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Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'
Life in the City of Dirty Water: A Memoir of Healing by Clayton Thomas-Muller
18 reviews
smtoffolo's review
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, Violence, and Colonisation
vitaminwaterfan's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual violence
daniellekat's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
1.75
I really wanted to like this but the writing was not for me. The narrative and timeline jumped around so much it was hard to get any sense of the timing of situations. And overall it was just a very long list of “I did this and I met this person and then I did this and then I met that person, etc. etc.” The sections about the author’s upbringing and family were compelling but they were spread out through the book and hard to connect. I think this book has some really important themes but it had too much unexplained political jargon for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Drug use, Colonisation, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Alcoholism, Addiction, and Bullying
Minor: Domestic abuse
booksandprosecco's review
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Genocide, Racism, Child death, Colonisation, Sexual assault, Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Grief, Rape, and Self harm
meliviablank's review
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Sexual assault
linneahbt's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
3.0
Memoirs are so hard to review. Who am I to criticize how someone told their story? But this wasn't it for me. Important, definitely, and I don't regret reading it. But I didn't like the author's writing style which made parts of this really challenging. Also organized by theme rather than timeline - I understand the choice there but found it super tough to figure out when things happened
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Sexual violence
rskolud's review
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse and Domestic abuse
Minor: Rape and Sexual assault
kelly_e's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Title: Life in the City of Dirty Water: A Memoir of Healing
Author: Clayton Thomas-Muller
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 4.0
Pub Date: August 24, 2021
T H R E E • W O R D S
Candid • Gritty • Vital
📖 S Y N O P S I S
In Life in the City of Dirty Water Clayton Thomas-Muller's shares his life story. This is his journey from years enduring the results of intergeneration trauma, systemic racism and violence as a child, to escaping the binds of drugs and alcohol, reconnecting with his Cree heritage and becoming an activist. A story of trauma and healing, of identity and perseverance, and the legacy of colonialism.
💭 T H O U G H T S
I am thrilled Life in the City of Dirty Water was selected as a finalist for the 2022 Canada Reads debates, otherwise I may have very well missed it. From Clayton's heartbreaking childhood filled with abuse, poverty, homelessness, intergenerational trauma, and gang life; to persevering and becoming an activist, this memoir brings together two urgent issues: Indigenous rights and environmental activism. There is certainly a lot to process throughout his narrative, yet showing up and learning is a vital part of the process of reconciliation. Written primarily for his children, Clayton's growth and vulnerability really made this book shine.
With a little more structure and flow to his writing this would have been a five-star read for me. For example, the first part (focusing mainly on his childhood) felt so deeply personal, which I absolutely loved. It was filled with emotion and honesty. However, as I moved through the sections it began to be more biographical, reading more like a narrative resume, than someone's life story, which I was not a fan of. And again switching back to more of a storytelling approach in later parts, making it feel rather disjointed as a whole.
Overall, Life in the City of Dirty Water is a crucial memoir, and I am grateful to have had it cross my path. And I'd be remiss if I did not mention the absolutely stunning cover. I really took the time to see the singular elements, as well as the whole.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• all Canadians
• fans of From the Ashes and/or A Mind Spread Out on the Ground
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"One of the mysteries of creation is how closely saving yourself and saving the world are linked. If you don't take care of the world, you will only end up harming yourself. and if you don't take care of yourself, you won't do the world any good. We're all part of the world. It is an illusion to think any of us can be separate."
"Understanding the way history intersects with the human heart can take a lifetime. But the fight for justice is something you can roll up your sleeves and wade into right away."
"Though I have never been in a residential school, through my family I know the darkness that was bred there: the terror of each night, the reek of urine in the dormitories from all the scared kids peeing their beds."
"Warriors are not defined by fighting. They are defined by fighting for."
Author: Clayton Thomas-Muller
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 4.0
Pub Date: August 24, 2021
T H R E E • W O R D S
Candid • Gritty • Vital
📖 S Y N O P S I S
In Life in the City of Dirty Water Clayton Thomas-Muller's shares his life story. This is his journey from years enduring the results of intergeneration trauma, systemic racism and violence as a child, to escaping the binds of drugs and alcohol, reconnecting with his Cree heritage and becoming an activist. A story of trauma and healing, of identity and perseverance, and the legacy of colonialism.
💭 T H O U G H T S
I am thrilled Life in the City of Dirty Water was selected as a finalist for the 2022 Canada Reads debates, otherwise I may have very well missed it. From Clayton's heartbreaking childhood filled with abuse, poverty, homelessness, intergenerational trauma, and gang life; to persevering and becoming an activist, this memoir brings together two urgent issues: Indigenous rights and environmental activism. There is certainly a lot to process throughout his narrative, yet showing up and learning is a vital part of the process of reconciliation. Written primarily for his children, Clayton's growth and vulnerability really made this book shine.
With a little more structure and flow to his writing this would have been a five-star read for me. For example, the first part (focusing mainly on his childhood) felt so deeply personal, which I absolutely loved. It was filled with emotion and honesty. However, as I moved through the sections it began to be more biographical, reading more like a narrative resume, than someone's life story, which I was not a fan of. And again switching back to more of a storytelling approach in later parts, making it feel rather disjointed as a whole.
Overall, Life in the City of Dirty Water is a crucial memoir, and I am grateful to have had it cross my path. And I'd be remiss if I did not mention the absolutely stunning cover. I really took the time to see the singular elements, as well as the whole.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• all Canadians
• fans of From the Ashes and/or A Mind Spread Out on the Ground
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"One of the mysteries of creation is how closely saving yourself and saving the world are linked. If you don't take care of the world, you will only end up harming yourself. and if you don't take care of yourself, you won't do the world any good. We're all part of the world. It is an illusion to think any of us can be separate."
"Understanding the way history intersects with the human heart can take a lifetime. But the fight for justice is something you can roll up your sleeves and wade into right away."
"Though I have never been in a residential school, through my family I know the darkness that was bred there: the terror of each night, the reek of urine in the dormitories from all the scared kids peeing their beds."
"Warriors are not defined by fighting. They are defined by fighting for."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Colonisation, Genocide, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Drug use, Violence, Addiction, Drug abuse, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
drug traffickingshays's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
Life in the City of Dirty Water employs a chatty and discursive style. Thomas-Müller’s narration is conversational, and his memoir has the feel of an oral tale that has been written down. I read this as an e-book but would be very curious to hear the author’s audio narration, as I have a feeling it might do the tale better service. The story is semi-chronological, but also ranges widely. He will make passing mention of an interesting fact or detail that sounds as if it could be a story in its own right, and then never return to it. There can also be a sort of whiplash to his blandly matter-of-fact narration of some extremely traumatic events, such as childhood sexual abuse, mixed in with descriptions of much more quotidian occurrences. It speaks to the extent that violence of all kinds was normal in Thomas-Müller’s early life, but also conceals a deep hurt that will not bear more interiority or closer examination.
Full review: https://shayshortt.com/2022/03/28/life-in-the-city-of-dirty-water/
Full review: https://shayshortt.com/2022/03/28/life-in-the-city-of-dirty-water/
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Sexual assault, Drug use, and Child abuse
zee's review
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation
Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual assault