Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

If You Tell by Gregg Olsen

6 reviews

serenaann's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Blood, Physical abuse, Hate crime, Abandonment, Child death, Sexual violence, Violence, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Murder, Sexual harassment, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Vomit, Alcoholism, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Addiction, Cursing, Excrement, Medical trauma, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Body shaming, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death of parent, and Gun violence

spookysierra's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Death of parent, Animal death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Blood, Vomit, Alcohol, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Torture, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Gaslighting, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Addiction, and Violence

sammiepineapple's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

3.0

The book was descriptive, these children and at risk adults were certainly living a nightmare. It is scary to think about the people in the world who are truly doing these things. 

As for the book, it felt a little long winded and repetitive. I wouldn’t read it again but I’m glad I finished it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Eating disorder, Excrement, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Blood, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Mental illness, Suicide, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Drug use, Incest, Kidnapping, Cancer, Child abuse, Classism, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Murder, Physical abuse, and Pregnancy

heathermarie08's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

3.0

This is a horrible story of an evil mother, her brave children and victims. I usually enjoy true crime but for some reason did not enjoy this book as much. It read a bit slow and I felt like could've been a shorter book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, and Bullying

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Child death, Excrement, and Fatphobia

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Cancer, and Alcohol

madsreads_'s review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

2.0

as you can see by all the content warnings - a grim read. also felt like the author was kind of revelling in the vivid descriptions of abuse????? the story felt almost fictional in the way it was written, unlike other true crime I have read 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Mental illness, Murder, Alcoholism, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Suicide, Bullying, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Toxic relationship, and Violence

jennanicolereid's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

4.0

First off I would like to address other reviews on this book. Many readers find it to be overly graphic and the story repetitive. I completely disagree, this book should make you incredibly uncomfortable. If some parts seemed repetitive it is because the abuse faced was constant and terrible. I believe it is imperative to not gloss over or play down a survivor’s story to make the reader “comfortable”.

The author did a wonderful job in writing and developing a clear narrative throughout the book. I was often left wondering how something so tragic and obvious could be missed by everyone surrounding the family in this book. It forces you to question what you think you know about local law enforcement, family dynamics, and if those around you would notice something was obviously wrong. It also delves into each sister’s experience individually which shows how similar experiences can shape individuals in completely different ways. 

My only issue is that occasionally when in the more present times of the story he would slip in an additional story of abuse from prior years. I feel this wasn’t needed at that point of the story and would have been better served earlier on in the book. It caused the middle of the book to have a slightly chaotic feel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Alcoholism