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Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'
Karamo: My Story of Embracing Purpose, Healing, and Hope by Karamo Brown
6 reviews
pacifickat's review against another edition
2.25
It also seems like Karamo believes he's manifested a lot of his success by putting the right vibes out in the universe, but it seems more like he's very pushy in many cases and sometimes bowls others over in pursuit if his dreams. He can he charismatic, charming, and driven. This combination can come off as bullying, manipulative, and disingenuous. There was a whole section about
Furthermore, Karamo also often describes situations and past conversations in ways that seem hugely implausible and are meant to cast him in the best possible light. I'm sure you said all those perfect things in that moment of tension, buddy. Suuuuure.
It's not all bad though, and I do admire some of his life choices and experiences. I even thought we had similar experiences with having church purity culture teachings pushed far too early, leading to huge discomfort and anxiety with being negatively sexualized when I was too young to sort through the messaging and my own feelings.
All in all, I was a bit bored. Karamo is a talker, and often in a rambling sort of way. The beginning and end moved along, but the middle dragged. Also, the events of his life being told out of order, jumping from one thing back to another and then forward again, is repetitive at best and confusing at worst. It made me wonder when and how
As a fan of the Fab 5, I would strongly recommend Jonathan Van Ness' memoire over this one. To me it felt less preachy, more genuine, and better structured as a narrative.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Addiction, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Drug use, Suicide attempt, Racial slurs, Racism, Classism, Infidelity, Child abuse, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Violence
Colorism, manipulationdadzpeach's review
5.0
Graphic: Drug use and Drug abuse
Moderate: Domestic abuse
strawberrysheepie's review
3.0
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racial slurs, and Racism
jc_wb's review against another edition
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Homophobia
leahlovesloslibros's review
5.0
This memoir showcases all of Karamo - both his past and his present - and how he personifies culture by saying "I am culture." As a boy, Karamo grew up knowing he was different both culturally and in his sexual orientation. In some ways he embraced these differences; in others, he was made to feel ashamed. During adolescence, the relationship he had with his father became strained, and has still not been repaired to this day.
Before his time on Queer Eye, Karamo was no stranger to the limelight. In his early- to mid-twenties, he appeared on MTV's The Real World, where he got his first dose of stardom. Sadly, that time in his life was clouded with poor judgment and bad decisions. All that changed when he found out he had a child he didn't know about. He turned his life around to be a great Dad and got back into social work, an area in which he really excelled due to his passionate nature and ability to help people become the best version of themselves. Through a series of fortunate events, he was able to land a coveted position on the reboot of Queer Eye, alongside castmates Bobby Berk, Tan France, Antoni Porowski, and Jonathan Van Ness. He uses his background in psychotherapy and social work to help enrich the lives of the heroes on their show.
Graphic: Racism and Addiction
Moderate: Racial slurs, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Cursing, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Cancer
Other TW/CW: colorism, gay slurs, corporal punishment, verbal abuse, mental illnessplumpaperbacks's review against another edition
I will say that I didn’t enjoy this as much as Tan’s or Jonathan’s books, but it was still good and I’m glad I picked it up. It’s a nonlinear timeline of his life, with each chapter focusing on a different event or theme and his emotions and experiences surrounding it. It’s about personal growth, owning up to your mistakes, healing and forgiving yourself. There are a lot of relevant discussions in this book, and I think almost anyone would be able to take something away from this, should they read it.
I especially enjoyed the engagement party scene, as it was really sweet. Karamo getting his kids involved was so wholesome. I also really liked the final chapter, as it talked about his audition to be on Queer Eye and meeting the other members of the Fab Five. I remember enjoying the Queer Eye chapters in Tan’s and Jonathan’s memoirs, so of course I liked Karamo’s version too. It was quite funny to me when he admitted to having a crush on one of the other four at first sight, although maybe that was just because of the way he narrated. And the way the Fab Five became instant friends and knew they’d keep in touch after the auditions, even if they didn’t get the roles? I love to see it. They really do have a great dynamic.
I got a bit off-topic there, but anyway. I don’t think I’ll reread Karamo or buy my own copy, but I definitely recommend it to fans of the Netflix show.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, and Suicidal thoughts
Drugs mentioned include marijuana, ecstasy, and cocaine.