Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

Spare by Prince Harry

7 reviews

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

dmswack3's review

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

I usually avoid memoirs and biographies due to their voyeuristic feel, but something about 2023 has made me want to listen to a few, and Spare was undoubtedly one of them. 

I highly enjoyed the narration Prince Harry gave, and the story itself was fun to listen to. His ghost writers was phenomenal in my opinion. I'm very glad I listened to it instead of reading it, however, because I think I would have found myself bored by some of the longer chapters had it not been read to me. 

Something else for readers to be weary of besides long chapters and perhaps boring text, should you choose to read this rather than listen- this story bares all... Like ALL. You will hear a LOT about the Prince's... Todger, as he calls it. Like a LOT. Where it's been, who's seen it, how it's been injured so uh. Fair warning there. 

Beyond the todger, this book really doesn't pull punches. I saw shocked at points, angered at others, cried at some. But I also felt myself thinking: is it all true? God I hope not. It's that bad. 

Give it a listen. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Suicide, Car accident, Infertility, Child death, Islamophobia, Toxic friendship, Violence, War, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Death, Miscarriage, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Alcohol, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Hate crime, Addiction, Racial slurs, and Sexual harassment

kimveach's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

I rarely read memoirs, so I don't know how to critique them.  Instead, I'll share a few thoughts.  I listened to this, which is the best approach to this work.  It would be best if you listened (at regular speed) to Harry speaking to understand how sincerely he feels about his story.  It's hard to know if all the conflicts in his life, especially with his father and brother, happened as he tells it.  Do two people ever tell the same story about a situation?  

This is a story of a boy without a stable home life whose mother dies tragically.  That trauma carries into war zones and his search for a relationship that can withstand the scrutiny of the press.  With the help of therapy, he's able to move forward.

Some of the best parts for me were learning about life in the palace, at Eton, and in the army.  It was also fascinating to learn how Prince Charles divided royal duties and access to money between the brothers.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Sexual content, Torture, Drug use, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Abandonment, Death of parent, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, War, Classism, Grief, Pregnancy, Car accident, and Cursing

kaiciemesser's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Car accident, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Medical content, Colonisation, Drug use, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Miscarriage

laheath's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

I don't consider myself a Royal watcher, but I can remember as a child, getting up really early to watch the televised wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana. I remember when their sons, William and Harry, were born; the precious pictures of Princess Diana with her 2 young boys; her tragic death; and the heartbreaking images of those boys walking in her funeral procession. After such tragedy, as those boys grew into men, I, like much of the world I think, had hoped they would find happiness in marriage and building their own families. Unfortunately, the discord that has rocked the Royal Family continues the tragedy for William and Harry.

Prince Harry shares his seemingly thorough and honest memoir including stories from growing up as a Royal, memories of his mother, school days, relationships with family members, his military career, dating, scandals in the press, charity work, meeting & marrying Meghan, beginning a family, and their ultimate decision to split from the Royal Family. He reads it with an audible degree of emotion, even discussing his battle with panic attacks and PTSD before finding a therapist. This may be just 1 side of the story of everything that has transpired within the Royal Family over the past several years, but this comes from someone far down the line of succession to the throne, which I feel makes him less likely to hide anything. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Mental illness, and Grief

Moderate: War, Classism, Racism, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Car accident, and Death of parent

Minor: Cursing, Alcohol, Miscarriage, Drug use, Racial slurs, and Suicidal thoughts

caitlincooper03's review

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, Death, Grief, Medical trauma, Classism, Cursing, Car accident, Drug abuse, and Toxic relationship

bootsmom3's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Mental illness, Death, Animal cruelty, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Infertility, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Animal death, Cursing, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Colonisation

Minor: Sexual content