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4.52 AVERAGE
4.52 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
I want to read this again when I’m 25. Got so much from it but I know it has so much more to give. Intellectual but not inauthentic. I liked how it was nonlinear, felt like I was following the author alongside their healing journey.
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
favorite book EVER of mine, probably will never read again
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
This astoundingly innovative memoir is an incredible exploration of abuse. It's also an exploration of how society is ill-equipped to understand many kinds of abuse. For example, it obscures the existence of abuse between same-sex partners. And - as the author points out in one devastatingly terse chapter - the verbal and emotional abuse she was subjected to for years was technically legal everywhere. Many stories of abuse do not fit the common narrative, and many stories of abuse have not been streamlined into academic studies. As a result there are many of us who struggle to find resources, or even language for what we were subjected to.
Therefore, for me, Machado's memoir touched me on several levels. Her personal story is harrowing even as it's portrayed in gorgeous prose. There's no other story like it precisely it's hers alone (just how everyone has their own story.) And yet her struggles to define what happened to her - when what happened to her is so wholly invisible in societal jargon, academia, pop culture, etc- was something that resonated with me deeply. As someone who loves to write, I deeply believe in the power of naming things. When some things seemingly have no name, though, it puts me into a tailspin.
Machado synthesizes an incredible amount of information in here, in a way that feels so uniquely millennial. I'm also someone who turns to things like Star Trek and the Iliad in order to put a name to unnameable things. And I'm also someone who used to do that consistently on livejournal. There were so many types of recognition I experienced with this book.
Therefore, for me, Machado's memoir touched me on several levels. Her personal story is harrowing even as it's portrayed in gorgeous prose. There's no other story like it precisely it's hers alone (just how everyone has their own story.) And yet her struggles to define what happened to her - when what happened to her is so wholly invisible in societal jargon, academia, pop culture, etc- was something that resonated with me deeply. As someone who loves to write, I deeply believe in the power of naming things. When some things seemingly have no name, though, it puts me into a tailspin.
Machado synthesizes an incredible amount of information in here, in a way that feels so uniquely millennial. I'm also someone who turns to things like Star Trek and the Iliad in order to put a name to unnameable things. And I'm also someone who used to do that consistently on livejournal. There were so many types of recognition I experienced with this book.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Car accident, Lesbophobia, Alcohol
Minor: Vomit
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced