Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Dog Flowers: A Memoir by Danielle Geller

6 reviews

siriface's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Racism and Suicide attempt

krys_kilz's review

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

This book was HEAVY, so please be mindful of the trigger warnings before reading. With that said, this memoir felt almost easy in a way even though the subject matter was anything but. As the friend I read it with put it, it was like listening to a friend.

Geller's voice was refreshing. She doesn't sugar coat anything nor does she attempt to give her pain/trauma a deeper meaning or poetic beauty. She simply lays it all out without apology. And that raw vulnerability felt like a breath of fresh air. As a survivor, your story doesn't have to prioritize other people's comfort or inspire others with your unbelievable strength. It doesn't have to be palatable. It can just be.

I especially appreciated how Geller spoke about forgiveness and the repeating cycles of addiction and recovery. And how you cannot force other people to change no matter how much you love them. 

Structuring the memoir around archived family photos, journal entries, and letters was also a really cool writing methodology. 

tw: death of a parent, alcoholism, addiction, child abuse, domestic abuse

"...the longer I stood there, the more I realized I wasn't angry at myself. I wasn't even angry at my mother. I was angry at things outside our control. I was angry at the broken communities we were born into, and the godly men who perpetuated the cycles of abuse. Who told us to seek happiness in ignorance and faith in a God who seemed indifferent to our suffering. Who taught us to forgive too readily, and that forgiveness restored power, when in my experience, forgiveness had only taken my power away."

"Can't you see? Everything keeps repeating. All of this has happened before. I don't want you to end up like our parents."
Eileen took my hands, drew them down into her lap, and looked into my eyes. "I'm just happy you made it out," she said, softly. "It had to get one of us, you know?"

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt

mondovertigo's review

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Infidelity, Alcoholism, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Child abuse and Pregnancy

Minor: Racism and Animal death

readswithnatalieb's review

4.0

 

This is a very tough memoir to read. If you’ve survived trauma, of pretty much any kind, this could be very triggering. 

 

I picked this book from Net Galley, wanting to learn more about the Navajo Nation, especially in nonfiction form (but also nonfiction is my jam). And while I learned a bit about Navajo Nation, it wasn’t what I expected! Most of the story doesn’t take place on a reservation, but Navajo cultural and lifestyle aspects are woven into the story. 

 

Geller’s tale was an absolute cry for help. She shows her soul telling bits from her childhood, into her teenage years, and adulthood. She does jump around quite a bit, so I couldn’t tell what was memory or what you’d consider present day, if that’s what she was trying to convey. She includes references about growing up as a minority, her dysfunctional family, and what it’s like being the glue for her family. 

 

Her mother passed away, her father is an alcohol, and her sister is addicted to drugs. She very much had me in my feelings wanting to give her a big hug, because being the glue of your family is such a tough task. I was super invested. 

 

Despite the sad stories, she includes photographs and letters from happier times in her life, reminding her where she came from and guiding her to who she wants to be. 

 

Content warnings: death of a parent, abuse, alcoholism, bullying, drugs, addition, racism. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Alcoholism, Bullying, Drug use, Addiction, and Racism

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

peekabooreads's review

dark emotional sad slow-paced

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Incest, Emotional abuse, Racism, and Racial slurs