Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Hollywood Park: A Memoir by Mikel Jollett

14 reviews

hdzigurski's review

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

Moderate: Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Violence, and Suicidal thoughts

popsicleplease's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Abandonment, Bullying, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, and Cancer

ahudd's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Violence, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Alcoholism

librarymouse's review

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective fast-paced

5.0

 Reading memoirs often leads to moments of self reflection, comparing yourself to the author; what the author is willing to share through the distance offered by a book versus what people are willing to share face to face. This was one of the best memoirs I've read in my life. It starts as a book about a cult, but rather than focusing on the cult and it's history as so many similar books have, Jollett writes about its impact, how it echoed through his life, how he tried to escape its impact, and then embracing its impact as a part of him. The music tied to the story was wonderfully done, and Jollett narrating the book made it personal. Jollett covers far too much in this book for me to address in a review, but as cliche as it is, I laughed at some parts, cried at others, and felt righteous indignation at others still. There is real beauty and real life in these pages.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, Medical content, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Gore, Terminal illness, Blood, Body shaming, Animal death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Child abuse, and Death

viaviaggi's review

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, and Drug use

lexa's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

5.0

I don’t really want to say I loved this memoir because oof it was a heartbreaking one. But it was a well written story of tragedy, loss, triumph and love. Audiobook was fantastic, including music by The Airborne Toxic Event. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Addiction, Animal death, Blood, Drug abuse, Drug use, Vomit, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Abandonment, Body shaming, Physical abuse, and Violence

Minor: Racism

gabrielab's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Vomit, Bullying, Cancer, Cursing, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Violence, Alcohol, Animal death, Body shaming, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

obrooke1's review

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Gaslighting

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Child abuse, Bullying, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Alcohol

Minor: Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Antisemitism

entropydoc's review

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Addiction

paulasnotsosecretdiary's review

dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

Hollywood Park is Mikel Jollett's memoir of growing up with his mother and brother following their escape from the Synanon cult. Several times Mr. Jollett seamlessly changes voices in the book, from that of his five-year-old self to self-destructive teen, and finally, reflective adult coming to terms with the harm done to him and his peers by the cult's practice of separating children from their parents. Throughout the book, readers learn about his mother's inability to nurture her children due to mental illness. Notably, Mr. Jollett's mother paints his father as a monster. This belief is destroyed when Mr. Jollett discovers that his father is a compassionate and caring individual with his own failings who believes in his son, even when his son falters. While powerful and well written - especially when Mr. Jollett's father talks to him about his alcohol use and delinquency from school without shaming him - there are specific points when readers may wish that Mr. Jollett's editor had a slightly heavier hand.  Hollywood Park is an unforgettable story of self-made success and a man emerging from a life of poverty and deprivation to make music the center of his life.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse