Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Black and Blue: A Memoir of Racism and Resilience by Veronica Gorrie

7 reviews

zzara's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Racism

Moderate: Rape and Pedophilia

wetdirtreads's review against another edition

challenging fast-paced

4.5

I read this book in one sitting, heaving, blubbering, and bawling through most of it. There are a couple of reasons for this – both the speed-reading and the sobbing.
 
Black and Blue was impossible to put down, first and foremost, because of phenomenal storytelling. The language was clear, concise, and accessible, making the book so easy and pleasant to glide through, even though the subject matter was gruelling. The chapters were short and digestible, but also often ended on cliff-hangers – so it would’ve been easy for me to pause wherever without getting overwhelmed, but I also couldn’t bring myself to stop. And I didn’t want to.
 
Ronnie’s storytelling reads just like a mob yarn. It’s accessible to, but very clearly not written for a non-Blak audience. Ronnie doesn’t waste time coddling the white reader, nor trying to define the incommensurable. Her delivery is direct and unapologetic, with no concern for whether you ‘get’ it – those who do will, and those who won’t aren’t her responsibility to hand-hold.
 
The other reason I sped through Black and Blue was because of the subject matter. While Ronnie never dwells on horrific scenes for the sake of shock value, speaking her reality necessitates discussion of deeply distressing experiences. I knew that this book would be incredibly triggering for me, so I read it in a day partly to look after myself – to minimise how long I spent in a trauma response state.
 
You might be wondering why I chose to read a book that I knew would activate a trauma response for me. And it's because I knew that Ronnie's truth-telling would also be equally as healing. I often cried during this book as gruesome details of violence were recounted. But I also bawled my eyes out when Ronnie perfectly articulated mob experiences I'd never been able to put into words before. And because she generously taught me so much about experiences I'll never personally know. And because I was overwhelmed by the gratitude I felt for being permitted to read her story.

l've had some mob ask me if I think Black and Blue would be okay for them to read. Unfortunately, I cannot answer this question. I can only recommend reading up on the trigger warnings before going into it, assessing whether thev're personally manageable for you, and proceeding with great care and caution. But what I can definitively tell you is that, for me, reading Black and Blue made me feel held as much as hurt.

(Review initially posted on instagram)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Car accident, Drug use, Police brutality, Rape, Child death, Death, Misogyny, Colonisation, Grief, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicide, and Violence

Moderate: Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Blood, Kidnapping, Terminal illness, and Classism

Minor: Islamophobia, Cancer, Infidelity, Torture, Antisemitism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Murder

lucyr21's review

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Bullying, Child death, Death of parent, Racial slurs, Racism, Domestic abuse, and Police brutality

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Stalking, Addiction, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexism

Minor: Dementia

demo's review

challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Rape, Toxic relationship, Racism, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Colonisation, Alcoholism, Child death, Mental illness, and Suicide

Moderate: Pedophilia, Death, and Grief

Minor: Dementia, Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Cancer, and Drug use

stuffinmybrainhole's review

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Racism, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Child abuse, Violence, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

tlaynejones's review

challenging emotional informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

4.75

This was so good. Gorrie is a Gunai-Kurnai and Gunditjamara woman, who writes of growing up as an Aboriginal child with her white mother and Aboriginal father. She then goes on to describe how as an adult and parent herself she joined the police force, as a way to support her family and in the hope of bridging the gap between her people and the police. She writes in a way that makes it hard to put the book down. It’s quite a fast moving story, filled with challenges, profound trauma, and so much love. 
I wish every Australian would read this brave, compassionate story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Violence

Moderate: Rape, Alcoholism, and Child abuse

Minor: Child death

tamzen's review

informative sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence