Reviews

Pass with Care by Cooper Lee Bombardier

caedocyon's review

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3.0

The last essay is on how trans memoir needs to evolve, and he's very right about that! This one isn't as far along as that unfortunately.

fr0gsonmushrooms's review

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I had to DNF this. I started skimming through almost immediately. 

I think I'm just not a fan of the writing style and just wasn't in the mood for another memoir. With all the good reviews I think I just need to leave it for another time. 

I'll pick it back up one day.

wafer's review

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

4.5

A good hurt

jp_riemersma's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.0

howard's review

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just not vibing with the writing style. this one’s not for me.

courtzconnor's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

meganmilks's review

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5.0

This collection of essays spans a long swath of trans time, offering some historicizing of SF and NM in the 90s and early oughts, including dyke/transmasc tensions and a reckoning with past relationships and an inheritance of familial violence. Honestly so much here, a lot of life lived and hard-won lessons learned. The essay on accountability and problematic accountability processes was probably my favorite; I loved a lot else too—the essay on new trans memoir is terrific. Much clear-sighted wisdom to be found here and Bombardier’s image-rich writing is humbly excellent.

stevenrowe's review

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challenging emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

mothdan's review

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emotional funny inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

maiakobabe's review

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4.0

An extremely strong collection of memoir essays, centered on themes of queer community, gender transition, reckoning with white masculinity, being a working class artist, relationships, trauma, healing, and accountability. Two short pieces about childhood, "Lincoln Street" and "Boombox", ached with the feeling of the last period of freedom before the full onslaught of gender policing and puberty. Many of the pieces provided a window to a specific queer moment in San Francisco in the 1990s, when punk artist collectives could still afford rent and run wild through the city. Bombardier also writes about working in traditionally masculine spaces, in carpentry, in welding, in construction, and as a college campus security guard. I enjoyed the nonlinear organization of the pieces in this book, and I highlighted several lines which I know I will be thinking about for a long time.