Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance

28 reviews

rustmaiden's review against another edition

challenging hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Drug use, and Violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

asterius's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

Please read actual literature on the history of Appalachia if you want to understand the region, and not the warblings of a silicon valley millionaire upset with poor people for not having enough initiative.

While you're getting other books, read Hillbilly Reckoning, for thorough responses to this book by actual advocates and historians. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Xenophobia

bookishandjoyceful's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

annavonwillingh's review against another edition

dark hopeful inspiring sad tense fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism and Drug abuse

rowandl's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

3.5

This book confronts the Appalachian opioid crisis, but it's a bit reductive. I don't believe it gives a full picture of the area. This is a memoir above all else. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Drug use

alsoapples's review against another edition

dark funny reflective medium-paced

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Gun violence, Racism, and Sexual assault

marcella's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective fast-paced

3.0

Ends on kind of a weird note of personal responsibility also the government can't help us, we have to solve our own problems, even after he's acknowledged how the root of progress problems stems from jobs disappearing from industrial towns. I guess we have different politics because I found his descriptions of problems were emotive and honest, but his solutions were... confusing.

Still worth reading though. I haven't read much about class consciousness but this portrayed the tensions and uncertainties of financial/class awareness well. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Drug abuse

askannakarenina's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

2.0

I listened to J.D. Vance's narration of this book on Audible...I'm very conflicted about this book. On the one hand, Vance's narration of his own life experience is highly compelling, and he's tackling important and under-discussed issues from the position of a person who has lived through them. On the other hand, this book has faced a lot of criticism for placing the issues of Appalachia too much on the cultural habits of the people who live there, or for not placing enough blame on them. Vance is so proud of his own heritage, but so critical of that same culture, and I was in places quite angry with his tone or with the prescriptions he made. This book has been important in American political culture over the past few years, so I'm glad I read it, but I don't think it's something I will be revisiting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence