Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

Over the Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love by Jonathan Van Ness

57 reviews

ophalen's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Sexual assault, Bullying, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Cancer

lisettemarie's review

emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction

Moderate: Body shaming, Cancer, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

daphnehumming's review

funny hopeful sad medium-paced

4.0

JVN / Jack is charming and vulnerable. At times it feels so painful to watch him make mistakes, but it feels validating to hear the story of someone who didn’t always handle situations perfectly. He is very funny and the audiobook has a lot of personality. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Sexual content, Death of parent, Cancer, and Addiction

Moderate: Sexual assault and Child abuse

tieflingmom's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Cancer, Rape, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Dysphoria, Addiction, Homophobia, Death, Fatphobia, Medical trauma, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Child abuse, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, Animal death, Biphobia, Dementia, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, and Self harm

cozy_academic's review

dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Sexual assault, Addiction, Homophobia, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Cursing, and Pedophilia

pacifickat's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

I'm not sure I could have read a memoir about someone with more different life experiences to my own, but here's to a year of reading broadly! 

The audiobook absolutely made this book work for me as a reader. There were so many jokes and moments that relied on anticipating the correct voice intonation in order to completely land, and it was fun hearing JVN's humor come through in the audio narration. Plus, I would have hopelessly butchered all the Russian pseudonyms in my head.

Lots of trigger warnings could be applied to this book (childhood trauma, sexual content, drug use, self harm, bullying, etc.), but I have rarely heard more accurate or compelling descriptions of addictive behaviors and the self-destructive-yet-all-consuming mental state behind them than here. This felt like an extremely honest and open account of the author's most formative life experiences, and I can't help but admire that. 

I also really appreciated learning a bit about AIDS/HIV stigma, treatments, and current positive prognoses when caught early and managed carefully. This kind of information is truly a public service to get out there in the open.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Homophobia, Drug abuse, Bullying, Chronic illness, Self harm, Addiction, Death of parent, Drug use, Cancer, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Dementia, Terminal illness, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Death, Sexual assault, and Alcohol

Minor: Eating disorder and Fatphobia

amoremeg's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective slow-paced

5.0

This book was so informative and deeply JVN. I learned so much about them and all of it through the most original and self-loving perspective. Truthful, compassionate, and funny the whole way through

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Cancer, Drug abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Addiction, and Chronic illness

Minor: Homophobia, Infidelity, and Gun violence

bebidocrimes's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring fast-paced

This captures Jonathan's voice so so well, it feels like we were just chatting at a coffee shop. I have been told time and time again, directly or indirectly, that I am too loud, I'm too much, I won't stop rambling on and on when I'm excited about something. It just feels so good to be reminded that I can find people who will love me for all that I am. Looking forward to getting my hands on his next book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Grief, Homophobia, Mental illness, Cursing, Death, Sexual assault, Vomit, Bullying, Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use

marionrosa's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Gaslighting, and Sexual assault

Minor: Homophobia

asummrox's review

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring sad medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Dysphoria, Death of parent, Sexual content, Death, and Eating disorder