Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

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

24 reviews

bootsmom3's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Dysphoria, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Child death, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Cancer, Sexual content, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Terminal illness

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

iamnita's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing slow-paced

5.0

This book was suggested by a friend, and I couldn't thank her more for the recommendation. It is told in a series of letters to the people writing in, and they describe issues they're dealing with and Dear Sugar responds. The responses are sometimes long-winded before you understand why that story was told, and that made it more endearing. I absolutely plowed through this book given that it reads quite fast, and the individual letters don't take too long before you want to read another. Just a gem. A definite to have on the shelf and flip through from time to time.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Cancer, Cursing, Alcoholism, Grief, Infertility, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Sexual assault, Rape, Pregnancy, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Terminal illness, Murder, and Miscarriage

smoladeryn's review against another edition

dark emotional funny medium-paced

5.0

“Acceptance is a small, quiet room” p352

Content Warning: abuse

I don’t read “self help” I thought as I grabbed this from a shelf on the way out of my beautiful home that I didn’t want to leave. I was fleeing an abusive relationship of 16 years when this book jumped out at me—no doubt given by his mother that he never read—like so many books of this kind. 

I don’t know why I took it. I hadn’t been able to read much in 8 years-- the second half of our relationship. I also really didn’t read “self help” or even memoirs. I never read Sugar’s column, although I did read TheRumpus, I didn’t know that’s where it came from at the time. 

I  saw the ugly orange cover, read the title that seemed so overwrought (honestly), and picked it up in my already much too full hands with my cat and as many “important” possessions as I could take. 

I was terrified that day and I was terrified for weeks, months still. I was homeless for 2 months, but not the kind of homelessness I experienced in my early 20s. It was the kind where I had to stay in a horror story air bnb, a hotel, and then a dank and noisy basement I paid way too much for. 

In each place I unpacked this book and put it next to where I slept. I didn’t read it. When I got to my noisy and deeply lonely new rental apartment in the heart of downtown, I put it next to my pillow and didn’t read it. 

One day about 4 months into this “new life”, after the homeless period, I started reading it. 

I’ve wept at nearly every letter. Before I started reading this collection, that no doubt my ex-mother-in-law gave to her stubborn and abusive son that refuses to look inward, she picked a fight with me. The details aren’t important, but she said some of the most hurtful and painful things anyone has ever said, even more so than my own horribly abusive family. 

I don’t know if I finally read this out of stubbornness (spite?) myself but all I know is Tiny Beautiful Things is the thing that started my healing. I’m still healing.

There were times I didn’t read this book, and times I devoured 3 letters at once. There were times I had to process a letter for what seemed like an eternity before I could bare to pick up the weight of it again. Then, there were times where this book sat in a bag on my back, light as a feather, and as warm as a familiar friend. 

Tiny Beautiful Things is one of those Things itself. The phrase comes from the description of a sweet purple balloon. It might not be the sweet balloon Sugar describes, but there are times where it is. And she is right—it is something we all deserve.  

I kept a journal of endless quotes. I was going to post them as a review which is what I usually do, but those quotes are important mostly to me, probably. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Addiction, Terminal illness, Mental illness, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Infertility, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Grief, Pregnancy, Cancer, Cursing, Dementia, Violence, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

msagerber's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Infertility, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Grief, and Pedophilia

I'm probably missing trigger warnings - this book has pretty much every trigger warning there is. It is sometimes very difficult to read, yet somehow Cheryl Strayed's responses make it still seem hopeful. Like we can all muddle through the pain called living and find a way to still feel purpose and connection. I have read this, listened to it, and read it again. My physical copy is practically disintegrating. I can't say enough about how much this book has spoke to me.

emilyinherhead's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

5.0

"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."

This book is a warm, reassuring hug. Obviously not every letter and response will be directly relatable to every reader, but Sugar answers such a wide variety of people that there's bound to be something here that speaks to you.

I found myself tearing up a few different times, just at how thoughtful and tender Cheryl Strayed's advice is, how stern but also how gentle her voice. She obviously cares very much about everyone who writes to her, and a lot about her own life comes out in the process of writing back, which makes her even more admirable and trustworthy as someone giving counsel to others. She's been there, she gets it, and she wants better for you. Her writing is also excellent on a language level—I wrote down a few sentences to remember just because they were beautiful.

This book is one I've had on my shelf for a while. I'm so glad I finally read it, and I will absolutely be revisiting it in the future whenever I need another dose of Sugar's wisdom.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction

Minor: Domestic abuse

missconflictedcontradiction's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious relaxing sad tense medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction and Physical abuse

becksusername's review

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

A book I needed

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

elliebell7's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.25

i really loved this book and i have nothing bad to say about her writing or the things she said/advice she gave, i just found it challenging to read an entire book of advice columns. however i also read this book pretty fast and would recommend taking more time to read and digest it. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship

roncanread's review

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

“you don’t need a reason to leave. wanting to leave is enough.” 

i picked up this book a few months ago but then life happened and then i started a series instead and after awhile completely forgot about it. then the other night i downloaded the audiobook and drove around my city while listening to it and laughed and cried and smiled. i had picked this book back up at such a specific time in my life it almost felt unreal. i truly enjoyed this read. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Addiction, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, and Miscarriage