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ashleysbookobsession's review
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Becoming Shameless by Eden Simchah is available now in Paperback and eBook
⭐️⭐️⭐⭐⭐ Book Review - Memoir
⭐️⭐️⭐⭐⭐ Book Review - Memoir
“The process of healing has its fair share of pain and tears, but it also requires us to honor our own joy. To be ashamed of ourselves is to believe we don’t deserve good things.”
Becoming Shameless is a memoir about making self-love from scratch after breaking free from a controlling abusive mother and a distant father. This is a very short memoir, 132 pages, but is packed full of the raw, transparent, honesty of a sweet child who endured so much in her childhood and into her adult life.
The beginning is told from a young, innocent child’s perspective. Eden doesn’t understand why her mother is how she is, consistently gas-lighting her. The writing throughout the memoir reflects the age of the author as it moves through to the present day. Following Eden’s journey through to when she comes out as a lesbian at age 27. I loved how Eden was able to reflect back on her vulnerability, her journey of healing, and her ability to redefine beauty and joy in her life.
And the cover, STUNNING! It really reflects the beauty of Eden’s life and the journey she went through to get to where she is today. Thank you Eden for sharing your story with your readers. I highly recommend reading this memoir.
ttreadsya's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
4.0
I want to say a big thank you to Eden for letting me read an arc for this book before it comes out!
With that being said, i dont normally read memoirs, but when i do, they are queer or something i heavily relate to, and this was both!
This book is, at times, hard to read in a very realistic way as she recounts her traumas. Traumas that i sadly related all to well to! Reading about something that you connect so much to can do 2 things leave you feeling powered or saddened, and this was powerful! There was hope in the darkness of this book, and i think that is all because of how wonderfully written it was as well as added Eden now at 27 touches!
If you are queer or know someone who is and is struggling, read this book! I think it's massively important for queer people and people around queer people to read to get a better understanding of the life the love and the struggles we can go through!
With that being said, i dont normally read memoirs, but when i do, they are queer or something i heavily relate to, and this was both!
This book is, at times, hard to read in a very realistic way as she recounts her traumas. Traumas that i sadly related all to well to! Reading about something that you connect so much to can do 2 things leave you feeling powered or saddened, and this was powerful! There was hope in the darkness of this book, and i think that is all because of how wonderfully written it was as well as added Eden now at 27 touches!
If you are queer or know someone who is and is struggling, read this book! I think it's massively important for queer people and people around queer people to read to get a better understanding of the life the love and the struggles we can go through!
ssgcedits's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Rape, Gaslighting, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Body shaming
Moderate: Fatphobia, Religious bigotry, and Misogyny
drwozniak's review
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
Thank you to the author for sending me the eARC of this memoir.
I’m a big fan of people putting their story out there and admire the bravery that it takes to let people into your life. This memoir was very touching and will be very relatable to anyone who has the unfortunate experience of having an abusive mother or the journey of coming out as an adult. There were two chapters in particular that I really enjoyed although they had triggering content. I appreciated the chapter where they talked about their rape and how they struggled with qualifying it as rape because it wasn’t “bad” enough. I know that was a hard-won battle to come to terms with. I also really liked the chapter where they discovered P!nk. I also enjoyed the ending chapters that were more what they learned through therapy and self discovery and their continuous journey through healing. Overall, this was a memoir that is very validating and honest.
I did find that the vignettes felt a bit disjointed at times. I feel like there was a lot of telling instead of showing. For example, we would be told that the author felt like they often annoyed people with their crying at school and people would avoid them but it would have been really useful to have scenes to support that statement. Show instead of tell and all that
I’m a big fan of people putting their story out there and admire the bravery that it takes to let people into your life. This memoir was very touching and will be very relatable to anyone who has the unfortunate experience of having an abusive mother or the journey of coming out as an adult. There were two chapters in particular that I really enjoyed although they had triggering content. I appreciated the chapter where they talked about their rape and how they struggled with qualifying it as rape because it wasn’t “bad” enough. I know that was a hard-won battle to come to terms with. I also really liked the chapter where they discovered P!nk. I also enjoyed the ending chapters that were more what they learned through therapy and self discovery and their continuous journey through healing. Overall, this was a memoir that is very validating and honest.
I did find that the vignettes felt a bit disjointed at times. I feel like there was a lot of telling instead of showing. For example, we would be told that the author felt like they often annoyed people with their crying at school and people would avoid them but it would have been really useful to have scenes to support that statement. Show instead of tell and all that
caitlindee's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
**Thank you to the author for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review!**
Becoming Shameless is an unflinchingly raw, real, and vulnerable memoir. Reminiscent of "I'm Glad My Mom Died," it doesn't shy away from difficult and 'taboo' topics such as verbal abuse, eating disorders, homophobia, and the experience of living with a narcissistic mother. It is a short and quick read but written in a way that allowed me to connect to the story almost from the first few pages. It was heartbreaking to read about Eden's experiences and abuse but hopeful in the way she portrays her journey of healing. I can only hope more people will become empowered to share their own experiences and efforts to heal and move forward.
I definitely found myself relating to Eden's struggle with internalized homophobia and how the community she found on Tumblr helped her to discover who she truly was and live an authentic life without shame. For all of Tumblr's faults, a significant thing that it has always seemed to provide is a community for those of us who feel "othered," and sometimes don't even know why. It's a safe space for us to explore things that we're afraid of, especially anything related to sexuality and gender. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who was able to find that for themselves through Tumblr.
If you're looking for some new nonfiction or memoirs to check out, I'd definitely put this one on the list!
Becoming Shameless is an unflinchingly raw, real, and vulnerable memoir. Reminiscent of "I'm Glad My Mom Died," it doesn't shy away from difficult and 'taboo' topics such as verbal abuse, eating disorders, homophobia, and the experience of living with a narcissistic mother. It is a short and quick read but written in a way that allowed me to connect to the story almost from the first few pages. It was heartbreaking to read about Eden's experiences and abuse but hopeful in the way she portrays her journey of healing. I can only hope more people will become empowered to share their own experiences and efforts to heal and move forward.
I definitely found myself relating to Eden's struggle with internalized homophobia and how the community she found on Tumblr helped her to discover who she truly was and live an authentic life without shame. For all of Tumblr's faults, a significant thing that it has always seemed to provide is a community for those of us who feel "othered," and sometimes don't even know why. It's a safe space for us to explore things that we're afraid of, especially anything related to sexuality and gender. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who was able to find that for themselves through Tumblr.
If you're looking for some new nonfiction or memoirs to check out, I'd definitely put this one on the list!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Body shaming, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Rape, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Homophobia
Moderate: Eating disorder
kerrygetsliterary's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Lesbophobia, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Fatphobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Body shaming, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Physical abuse
aravenclawslibrary's review
4.0
First off, I want to thank the author for the ARC. I’m so proud I was asked.
This is a memoir about growing up with a narcissistic parent, coming out, and healing. I identified with this so much. I have very similar memories from my childhood. Personally, it was so inspiring to read a book about someone recovering from that abuse. It shows there’s hope for me.
I really recommend reading this book, especially if you’re on your own healing journey. It’s really important for people to be aware of stories like these.
One of the lines I highlighted was this: “Part of me wants someone to intervene, to notice how scary Mom is being and how anxious I’m getting.” This describes how I felt in my childhood with one of my parents.
The last quote I will leave you with is this: “People who love you don’t threaten you.”
❤️🔥
This is a memoir about growing up with a narcissistic parent, coming out, and healing. I identified with this so much. I have very similar memories from my childhood. Personally, it was so inspiring to read a book about someone recovering from that abuse. It shows there’s hope for me.
I really recommend reading this book, especially if you’re on your own healing journey. It’s really important for people to be aware of stories like these.
One of the lines I highlighted was this: “Part of me wants someone to intervene, to notice how scary Mom is being and how anxious I’m getting.” This describes how I felt in my childhood with one of my parents.
The last quote I will leave you with is this: “People who love you don’t threaten you.”
❤️🔥