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leweylibrary's review against another edition
4.25
I struggled with the format--or lack thereof really--and the audiobook narrator. I actually got like 35% through and then had to restart it waaaaay slower because I was finding myself missing things and not paying attention. I definitely think I would've done better with it reading it physically, there are just way too many poetic moments and literary devices at work for me to track on audio. I'm grateful for the Q&A style afterwords because it did clear up some of what the author was attempting to do. Like I now have a greater appreciation for the work she put into making her writing seem simple and punchy when while reading it, it mostly just felt jarring and hard to follow or stay invested in.
The topics covered are obviously intense. Big trigger warnings for a lot. Covering them is absolutely vital to her story, though, and her journey towards reconciliation and healing.
Overall, I can tell it was brilliant, it just wasn't totally for me in this format. And that's okay and doesn't detract from the skill it took to write it.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Abortion, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Self harm, Abandonment, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
carnimdream's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Addiction, Alcohol, Child abuse, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Violence
Minor: Abortion and Chronic illness
akmatz's review against another edition
3.25
Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Violence, Child abuse, and Mental illness
Moderate: Abortion, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Addiction, and Incest
Minor: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Eating disorder
biab00's review against another edition
Graphic: Death of parent, Suicide, Eating disorder, Death, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Pregnancy, Mental illness, and Abortion
readingbrb's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Sexual assault and Mental illness
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Child abuse
Minor: Eating disorder, Abortion, and Alcohol
sillysausagezj's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Racism, Sexual violence, Addiction, Sexual assault, and Suicide
Minor: Abortion
mayaism_01's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Medical content, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Vomit, Eating disorder, and Abortion
stevia333k's review against another edition
3.5
So this is by an author who wanted to challenge expectations about works written by indigenous authors. (I didn't pick up on how besides various marketable narratives -- i mean this in the way that both karl marx & the austrian school of economics are considered "controversial".)
Anyways, I read the book on the basis of family building & decolonization. The part about forgiveness being done in ceremonies instead of the white idea of "letting go", especially since I've struggled with that colonial dynamic too, except as a white settler I didn't have established ceremonies for context.
Admittedly I was kind of indifferent to the poetics I guess. The intersections were interesting enough.
in the interview at the end, there's 2 notes about influences on this book that the author mentions that explained the squicks I had with this book:
- the bible (which went over my head because I'm not a Christian),
- and Adrienne Rich (I already returned my copy of this book to the library & it was an audiobook, but the way the word "man" was used felt heteronormative & that "patriarchal" could've worked better. Like I think I figured it out via like argument from analogy with like settler vs indigenous & the fact she's mainly talking about 1 man in particular, but the lack of precision felt suspicious to me, and it turned out I was right.)
Graphic: Abortion, Alcohol, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Incest, Infidelity, Ableism, Addiction, Medical content, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship
spicycheesecake's review against another edition
4.75
There are many things I could not relate with, but I understood everything, and I felt like I was there -- spectating, watching, experiencing.
I've learned about myself and my own relationships just from seeing the perspectives in this book.
Graphic: Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Racism, Drug use, Death of parent, Addiction, Toxic relationship, Torture, Suicide attempt, Grief, Death, Violence, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Self harm, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Drug abuse, and Cursing
Moderate: Abortion
solenodon's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Racism, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Alcohol, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Abortion, Vomit, Eating disorder, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Racism, Sexual content, Child abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Self harm