Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Life in the City of Dirty Water: A Memoir of Healing by Clayton Thomas-Muller

7 reviews

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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Drug use, Colonisation, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Alcoholism, Addiction, and Bullying

Minor: Domestic abuse

comeundun's review

emotional hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Racism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Physical abuse, and Domestic abuse

booksandprosecco's review

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Genocide, Racism, Child death, Colonisation, Sexual assault, Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Grief, Rape, and Self harm

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." 

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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 trafficking

amandat's review against another edition

challenging informative sad slow-paced

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Colonisation, and Drug abuse

ka_ke's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

This is a must read for anyone who calls themself an Ally of the First Nations, Métis & Inuit peoples.  Clayton paints a brutal picture of what life is like as an Indigenous male trying to survive a colonialist society. It is oddly inspiring. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Grief, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Cursing

Moderate: Abandonment and Confinement

jennadewit's review

emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, and Sexual violence