Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

Nanette - kymmenen askelta by Hannah Gadsby

14 reviews

rhiannonhoward's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Addiction, Hate crime, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Lesbophobia, Toxic relationship, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Body shaming, Abortion, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Misogyny, Fatphobia, and Alcoholism

shortstackz's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective slow-paced

5.0

If you are a fan of Hannah Gadsby's performances, I highly recommend this in audiobook format. They lay their life bare, looking the hardest moments of their life directly in the face while still being kind to their "villains". That being said it is not something that everyone can read, it deals with a lot of the nuance of moving through trauma after rape or the systemic oppression of being a queer person before marriage was even a possibility. Please proceed with caution.

It's a story told honestly and gives context to the world around itself. I love how they contextualize Tasmania and the political climate of Australia in reference to their own journey through developing as an undiagnosed neurodivergent human. Hannah put forth the effort of acknowledging where their own privilege lies, and unapologetically says "please see the affected group for more on that". At it's heart, ten steps to Nanette is the directors cut of the Netflix special Nanette. The audiobook is definitely worth it on this one

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Grief, Homophobia, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Dysphoria, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

sabsey's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny reflective

5.0

"If pushed, I usually say that a friend entered me into the Raw Comedy competition because I was making him laugh and he thought I needed to broaden my audience. Sometimes I will elaborate and say that at the time I was recovering from surgery and unable to work, was looking for something to do. On rare occasions I'll go as far as to explain that I'd be injured while working on a farm and had undergone a partial wrist fusion. None of this is untrue, but it is a gross simplification. It does nothing to accommodate the reality of my situation, the drifting, the isolation, the houselessness....what can I say? There is just never a straight line to be found through a life punctuated by trauma."


I don't have a lot to say that isn't just: go read this for yourself.

There is one particularly moving (and frightening aspect) of this memoir is in the opening third as Gadsby recounts her childhood growing up in a particularly conservative region of Tasmania - and that is the rhetoric and slander she recounts surrounding the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Tassie in the 90's is the exact same rhetoric and slander that is now being used to pull lgbtq+ books off shelves in america, the same phrases that are turning story time's in public libraries from safe spaces to dangerous ones, the same propaganda that is killing trans people all across the world - and it's a bit shocking to read how the same attitudes and logic from the 90's are still being spread today.

"The reasons they [George Brookes, Chris Miles, and Say No To Sodomy Group] and other speakers, gave as reasons for 'saying no to sodomy' at the rally were similar to those outlined in the pamphlet - the real gay agenda being the complete removal of the legal age of consent, which is the classic tactic you should now be very familiar with: equating homosexuality with pedophilia."

That's not a big - or any part of the story really, however - but what is the focus is how these institutional structures, how shame and ignorance has a deep, meaningful and lasting impact on young lgbtq+ people for their ENTIRE lives. This is an amazing read, and Gadsby (for all her claims of being a coward) does not hold back in a lot of places where it matters most. 

Dont' get me wrong - there is a lot of great humour in here as well, but it's also a pretty confronting biography. It contextualises not just her comedy special, but serves as a pretty important perspective on how our attitudes towards mental illness, neurodivergence and lgbtq+ youth has not come nearly as far as we think it has.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Homophobia, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault

demelzavandermeulen's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

When I first came across Nanette, it changed my world forever. There is a before and after in my life. When I saw this book I knew I had to read it - it did not dissapoint. A sometimes heavy read, but that is to be expected. Hannah, kudos to you

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Hate crime, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Self harm

Minor: Body shaming

ankelsocks's review against another edition

challenging dark funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

TW: mental illness, suicide, physical- mental- sexual- child- abuse, trauma, physical trauma, depression, anxiety, genderdysphoria, lgbtqi+ abuse and more that I can't think of right now. 

I'm quite blown away by this book. The biggest chunk of it reads(listens) like an autobiography, detailing Hannah's life as a child in a tiny Tasmanian town to where she gains traction as a comedic artist. The last half is a detailed description of how she sculpted Nanette out of her trauma's. Red threads through the story are Hannah's autism, her relationship with her mother, her sexual- and gender identity and her (in)ability to interact with the world around her. The first half has its slow parts, but is generally really helping to gain insight in what made Hannah Gadsby who she is. She is witty, self -deprecating, but also critical and angry, especially when she mentions the political tensions surrounding homosexuality in Australia during her growing up. I listened to the audiobook, which I'd generally really recommend, since it's read by Hannah herself, telling you her story.
However much I loved this book, it was also incredibly triggering. Perhaps it was the added layer of hearing Hannah Gadsby read/tell the book herself, but the book is full to the brim with heavy topics. Suffering from mental illness myself, this book triggered anxiety attacks in me. I often listened to while cycling, and sometimes had to stop because the book made me too anxious or sad. 
If you can find a way to deal with that though, please read(or better: listen to) this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Physical abuse

mpimental's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, and Sexual violence

Minor: Drug use, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

littletooey's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Bullying, and Fatphobia

caseythereader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced

5.0

Thanks to Random House for the free copy of this book.

 - TEN STEPS TO NANETTE is one of the best memoirs I've ever read. Hannah Gadsby is both funny and vulnerable, thoughtful and pulling no punches.
- I admired the way she navigated talking about some of the horrible things she has lived through, taking a stance of "you need to know about this event for storytelling purposes, but that does not entitle you to every last detail."
- I highly recommend the audiobook, read by Gadsby herself. You get the comedic timing and the emotional impact of her live shows, plus audio clips of her performing are added into the audio where relevant. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Alcohol, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Ableism, Blood, Cancer, Cursing, Grief, Hate crime, Bullying, Medical content, Sexual violence, Violence, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Abortion

stories's review against another edition

5.0

Incredibly well written. Cyclic, moving, insightful, informative. Well paced, gorgeously done as an audiobook. Loved the expansions into state, national and global context. Loved the interwoven threads and references that carried. Each chapter was a well-constructed, self contained bundle, that still left you wanting to continue. 

Not sure if it would have been “better” to have already seen Nanette, but I hadn’t and I loved it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing

Moderate: Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Body shaming, Colonisation, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Pedophilia

Minor: Animal death, Death, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Medical trauma, Self harm, Classism, Drug use, Murder, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Dysphoria, Gun violence, and Incest

Just, yknow. All the warnings. Heed the triggers provided at the start of the book. It’s carefully packaged, but triggers are triggers.

readandfindout's review against another edition

emotional funny slow-paced

4.75

Style/writing: 5 stars
Themes: 4.5 stars
Perspective: 4.5 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Hate crime, Mental illness, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, and Ableism

Moderate: Bullying, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Rape, Fatphobia, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Body shaming, Sexual violence, Violence, and Panic attacks/disorders