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4.3 AVERAGE
4.3 AVERAGE
I admire the writing of this book and what it takes to share it with the world (not to mention the media to promote it), but the rest of my feelings are a lot more complicated. Let's talk about it!
"I appreciate that at least some of who I am rises out of the worst day of my life and I don't want to change who I am. I no longer need the body fortress I built. I need to tear down some of the walls, and I need to tear down those walls for me and me alone, no matter what good may come of that demolition. I think of it as undestroying myself."
To use the author's words this book is vulnerable and terribly human. Raw emotion from start to finish. This is the kind of memoir I could pick up again and again.
"I've been thinking a lot about feeling comfortable in one's body and what a luxury that must be. Does anyone feel comfortable in their bodies? Glossy magazines lead me to believe that this is a rare experience, indeed. The way my friends talk about their bodies also leads me to that same conclusion. Every woman I know is on a perpetual diet. I know I don't feel comfortable in my body, but I want that and that's what I am working toward. I am working toward abandoning the damaging cultural messages that tell me my worth is strictly tied up in my body. I am trying to undo all the hateful things I tell myself..."
"I've been thinking a lot about feeling comfortable in one's body and what a luxury that must be. Does anyone feel comfortable in their bodies? Glossy magazines lead me to believe that this is a rare experience, indeed. The way my friends talk about their bodies also leads me to that same conclusion. Every woman I know is on a perpetual diet. I know I don't feel comfortable in my body, but I want that and that's what I am working toward. I am working toward abandoning the damaging cultural messages that tell me my worth is strictly tied up in my body. I am trying to undo all the hateful things I tell myself..."
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
One of the most poignant pieces I have ever read.
Trigger warning: rape, depression, weight including specific numbers
Trigger warning: rape, depression, weight including specific numbers
This is one of those memoirs that I knew I'd like but I didn't realize I needed. Gay struggles with her body, her relationship with food, and her acceptance of herself. All stemming from a horrific trauma endured at 12 years old. Her self worth is so tied up in her body that it is inescapable. And it's the same for many of us. Gay writes about all of this so beautifully that I even reread some chapters right away.
We're all at war with our bodies, in America at least. When will it end? Thank you for this perspective Roxane.
We're all at war with our bodies, in America at least. When will it end? Thank you for this perspective Roxane.
Roxane's story is hard to hear. The many ways in which she has been clearly taught that her body is unacceptable are profoundly sad to me. Her writing is clear and direct, which is helpful and awkward. I found it quite moving. She is clearly strong and able. And her story displays the ways in which society is handling bodies incorrectly.
In this memoir by Roxanne gay, hunger in many forms is examined. Part rote memoir, part exploration on being a body in public. I was touched by the level of vulnerability and truth shared.
"What does it say about our culture that the desire for weight loss is considered a default feature of womanhood?"
That sentence alone makes it five stars for me, honestly. I knew I would love this and I did, Roxane Gay can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned.
That sentence alone makes it five stars for me, honestly. I knew I would love this and I did, Roxane Gay can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned.