Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear by Kate Moore

40 reviews

cammiem8's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative sad slow-paced

4.5

Her husband gaslights her. 
Her doctor gatekeeps her in an asylum for years. 
She girlbosses her way out. 

Jokes aside, I really loved this book and preferred it to Radium Girls by miles. Moore’s biggest downfall is that she simply can’t seem to cut things out of her books, but despite the length, my attention was held the entire time. The story was so human and compassionate, and the kindness of its protagonist gave my heart sympathetic little flutters throughout.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Sexism

Minor: War, Slavery, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

bethbarron's review

challenging emotional informative tense medium-paced

4.0

Wow. Just wow.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Torture, Suicide, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Physical abuse, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Death, and Confinement

paperknotbooks's review against another edition

challenging hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Forced institutionalization

kmhandy's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.25

By turns fascinating and infuriating. I had to take breaks because this was an upsetting book, but ultimately I'm glad that I finished and learned how the story ended. Elizabeth Packard was an incredible woman, and this book was impeccably researched and masterfully written. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Misogyny, and Physical abuse

lou_o_donnell's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicide

carolynhm's review against another edition

challenging hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Gaslighting

Minor: Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Torture, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, and Medical content

jos17's review against another edition

challenging inspiring slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, and Torture

lpdx's review against another edition

informative inspiring medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Sexism

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Violence

Minor: Blood, Excrement, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Torture

aiyam's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

5.0

Elizabeth Packard is one of my favorite feminists so I was extremely excited to find this book. Kate Moore absolutely did her story justice.

The book goes in-depth from the beginning of her first confinement to the end of her life, with all of her accomplishments as a free woman. I found the outsider's point of view interesting. Knowing what the doctor was writing in his files, what her friends were advocating for, and what her husband was doing back home was fascinating, especially as Packard herself didn't know any of it. That decision from the author really highlighted for me just how isolated and in the dark Packard was kept. 

Packard's story is one of injustice and anger, and I felt every emotion with her while reading this. If you call yourself a mental health advocate or a feminist then this story is an absolute must-read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Vomit, Violence, Sexism, Religious bigotry, and Confinement

Moderate: Abandonment

jamieleepilk's review against another edition

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

5.0

This book is the very true story of Elizabeth Packard, a woman who was sent to an asylum by her husband when she was growing in her independence and (god forbid) forming her own opinions on women's rights and religion.

This is one of those books that will 100% stay with me for a very long time. I finished it last night and was left dumbstruck at how phenomenal it was. Kate has written an epically researched book that grips you and is so compelling that you can't put it down regardless of the horrors you are reading about. The writing is so vivid, beautiful and heartbreaking at times it often reads as historical fiction and my god do you wish it was fiction all the stuff this incredible woman went through.
This book will make you rage, scream and want to through the book at the wall (sorry) in anger at what Elizabeth (and countless woman) went through merely for wanting more independence.
Even with the horrors that happen within these pages what shines through is Elizabeth's hope and strength no matter what was thrown her way, no matter how hopeless things looked she took it and formed her new plans. Whenever she was on a mission you can feel yourself willing through the years to do it, to succeed and cheering her all the way. A woman who went through so much hardships but can out the other side determined to make a difference so the married women of America wouldn't again have to suffer similar fates. Even with this happening 160years ago women today are still called "crazy" to cut them down to size and belittle them, mental health is still not taken seriously in many cases and women's illness' are brushed under the rug.
The quotes in the book taken from real life documents are incredible, showing Elizabeth's immense skill as writer, she was a force to be reckoned with.
As I say this book will stay with me for a long while after finishing it, the postscript was a gut punch and a striking example of why we still need to fight. I am in awe of Kate's work here, her sheer amount of research in incredible and her writing is so elegant. One of the best books I've read this year and I can't wait to recommend it to every single person I know. Breathtaking, I wish I could give more than 5 stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Abandonment