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townsendme's review against another edition
5.0
Powerful book and a great resource for clinicians and those with lived experience.
mwhite0226's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Transphobia
kyanitecourage's review against another edition
5.0
Definitely take those trigger warnings seriously. But such such an important book. It’s quick, unless you need to take your time to recover. It hurts and it heals.
becandbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Trigger warnings:
Please express self-care and emotional support while reading this book.
This book is something else.
This is a collection of letters, addressed to their own bodies, from trans and non-binary survivors of violence and assault. Weaving together narratives of gender, identity, and abuse this book tells many stories that deserve to be heard.
I want to start with complete transparency.
I do not personally identify as trans nor non-binary. While I do have personal experience with sexual assault this is not an ownvoices review. This book is not mine to relate to and everything I say about this book is said with the utmost respect for all the contributors and anyone who claims this book as part of their story.
If anyone knows of any ownvoice reviews of this book, please let me know. I would love to link them, as their thoughts are incredibly important to this story.
This collection of letters is raw and painful and truthful.
I feel wildly privileged to be allowed to read stories that are filled with such incredible wrongdoings on people who were then so courageous as to share their journey, their thoughts, and their emotions.
Sometimes it's poetic, sometimes it's angry, sometimes it's uplifting and hopeful. It contains prose and rhyme and free verse and essay-style writing. These letters are stories of trauma, but also of self-awareness and healing. Of journeys so unique to the individual that despite being granted the honour to look in on the story, only those who have walked in those shoes will ever fully comprehend.
All of it is heartbreaking and raw. But this book is one full of stories that deserve to be told and listened to. It is complicated and powerful.
Spoiler
rape, domestic abuse, physical and sexual abuse, mental health, self-injury and suicide, dysphoria, body image/eating disorders, explicit sexual contentPlease express self-care and emotional support while reading this book.
This book is something else.
This is a collection of letters, addressed to their own bodies, from trans and non-binary survivors of violence and assault. Weaving together narratives of gender, identity, and abuse this book tells many stories that deserve to be heard.
"to my blood vessels carrying electric signals like a radio switcher
you let me feel everything.
for that i can't help but hate you."
I want to start with complete transparency.
I do not personally identify as trans nor non-binary. While I do have personal experience with sexual assault this is not an ownvoices review. This book is not mine to relate to and everything I say about this book is said with the utmost respect for all the contributors and anyone who claims this book as part of their story.
If anyone knows of any ownvoice reviews of this book, please let me know. I would love to link them, as their thoughts are incredibly important to this story.
"to my breath i am sorry i lost you. come back."
This collection of letters is raw and painful and truthful.
I feel wildly privileged to be allowed to read stories that are filled with such incredible wrongdoings on people who were then so courageous as to share their journey, their thoughts, and their emotions.
Sometimes it's poetic, sometimes it's angry, sometimes it's uplifting and hopeful. It contains prose and rhyme and free verse and essay-style writing. These letters are stories of trauma, but also of self-awareness and healing. Of journeys so unique to the individual that despite being granted the honour to look in on the story, only those who have walked in those shoes will ever fully comprehend.
"We survive by having brilliant bodies that hold, hide, express, contain, freeze, abandon, act out, and restrain."
All of it is heartbreaking and raw. But this book is one full of stories that deserve to be told and listened to. It is complicated and powerful.
Note: Review copy received via NetGalley. This does not impact opinions within this review.
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Happy reading! ❤
planetdiarmuid's review
this was really, really good. usually with anthologies like this, at least some of it's gonna be poorly written, and that doesn't make it less important, I think; I imagine it must be a tough job editing something like this, about a subject as sensitive as sexual assault. but everything in this ended up being really striking to me. it's very masterfully put together.
wrote a really personal review of this and then deleted it all, suffice to say I will be using this format (letters to the body) as a writing exercise in the lead-up to surgery, which feels at once quite close and painfully far away.
wrote a really personal review of this and then deleted it all, suffice to say I will be using this format (letters to the body) as a writing exercise in the lead-up to surgery, which feels at once quite close and painfully far away.
lilyrooke's review against another edition
5.0
Short and powerful, I would recommend waiting until you are in a safe place before reading this book, or perhaps taking it a letter at a time, because it is extremely upsetting, as you might think would be obvious from the title. Despite the intense content and definite need for potential readers to bear a multitude of content warnings in mind, I think this book offers important voices and essential comfort to trans and non-binary survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. Mostly a series of letters to different body parts by the contributors, the book contains some beautiful lines that I'm sure will speak to many readers. It made me want to start my own series of letters; made me want to hurt myself; made me cry; made me want to feel hopeful. Don't read it without adequate emotional support from a loved one or therapist.
lureads2's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Rape, Violence, and Suicide