Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

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

105 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

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

sblisberg's review

Just not mentally in the right headspace to hear how dark his story goes. I’m so happy he is out and thriving and will finish one day. This story is worth listening to, just not after a family
Member dies

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Alcohol, Death, and Alcoholism

_alicereadsbooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny reflective medium-paced

4.0

JVN was always my favourite in Queer Eye. Their bubbly personality and their ability to make anyone feel seen and loved is incredible. I didn’t know much about their backstory before going into this book. 

The challenges and hurdles and experiences that they have faced throughout their life were sometimes hard to read. I am always amazed by the way people can come through trauma like that and be such a joyous and loving person, both to themselves and others. 

I do wish I had listened to this as an audiobook as I think I would have enjoyed it even more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse and Addiction

Moderate: Rape, Homophobia, Death of parent, Child abuse, and Sexual content

jessicaharleee's review

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Addiction, and Homophobia

maldonadobryan's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Self harm, Dysphoria, Drug abuse, and Eating disorder

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

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

skstert's review

funny inspiring reflective fast-paced

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Addiction, and Sexual assault