Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed

29 reviews

sophiegrubben's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective

5.0

life-affirming 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Incest

Moderate: Abortion, Body shaming, Cancer, Death of parent, and Child abuse

amberlfaris's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Death, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Car accident, and Child death

renreads2much's review

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

God its such a beautiful book. This is the kind of book I believe everyone should read at least once. Everyone can get SOMETHING out of it, whether big or small. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Homophobia, Alcohol, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, Grief, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship

These are all very brief depending on the submission. But It does not go into super deep detail, really just mentions these briefly or for the sake of context (if I'm remembering correctly.)

ada33's review

challenging emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

I've read this book countless times now and it is genuinely my favourite book. I gain so much from it every time I read it and something different at each stage of my life. She's so wise and covers so much. If you've had a bit of a tough life you'll find comfort in here.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Child death, Cancer, and Drug abuse

georgie_dowling's review

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

absolutely_court's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Ableism, Abortion, Child death, Cursing, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Incest, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Toxic friendship

cosmic_blooms's review

emotional medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Addiction, Child abuse, Death, and Sexual content

Moderate: Pregnancy, Drug use, Fatphobia, Incest, Cursing, Alcoholism, Rape, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Suicide

novella42's review

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

This book has been my favorite book for the last ten years. It's a steadfast and heart-wrenching masterpiece. It's a collection of advice column responses unlike anything I have ever seen, because she doesn't hide behind the anonymity of the column but instead bares her soul in the most unexpected and vitally human ways. 
 

Strayed cusses eloquently and covers a wide number of topics with wit, humor, and deep compassion. She speaks openly about her childhood sexual abuse and a number of the letters have to do with sexual violence. She also helps readers address alcoholism, drug abuse, adultery, domestic violence, grief, miscarriage, and existential crises.

A friend who is a survivor showed me her copy on the night she shared her story with me, and said how much the book had meant to her. Since then I have read it many times at many different places in my mental health journey, but it may be too raw or intense for someone in the early stages of healing from trauma or dealing with active flashbacks/nightmares. 

It cracks me open every time, but also holds my hand as we put the pieces back together. I need to read it again soon.

The author-read audiobook is powerful. She's also quotable AF in any medium:

"The story of human intimacy is one of constantly allowing ourselves to see those we love most deeply in a new, more fractured light. Look hard. Risk that."

"Healing is a small and ordinary and very burnt thing. And it's one thing and one thing only: it's doing what you have to do."

"We like to think we're right about what we believe about ourselves and what we often believe are only the best, most moral things. We like to pretend that our generous impulses come naturally. But the reality is we often become our kindest, most ethical selves only by seeing what it feels like to be selfish assholes first."

"There is no why. You don’t have a right to the cards you believe you should have been dealt. You have an obligation to play the hell out of the ones you’re holding."

"I'll never know, and neither will you, of the life you don't choose. We'll only know that whatever that sister life was, it was important and beautiful and not ours. It was the ghost ship that didn't carry us. There's nothing to do but salute it from the shore."

"Whatever happens to you belongs to you. Make it yours. Feed it to yourself even if it feels impossible to swallow. Let it nurture you, because it will." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Child death, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Grief, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Child abuse, Cursing, Alcoholism, and Death

questingnotcoasting's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

This isn't the sort of book I normally read but after re-reading Wild last month but I thought I'd try it because I really like Cheryl Strayed's writing. This isn't traditional self help because Strayed includes stories from her own life in her answers which is what I enjoyed most about it. It meant I could understand where her advice was coming from. Fortunately I can't relate to most of the problems in the letters but her advice still feels valuable because of the way she writes about universal human nature. I listened to the audiobook and it felt particularly special because she narrates it herself. Some of the letters were really heart-breaking and her advice was sometimes the opposite of what I was expecting and altogether it made for a really fascinating reading experience. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Violence, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Death, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, and Suicidal thoughts

indiarose8's review

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

I always return to this book when I need to be reminded that I'm not alone and that humanity exists within everyone. I give it as gifts to all my friends. I love the simple, raw, beautiful way Cheryl Strayed writes. This is one of my favorites for life. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Drug abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship