Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

Spare by Prince Harry

10 reviews

jeanettesreadingcorner's review

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Death of parent, Bullying, Car accident, Drug abuse, Drug use, Torture, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Self harm, Pandemic/Epidemic, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, War, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Pregnancy

enchantingreads_rosyreviews's review

adventurous funny hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

I want to preface this by stressing I am not a “royal watcher,” meaning I have never been one to keep up with the British royals. Although, I do my best to keep up with the Kardashians, I had no desire to watch their speeches, track their appearances, or follow their lives. But when Harry and Meghan’s relationship went public, I took interest. A real-life American princess love story, just like The Prince & Me!

Not only was a British Prince dating an American, but she was mixed race. Though I myself am as white as they come, I can understand and appreciate Harry and Meghan’s ground-breaking relationship. There was a real opportunity to unite the Commonwealth, most of them being predominately black countries, and bring the ancient royal institution into the modern era. So I started paying attention. Many of the interviews they gave, the life milestone announcements, etc., I tried to keep tabs on them. It didn’t hurt that they were relaxed with one another, cracked jokes, and were a generally likeable couple.

Eventually, I saw their sparkle start to dim, especially Meg’s. It wasn’t until after reading Harry’s book and watching their Netflix docuseries, I realized the power and viciousness of the British tabloid press. They called Meg’s race, morality, intellect, and physical appearance into question. They essentially stripped Harry and Meghan’s relationship of everything that made it unique and good to replace it with false narratives vilifying Meghan, in particular.

Overall, Harry’s detailed account of his life is an important read for anyone interested in the life of a British royal, the burden of being a person in the public eye, what a life in dedication to service (both in the military and to the betterment of the world), and how it feels to fall in love with your person. Harry’s candor about the brutal and relentless obsession of the British tabloid press as well as the racial and xenophobic undertones of his and Meg’s relationship, is appreciated and fascinating to read. Regardless of how you feel about the royals, his story is one to root for and this new chapter of his life might prove to unveil the best version of Harry the world has ever seen. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Death of parent, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, War, and Stalking

dev921's review

emotional funny informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Miscarriage, Drug use, Medical trauma, Cursing, Stalking, Blood, Classism, Death, Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Pregnancy, Self harm, War, Infidelity, and Mental illness

issyd23's review against another edition

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

3.0

You know his life is fucked when he’d enter a war zone to escape the paps. Vive la république! 3🎳

NB This was actually quite boring as I’ve read 3 Royal bios & knew everything already. The Palace Papers is 100x better! Kate Middleton’s chapter is tantalising. However, this did make me want to go to Botswana. 

Other thoughts:

• I cannot believe I now know that Prince Harry is circumcised 
• Find it hilarious that according to Haz Charles is in his ‘Camilla era’ - Taylor take note! ✍️
• On a serious note his hatred of the media (especially Murdoch) is palpable - I wonder if he’ll pursue them in court
• On a personal note I don’t love that Harry is convinced we (US + allies) were the ‘good guys’ in Afghanistan - and his refusal to think critically about the wider implications and complexities of the war/occupation. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Addiction, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Blood, Bullying, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Incest, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Pandemic/Epidemic, Stalking, Violence, War, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug use, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Body horror, Car accident, Classism, Colonisation, and Grief

sydneynorman's review

dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Murder, Self harm, Car accident, Death of parent, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pregnancy, Racism, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Classism, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Gun violence, and Hate crime

sydapel's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Toxic relationship, and War

Moderate: Racism, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, and Miscarriage

Minor: Self harm, Cultural appropriation, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

akshade's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative tense fast-paced

4.5

I didn’t know much about the British Monarchy let alone the current reigning family. I had heard some of the tabloid dramas but didn’t chalk it up to much. It was very interesting hearing how “the Palace” managed their affairs and leaks. 

When I told people I was reading this, they just said Prince Harry was entitled and whining. Although that may be true, there are two sides to every story and I enjoyed his. I feel bad for him and Meghan and am glad they were able to “walk away.” 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Gaslighting, Racism, Racial slurs, Grief, and Stalking

Moderate: Death of parent and Toxic relationship

Minor: Self harm, Death, and Miscarriage

kathrynok's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring sad tense fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Alcohol, Car accident, Racism, Bullying, Drug use, Grief, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Self harm, War, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture

Minor: Gun violence, Animal death, Miscarriage, Suicide, Colonisation, and Violence

mads_reads_books's review against another edition

emotional funny informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

I wish Harry had taken more ownership of the impacts of his actions. Particularly when talking about the time he wore a Nazi uniform to a party. He simply says he feels great shame and that he spoke with a rabbi to learn more about the Holocaust. In this time of antisemitism and hate crimes I think it was dismissive of Harry not to speak further to denounce and condemn antisemitism within this work or even to apologize for and condemn the other young men in particular who likely felt emboldened and supported by him due to this costume to act on and publicly share their own antisemitic beliefs 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Classism, Colonisation, War, Death of parent, Death, Stalking, Pregnancy, Antisemitism, Murder, Grief, Car accident, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Slavery, Self harm, Racism, Ableism, Racial slurs, and Toxic friendship

Minor: War, Car accident, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Stalking, Cultural appropriation, Panic attacks/disorders, Miscarriage, Violence, Addiction, Genocide, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Colonisation, Islamophobia, Gaslighting, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Classism, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Domestic abuse, Antisemitism, Infertility, Vomit, Xenophobia, Incest, Toxic relationship, and Religious bigotry

javafenn's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

There is so much written about this book that is so wildly out of context that once you dive in and start reading (or listening in my case) you feel like you suddenly have the curtains blown wide open and are a brand new light. Prince Harry details his life from his earliest memories until his most recent with his Grandmother and Queen passing away. His whole life is tinged with loss and grief which has dictated every good and bad decision he ever made. His journey through self destruction on through self discovery is beautiful and tragic. Say what you will about this book but Harry is the master of his own tale and he told it beautifully. Of course this book is juicy but the context matters. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Drug use, Cursing, Death of parent, Racism, War, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Bullying, Self harm, Stalking, Emotional abuse, and Grief