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carlomartinez__'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Child death, Domestic abuse, Dementia, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Miscarriage, Addiction, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Incest, and Cancer
lee_loryn_'s review against another edition
5.0
I'm so glad I found this. How I hadn't learned about, heard of, seen, or fell in love with it earlier in my life - I have no idea. The whole time I just kept curling around the book, chanting in the back of my head, "Where have you been all of my life?!"
abbyf29's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
this is an amazing book I recommend to everyone
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, and Addiction
norfolkbibliolater's review against another edition
Saw it on the one show and not what I’d expected. Maybe I’ll read it someday but not today.
alicebme's review against another edition
4.0
I just noticed the boob, because my book had a strip. Crazy.
morgob's review against another edition
4.0
Wow, what a book. I will start with the bad, as is my habit of late. The reason I gave four and not five stars is for two little reasons, one of which I think is a bit silly of me, but I'm listing it anyway. The first reason is that the (haha) chronology of the story was a little bit all over the place. I know memoirs would probably not be as interesting if they were told from start to finish, but at some points I was a bit lost on the timeline. The second and perhaps sillier reason is that this book was pretty explicit. Maybe I'm just being prude, but I don't think I've ever read anything this dirty on accident. I think this is probably the second most explicit novel I've read (if you can even call the first one a novel). Besides those two little reasons, I really liked this book.
This was a really emotional novel. It talked about the author's life, which, for a lot of it, was pretty sad and depressing. There were several instances where I just sat back and thought about how lucky I was to have such an amazing childhood. Zero complaints about my childhood. At times, I felt sick while reading this book, I felt uncomfortable a lot, angry, confused, exasperated, nostalgic, and really really happy. The really really happy mostly came at the end.
I think I have a superpower, which is that books find me when I need them. I have been, shall we say, going through some things with my own family. My family, my extended family, I mean, is pretty fucked up. But I at least have my immediate family, and family was a huge theme of this memoir. Reading this book did make me realize, "Hey, it could be worse!" But it also taught me other things too, things that I am starting to realize on my own as well, things like you get to choose the people who make up your family. You have the ability to reinvent yourself, as many times as you want. Writing can be a religion. You are not alone. I learned a lot from this book about who I am, what I want in life, and who I want to grow up to be. It may have been a book meant for older people, since it talks so much of particular life experiences like marriage and starting a family and being a family, but there was a lot I got out of it, too. I am a writer. I haven't been one lately, but that is what I am deep down. This book showed me that there are thousands of opportunities out there, and no matter who you are you can reach out and take them. It's something I want to do more and more of, going looking for opportunities.
The nostalgia part is because she was once on a swim team and is a really good swimmer. At one point in her later life, she was asked if she wanted to be on a swim team again and she said no. I related that to my running, or tried to. If I was asked to be on a team again, would I say no? I think so, because I think I'm done with team running and just want to focus on running for myself, by myself. I'm not good at running by myself yet, so we'll have to wait and see. That part just got to me because it meant I had to honestly look at my competitive running career, at least the collegiate part, and say I'm done. There is no more of that chapter. I can add on in different chapters, of course, but that section is done for good.
Overall, I loved this book. I have wanted to read her books since seeing her TED Talk years ago. I don't have a lot in common with Lidia, but I loved her story and felt a certain kinship with her over competing and writing. I suppose I should mention, I listened to this book. I've never listened to an audiobook before and, to be honest, it felt like cheating. However, I really enjoyed it, and listening to it wasn't that bad, except for the time she launched into an explicit sex scene while my younger sister was in the room and I had to frantically turn down the volume. But yes, I loved this book and I am very interested in reading more of her work. She has a way of putting sentences together that I can listen to--or read them--and think, "Oh, yes, that's exactly how it is supposed to be said." Her writing is strange, but it is the best kind of strange; it's the relatable strange for us who are just weird enough to translate it.
This was a really emotional novel. It talked about the author's life, which, for a lot of it, was pretty sad and depressing. There were several instances where I just sat back and thought about how lucky I was to have such an amazing childhood. Zero complaints about my childhood. At times, I felt sick while reading this book, I felt uncomfortable a lot, angry, confused, exasperated, nostalgic, and really really happy. The really really happy mostly came at the end.
I think I have a superpower, which is that books find me when I need them. I have been, shall we say, going through some things with my own family. My family, my extended family, I mean, is pretty fucked up. But I at least have my immediate family, and family was a huge theme of this memoir. Reading this book did make me realize, "Hey, it could be worse!" But it also taught me other things too, things that I am starting to realize on my own as well, things like you get to choose the people who make up your family. You have the ability to reinvent yourself, as many times as you want. Writing can be a religion. You are not alone. I learned a lot from this book about who I am, what I want in life, and who I want to grow up to be. It may have been a book meant for older people, since it talks so much of particular life experiences like marriage and starting a family and being a family, but there was a lot I got out of it, too. I am a writer. I haven't been one lately, but that is what I am deep down. This book showed me that there are thousands of opportunities out there, and no matter who you are you can reach out and take them. It's something I want to do more and more of, going looking for opportunities.
The nostalgia part is because she was once on a swim team and is a really good swimmer. At one point in her later life, she was asked if she wanted to be on a swim team again and she said no. I related that to my running, or tried to. If I was asked to be on a team again, would I say no? I think so, because I think I'm done with team running and just want to focus on running for myself, by myself. I'm not good at running by myself yet, so we'll have to wait and see. That part just got to me because it meant I had to honestly look at my competitive running career, at least the collegiate part, and say I'm done. There is no more of that chapter. I can add on in different chapters, of course, but that section is done for good.
Overall, I loved this book. I have wanted to read her books since seeing her TED Talk years ago. I don't have a lot in common with Lidia, but I loved her story and felt a certain kinship with her over competing and writing. I suppose I should mention, I listened to this book. I've never listened to an audiobook before and, to be honest, it felt like cheating. However, I really enjoyed it, and listening to it wasn't that bad, except for the time she launched into an explicit sex scene while my younger sister was in the room and I had to frantically turn down the volume. But yes, I loved this book and I am very interested in reading more of her work. She has a way of putting sentences together that I can listen to--or read them--and think, "Oh, yes, that's exactly how it is supposed to be said." Her writing is strange, but it is the best kind of strange; it's the relatable strange for us who are just weird enough to translate it.
fran_something's review against another edition
3.0
Questo memoir da una parte mi ha fatta sentire inebriata, specie per il modo poetico in cui vengono esposti sensazioni e sentimenti, momenti di vita che hanno segnato l'esistenza di Lidia, il suo corpo e la sua anima. Dall'altra, spesso e volentieri son rimasta interdetta per certe situazioni ed emozioni (o assenza di queste ultime in vicende particolari) descritte o ancora mi sembrava che i miei occhi litigassero con alcuni capitoli che volevo terminassero al più presto. Però non posso negare che questa storia appartenente ad una persona decisamente opposta alla mia non fosse interessante, ed è giusto anche rapportarsi con realtà a noi completamente sconosciute di tanto in tanto. Per questo mi sento di dare a questo libro tra le 3 e le 3 stelle e mezzo.
keyanamiller's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Lidia is a genius
rebecanunez's review against another edition
4.0
Honesto y crudo, pero muy interesante. La historia tiene claros y oscuros, como las historias de todos. Lo que me resulto más interesante, es su perspectiva sobre la autopercepcion y la visión que se tiene y cómo se las representa en la literatura a las víctimas de abuso. La lectura por momentos se me hizo super vertiginosa, pero no podía parar de leer, porque también es atrapante.