Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Sick: A Memoir by Porochista Khakpour

3 reviews

lowbrowhighart's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Car accident, Alcohol, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Racism, Rape, Xenophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Miscarriage, Self harm, and Islamophobia

silver_valkyrie_reads's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

3.0

It can be difficult to rate and review a memoir, and to separate judging the book from judging the person's life itself. While the life of every person has value, some life stories are going to more relatable, more eye opening, more educational, and so on.

 I did find parts of Porochista's battle with Lyme disease relatable, and sometimes appreciated a different perspective on some of the same struggles I had (God was kind to me by sending a Lyme-literate doctor very soon after my diagnosis, and I never had to fight the medical system the same way she did). Many sections of her life story, however, such as her time on drugs in college, did nothing for me but renew my irritation with a culture that makes bad choices or bad situations seem desirable.

 I wouldn't recommend this one for younger readers, as some choices like the drugs and the string of boyfriends (and also girlfriends, though these are only mentioned in passing) are sometimes presented in a glamorized light.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, and Mental illness

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

krys_kilz's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

This book deals with A LOT of heavy topics (tw: suicidal ideation, addiction, medical trauma/gaslighting, toxic relationships), but not in a way that veers towards trauma porn. Instead Khakpour wades through the discomfort and the ableism and the expectation for sick people to remain out of sight and cracks open her pain and messiness and aliveness. She pulls back the facade of certainty and pulls apart the myth that health is stable and within our individual control. And all of this grounded in place and an incredibly engaging voice.

I found parts of the book a bit repetitive at times and the timeline could be a little difficult to follow, but overall I saw so many of my own experiences between these pages and I am so grateful to Khakpour for opening space for sick storytelling.

"At some point I questioned why I had for much of my life leaped from one person to another, with no end in sight. I'm not sure my conclusions are good, but I can tell you when the body feels out of place it will cling to anything that looks like life. Cities. homes. People. Lovers.
Love is the only good way many of us know how to feel alive.
And the ghost I so often was wanted badly to feel real. And the characters in this section can at least tell you I existed. They might not have thought of me much, but they can tell you I was real. Sometimes too real."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Ableism, Addiction, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Racism, Rape, Xenophobia, Car accident, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Miscarriage, Islamophobia, and Self harm