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lipstickitotheman's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Grief
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Pregnancy
lorenag5's review against another edition
3.25
Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Grief
silver_lining_in_a_book's review against another edition
4.0
“We don’t give up on our people. We don’t stop loving them.” She looked into my face, her eyes watering at the bottoms. “Not even when we’re burning alive.”
There is something about memoirs that are written so beautifully they almost read like magical realism that just does it for me. Ashley C. Ford's voice is one of the most lyrical and emotional I have come across this year - I couldn't stop reading it.
This book is so incredibly crafted, you can feel all the love and hard work Ashley has poured into it. I especially loved following this up with Ford's interview with Clint Smith, author of How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America, which touched on so many aspects of the book that I was curious about while reading; it cemented this book as a real masterpiece in my mind.
Considering how short this book is, I do not want to go into a summary of the novel, but I will mention what my favourite aspect - besides the prose - was. This is, of course, a trend for me at this point, but exploring different family dynamics and familial love was the highlight of this book. It's something that never fails to grasp my attention, but the way Ford approached it made me feel like I was experiencing everything she described for myself, particularly when it came to her relationship with her mother and grandmother.
The reason that I cannot give this book the full 5 stars is that I found the beginning to be difficult to get into and I almost put the book down. I am so glad I powered through it, but it was a little bit of a challenge. I also this that certain very important events in Ford's life were glossed over due to the conciseness of this book. I think it would have been very impactful to explore these (no spoilers!) in more detail.
Graphic: Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Grief
Moderate: Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Grief
Minor: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Drug use, Fatphobia, and Infidelity
stephmcoakley's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Grief, Stalking, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
boba_nbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Rape and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Death and Grief
marigold_faye's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Body shaming, Child death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Cancer, Death, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
wicked_stardust's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Rape and Sexual violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Grief
lily1304's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Rape and Grief
nicoleherz's review against another edition
4.0
Beautiful writing, reminded me of the glass castle.
Graphic: Child abuse and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Grief, and Pregnancy
gtrue21's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Medical content, and Grief