Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Dog Flowers: A Memoir by Danielle Geller

11 reviews

lady_bountiful's review

dark emotional reflective sad

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Addiction, and Alcohol

thunderousdandelion's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, Alcohol, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Drug use

emzireads's review

emotional reflective sad tense

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism

Moderate: Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse

rorikae's review

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

3.75

'Dog Flowers' by Danielle Geller is a memoir that centers on Geller's memories of her mother interwoven with artifacts from her mother's life. The memoir is populated with photographs, letters, and other pieces that Geller found in her mother's belongings. As an archivist, Geller uses these pieces to supplement her own recollections of her mother as she delves into her memories as well as the aftermath of her mother's death. 
I really enjoyed the play of written essays with archival materials from Geller's mother. The addition of these pieces elevated the text and made it unique in a way that stands out from other memoirs that only utilize words. I do wish that these pieces had been interwoven more frequently into the text. They are inserted in groups, which works as a great supplement to the essays but I would have loved to see more direct commentary from Geller on specific pieces, especially those that include her. 
This is a hard memoir to read as Geller had a traumatic childhood and her family deals with a great deal of addiction, loss, and mental health issues. Geller does a great job of interweaving the different struggles that her family has gone through with her own quest to learn and understand more about her past. I hope that this will inspire more works that utilize archival pieces paired with memoir. I really enjoyed the audiobook but I will say that I recommend having the ebook or a physical copy on hand as well as the descriptions of the pieces are not quite a match for actually seeing them. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Grief, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Death and Suicidal thoughts

buttermellow's review

challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Death of parent, Drug use, and Suicide attempt

sophnbooks's review

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

4.0

It’s hard to ever find the words to “review” a memoir. However, this is a challenging story of a Navajo woman grieving her mother after she passes and it’s very well organized. The author, Danielle Geller, even includes photographs and documents that correspond with the passages. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Addiction, Sexual content, Grief, Drug abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Minor: Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, and Mental illness

carolinareads_'s review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

strickortreat's review

challenging emotional reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Grief

sjanke2's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

 This book felt like a meeting point of In the Night of Memory and Carry: A Memoir of Survival on Stolen Land. As a reader, I connected with Geller's former professions of walking streets during a political campaign (grueling) and being an information professional. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Child abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Violence

caseythereader's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

4.25

 📚 This use of the archive of Geller's life is incredible. It's such a unique structure for a memoir.
📚 Additionally, the photographs and other items help to remind the reader that this isn't just a parade of anonymous events, it's the life of a family.
📚 Reading a description of something awful her father did and then looking him in the eye on the next page...I can't even find words for it.
📚 There's so much in here about generational trauma and cycles of addiction and abuse, and yet, there is a feeling of healing and growth by the end of the book, even though things aren't "fixed" or "solved." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Violence