitely does not shy away from any topics, including sexual assault and the deeply ingrained consequences that result from that. Her story is extremely vulnerable and relevant. As someone with a similar background, it was easy for me to emerge myself into Talusan’s life and feel these shared stories.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault