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ivi_reads_books's review against another edition
3.75
The author doesn't tell the reader what to do or think. She rather observes what happens and what doesn't happen. What gets said and what doesn't and thus encourages readers to self-reflect on their own behavior
Graphic: Mental illness, Racism, and Colonisation
Moderate: Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Grief, Abandonment, Addiction, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Violence, Death, Deportation, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Pregnancy, Vomit, Alcoholism, Cultural appropriation, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Police brutality
abbie_'s review
4.25
- Loved the essay about diversity being a white word and the new buzzword in publishing. White authors feel threatened by BIPOC authors seemingly monopolising all the publishing deals (lol sure) so they do their best to shoehorn characters of colour into their work - as long as they’re writing with empathy, so the saying goes, no harm done. But Elliott argues that unless you’re writing about a particular community with love, it’ll be glaringly obvious and damaging to said community. White authors like Lionel Shriver immediately go onto the defensive, claiming censorship, criticism turned into censoring free speech.
- There’s a hard-hitting essay about Elliott’s sexual assault. During sexual violence trials, it’s the woman’s innocence that’s put on trial, not the man’s guilt. Before choosing to believe a man is *not* a rapist, people do not subject him to the barrage of questions we demand of women to prove they *are* a victim. We demand a woman put her trauma and pain on display, to watch as we pull it apart, put fingers into open wounds, make her perform her trauma again and again before, more often than not, still choosing not to believe.
- The essay about food deserts in North America was amazing, the way the US and Canada have manufactured them, enabled poorer people to become overweight and then ill. Why do people believe that the answer to what is choking us - capitalism and colonialism - is to shove more of those same things down our throats while we choke?
- Essay on photography, voyeurism, colonialism, consent, power, desire - not as strong as some of the others but I liked how she explored white photographers encroaching on communities they don’t belong to to further their and western white society’s stereotypical views of a community
- Essay on lies and fiction (made me think of something else I read recently) where women writers are often conflated with their characters. Men rarely receive this treatment, but people often treat fiction written by women as autofiction
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Violence, and Domestic abuse
eve81's review
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Colonisation, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Addiction, Child death, Transphobia, Pregnancy, Murder, Domestic abuse, Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Misogyny
remimicha's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Alcoholism, Classism, Police brutality, Body shaming, Child abuse, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Murder, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Violence, Cultural appropriation, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Transphobia, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Suicide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Eating disorder, Hate crime, Cancer, and Death
june_haya's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Sexual assault, Genocide, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, and Violence
Minor: Abortion and Suicidal thoughts
ltulisiak's review
5.0
Additionally, the author is originally from Buffalo, NY, and was partially raised in the greater Cleveland, OH, area, so I felt a geographical connection with her, as well.
Graphic: Chronic illness, Classism, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Violence, Cultural appropriation, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Mental illness, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Racism, and Sexual violence
Minor: Suicide attempt
clarabooksit's review against another edition
4.0
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
biancafrancisco's review against another edition
5.0
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.
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
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Colonisation, Sexual violence, Genocide, Gaslighting, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Alcoholism, Grief, Fatphobia, and Cancer
emzireads's review against another edition
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Violence, and Rape