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Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance
3 reviews
dcm7918's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Ableism and Suicidal thoughts
angelasosh's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
2.0
I didn’t know who J.D. Vance was before I started this book and had I known, I would’ve been more hesitant to listen to it. I listened to this as an audiobook and don’t think I would’ve been able to read a physical copy of it as I don’t believe the writing was all that fantastic. As a memoir of his childhood, the book is fine. But I personally felt his analysis of a culture in crisis was lacking; it felt kind of vague to me and i don’t feel he addressed the core of why some Appalachian families struggle the way they do. He analyzed his specific family but missed the mark on the culture as a whole. I won’t argue that his childhood wasn’t difficult, but I do feel he failed to acknowledge some of the privileges that did work to his advantage.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Bullying
askannakarenina's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
2.0
I listened to J.D. Vance's narration of this book on Audible...I'm very conflicted about this book. On the one hand, Vance's narration of his own life experience is highly compelling, and he's tackling important and under-discussed issues from the position of a person who has lived through them. On the other hand, this book has faced a lot of criticism for placing the issues of Appalachia too much on the cultural habits of the people who live there, or for not placing enough blame on them. Vance is so proud of his own heritage, but so critical of that same culture, and I was in places quite angry with his tone or with the prescriptions he made. This book has been important in American political culture over the past few years, so I'm glad I read it, but I don't think it's something I will be revisiting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
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