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4.3 AVERAGE
4.3 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Hearing this book in her voice was so powerful. It felt like bearing witness to both her specific life and to our culture around women and their bodies.
I preordered this book when it was announced but couldn't bring myself to read it until now. I kept seeing all of these praise-filled reviews from thin people and got so angry about them each and every time that I knew I wasn't ready. I'm still not ready - how can anyone who has ever thought about their body truly be ready to dive deeper and think about it some more - but I'm glad I immersed myself in this book at this time. I wept through most of it and I identified with so much of it and I cannot stop thinking about all of it, particularly the relationships between overweight daughters and their thin mothers and the guilt of finding pleasure in food, restaurants, cooking, and nourishment.
We do not deserve Roxane Gay and her magnificent gifts, her bravery, or her brilliance. She is now on my list of celebrities that would leave me speechless and weeping if we ever met.
We do not deserve Roxane Gay and her magnificent gifts, her bravery, or her brilliance. She is now on my list of celebrities that would leave me speechless and weeping if we ever met.
Roxane Gay narrates her story in the audiobook version. Highly recommend the book and the medium.
Honest, brave and vulnerable telling that challenges the way we might think about our own or another's body. "Every body has a story and a history." A simple, yet loaded, statement. That's the brilliance of Gay's writing. But, I felt like some of the points were told over and over again, perhaps intentionally. I felt the same about Bad Feminist, which I have yet to finish (strange for me).
Honest, enduring, and insightful...this book was breathtaking.
Reeealy struggling to rate this one. I flew through it, but I was constantly frustrated by the repetition and lack of resolution. And I know that is essentially the point, however it had a way of disengaging me. I feel for Roxane; I wish her life was not so hard. I could relate to many things she discussed and struggled with. I am amazed at her ability to lay herself out there for anyone to read. It's incredibly heroic, to me. But.
I don't know. I wanted her to seek more help. I wanted her to push through and move on and find something that makes her happy. The end seems to move her in that direction, but not enough for me to feel like its what she needs or deserves. And I will have to discuss this at my bookclub and maybe after that I will have a clearer picture of this book and everything its saying. What Roxane is saying. To us. To me. Maybe.
I don't know. I wanted her to seek more help. I wanted her to push through and move on and find something that makes her happy. The end seems to move her in that direction, but not enough for me to feel like its what she needs or deserves. And I will have to discuss this at my bookclub and maybe after that I will have a clearer picture of this book and everything its saying. What Roxane is saying. To us. To me. Maybe.
Eye Opener
After reading this book, I never realized how ignorant I was to so many things. For example, someone's body. Never in a million years would I believe that a person's body could tell such a story. I'm never going to look at people the same way again because every person' s body does have a story to tell, we just don't know what it is. Thank you for opening my eyes Roxane Gay and for sharing your story with all your readers.
After reading this book, I never realized how ignorant I was to so many things. For example, someone's body. Never in a million years would I believe that a person's body could tell such a story. I'm never going to look at people the same way again because every person' s body does have a story to tell, we just don't know what it is. Thank you for opening my eyes Roxane Gay and for sharing your story with all your readers.
Eye opening, devastating, comforting, and inspiring at the same time
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Sexual violence
An excellent book that touches on trauma, rumination, depression, contemporary culture, perception, and personal identity. Even readers who have not struggled with weight issues will find this work resonates. Fascinating, important, and necessary.