Reviews tagging 'Genocide'

A Mind Spread Out on the Ground by Alicia Elliott

30 reviews

june_haya's review against another edition

3.75

This book feels like putting sugar on a bruise that is already purple. I think that means I liked it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Sexual assault, Genocide, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, and Violence

Minor: Abortion and Suicidal thoughts

clarabooksit's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Colonisation, Classism, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Police brutality, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Racism, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Sexual assault

nicolejlevy's review

challenging informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Addiction, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Genocide, and Mental illness

Moderate: Grief, Fatphobia, and Hate crime

ohhellograce's review against another edition

emotional informative

4.75

I love essay collections by women. It’s a niche I am here for so I was already looking forward to this. 
 This book is emotive, informative and beautifully written. 

As with all essays collections some are more powerful than other but all of them sparked my own knowledge and I have found myself googling things I had no prior knowledges out. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Genocide

shewantsthediction's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective sad medium-paced

3.0

Somewhere between 2 and 3 stars for me. I expected to like this a lot more from the way everyone gushes about it, but the writing style was extremely random. She'd bring up a topic, go on a tangent about something else, then randomly return to said topic, over and over again for the whole book. Sometimes she'd drop topics completely, which made for a jarring listening experience. I also didn't realize this was supposed to be a book of essays until the first one ended and I found out it wasn't memoir. She said several things I disagree with when it comes to trauma, but all of the indigenous stuff was obviously spot on.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Racism, Xenophobia, Pregnancy, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, and Hate crime

biancafrancisco's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

Through a very personal narrative - using herself, her family and her nation as examples - the author touches upon more themes than I can mention, connecting bridges between a myriad of crucial societal issues, always leading back to the macro vision of the effect of capitalism, colonialism and the action of the state on people, while simultaneously making us keep checking our prejudices.

The book teaches you a lot about the issues indigenous communities and individuals struggle with (most that were imposed on them by colonizers), and how not only they are still dealing with and trying to heal from the very real and tangibly present damage this legacy of colonialism and genocide has transfered through generations, but are simultaneously dealing with modern versions of the same violence nowadays. 

I was surprised to see, that through the connections she makes between several systemic structures, there was much for me to relate to as well. I'm an immensely priviledged white european, but I'm still a woman, I'm still a daughter, I'm still bound by the constraints of capitalism and the patriarchy as well as witness to intergenerational trauma, to mention a few, and, in the end, you can't accurately assess any structural issue without it intertwining with the others.

All in all, I recommend it to literally everyone, as I think there's learning opportunities in this book for all of us. I'm extremely glad I picked it up. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Sexism, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, and Xenophobia

indrabindra's review against another edition

emotional reflective

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Colonisation, Sexual violence, Genocide, Gaslighting, and Forced institutionalization

Minor: Alcoholism, Grief, Fatphobia, and Cancer

lilia's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Mental illness

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, and Genocide

Minor: Cultural appropriation

kawooreads's review against another edition

emotional funny informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child abuse, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual assault

the_vegan_bookworm's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective tense slow-paced

4.75

This book is a challenging read but such an important one. Elliott is an incredibly talented writer who discusses the intersections of identity and trauma in compelling and thought-provoking ways. She also examines the extended effects of colonization on all aspects of life as an Indigenous person. This book gave me a lot to reflect on in my own life, behaviours, and beliefs.

This book needs to be read by all settlers in Canada.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Genocide, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Racism, and Sexism