Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Everything I Know About Love: A Memoir by Dolly Alderton

47 reviews

janaptrsn's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

3.75

Overall good, I heard a lot of praise about it but didn’t look up what type of book it was exactly so my expectations were a bit off. I didn’t go into it expecting it to be as autobiographical. But there are still a lot of relatable things to pick up on the way.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Death, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Alcohol

mraddd's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted reflective medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Sexual content, and Alcohol

Moderate: Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

jenncortes's review against another edition

lighthearted slow-paced

1.5

Read 130 pages but can’t really remember anything significant that happened. Aside from the fact that she’s an alcoholic, sex obsessed, toxic friend. Also noticed that she likes to travel without enough money and expects people to just save her. 

The few chapters that stood out were the one with the wedding (but i can’t even remember it now LOL), the one with her therapist, and the chapter that followed it. She became a good friend to Farly as she matured, and realized she didn’t need a man. That’s the only good things that happened LOL

I was ready to DNF this book but gave it another chance. I thought it was getting better towards the end, but then ended up getting boring again. LOL. Also, what’s with all the page fillers? We don’t need recipes and lists and fake emails. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

balancethebooks's review against another edition

funny reflective medium-paced

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder and Alcohol

Moderate: Child death, Drug use, and Grief

Minor: Terminal illness and Toxic relationship

luananki's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

3.25

i really really wanted to love this book and there were definitely parts i loved and enjoyed but it also contained a lot of aspects and decisions i didn’t understand

the first third of the book felt very slow and i found the drug and alcohol abuse in that part very frustrating but i enjoyed reading about her twenties a lot, which might be due to the fact that i’m in my twenties

not sure who i would recommend this to

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Eating disorder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Drug use, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Grief

Minor: Misogyny and Medical content

mch101's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Toxic relationship, and Grief

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

funny hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced

4.0

overall, i really enjoyed this. it was witty, relatable, and just fun. i would recommend to anyone who is feeling lost in life

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Alcohol

hannahbailey's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted sad fast-paced

3.0

Whilst an easy and enjoyable read, I did come away from the book frustrated. Alderton was on the edge of something great here -- she's a natural born storyteller both in her writing and the speeches she recounts throughout the book -- but instead this memoir fell into the self-indulgent trap. From what I gathered through this text, the author has led quite a privileged life so far and I felt that she didn't do enough to acknowledge this. At no point does she recognise that growing up in/near London, attending private school, her whiteness and financial stability are at least part of the reason as to why she's successful now. Whilst this wasn't the theme of the memoir, which was love and relationships, I felt that ignoring these privileges made the book seem shallow. A quick google reveals she has since acknowledged her privilege in interviews. A quick google also reveals her real name is Hannah 😭

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Child death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Alcohol

annarchy's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective

4.75

“I was grateful for understanding in that moment that life can really be as simple as just breathing in and out. And I was thankful to know what it was to love the person walking next to me as much as I did. So deeply, so furiously. So impossibly.”

Everything I Know About Love felt like a hug from my best friend after a horrible breakup. Dolly Alderton has crafter this little memoir, which reflect her relationships with friends, partners, and herself from a young girl up to her 30th birthday. 

Reading this book, I felt like a grew up with Dolly. She is funny and so honest. I didn’t want this book to ever end. It is definitely a comfort read for me. 

As someone about to enter my twenties, this felt like the right book at the right time (although I feel like a person at any age could learn something from it). Dolly and I have a great age difference and experience with relationships, yet I could relate to her in so many ways. Her discussions of anxiety, grief, and above all friendship deeply resonated with me.

On that subject, I feel the overarching theme of this memoir is female friendships. It was a magnificent portrayal of a girl and her girlfriends against it all.

Ultimately, I think this book is an ode not just to Florence (perhaps my favorite chapter), but also to Farly. Dolly and Farly’s friendship was the greatest love story in this book.

All in all, this was a very heartfelt and beautiful read. I am in love with Dolly Alderton’s writing style, so I am excited to check out her other works. I recommend this to anyone who needs a bit of reassurance and hope, or perhaps to know that they are not alone in the treacherous pursuit for a partner in the virtual age. Especially, if you are entering or going through your twenties, I believe this book can be your little world of comfort.

This review is a bit of a mess, just like Dolly herself, and that is okay :)

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, and Grief

claranasman02's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Drug use, Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Alcohol