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rensparks's review against another edition
3.0
some of the essays were weird and funny and absurd. and then some were just weird and absurd. let’s just say, i’m glad the author is in therapy <3
zgg22's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
The parts I could relate to felt like a personal therapy session. The parts I couldn't relate to made me intrigued to read about the weirdness of someone out there in the world. Delicious. Will definitely buy a physical copy for my collection after I sort through the rest of my tbr (I listened to the audio version).
killyourdarlings105's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
slow-paced
1.75
trin's review against another edition
5.0
Wrenchingly honest in a way I only wish I could be. I found this collection extremely relatable (her anorexia was exactly like my anorexia! we feel guilt and shame about so many of the same things!) and that's always an incredibly comforting thing to discover: you are not alone.
hollidayreadswithme's review against another edition
4.0
This collection of essays is quite possibly the most honest and non-aggrandizing depiction of sex, drug, alcohol, and love addiction I have ever read. In this book, Melissa Broder bares it all. There is a raw nerve that is hit with every statement she tries to use to explain her insides that seem all torn up.
Dislikes:
~The order of the essays was linear until the end until she went back and forth through her adolescence. Through her bat mitzvah, and back again to present time.
~the first essay had me putting the audiobook down for a week and picking it back up. the main issue I had with it was that she traced her pattern of behavior to her birth, which she could not have possibly remembered and took me out of the story.
Likes:
~Basically everything else.
~It feels like she did a fourth step inventory for her rehab and published it, which takes a lot of guts. It also seems like she wanted to make the book funny and it wasn't, which was actually quite redeeming because it fits into the misnomer that everything in life is hunky-dory. Not quite sure if that's what she wanted, but that's what came up for me.
~Talking about her husband with a chronic illness was really jarring but in a good way. it wasn't a plot point, it was real and brought up the questions that a lot of people who choose to spend their life with a chronic illness sufferer have. The resentment, the fear, the feeling that maybe they weren't good enough because "that" was all they could get.
Overall/ Final Thoughts:
Some of the things she said will be a little jarring but I think that's the point. This book took me out of my comfort zone and asked me to look inside myself. And for that I am thankful.
2019 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge - Your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading challenge : 2018 : a book about mental illness
2019 ATY Challenge - A book with a (mostly) black cover
Dislikes:
~The order of the essays was linear until the end until she went back and forth through her adolescence. Through her bat mitzvah, and back again to present time.
~the first essay had me putting the audiobook down for a week and picking it back up. the main issue I had with it was that she traced her pattern of behavior to her birth, which she could not have possibly remembered and took me out of the story.
Likes:
~Basically everything else.
~It feels like she did a fourth step inventory for her rehab and published it, which takes a lot of guts. It also seems like she wanted to make the book funny and it wasn't, which was actually quite redeeming because it fits into the misnomer that everything in life is hunky-dory. Not quite sure if that's what she wanted, but that's what came up for me.
~Talking about her husband with a chronic illness was really jarring but in a good way. it wasn't a plot point, it was real and brought up the questions that a lot of people who choose to spend their life with a chronic illness sufferer have. The resentment, the fear, the feeling that maybe they weren't good enough because "that" was all they could get.
Overall/ Final Thoughts:
Some of the things she said will be a little jarring but I think that's the point. This book took me out of my comfort zone and asked me to look inside myself. And for that I am thankful.
2019 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge - Your favorite prompt from a past POPSUGAR Reading challenge : 2018 : a book about mental illness
2019 ATY Challenge - A book with a (mostly) black cover
sarsarsarsarsar's review against another edition
5.0
This was such a fun read and the realness of her comedy was delightful
erinastin's review against another edition
3.0
Um, okay. My reactions to this collection were all over the place. Part of what draws me to Melissa Broder’s writing is its unabashed lewdness. However, I realized I enjoyed it more when it was a fictional character talking, rather than Melissa Broder speaking about her own experiences. There comes a point when writing stops being “brave” and starts becoming “tmi.” That being said, I also found myself tearing up at certain essays and feeling like she had crawled inside my brain and bared my darkest thoughts through her words. And THAT makes for a good personal essay. If you have enjoyed the outlandish vulgarity of Broder’s fiction writing, I say give this one a shot. But if you throw up, I warned you in advance :)
rainbowfishy's review against another edition
4.0
multiple essays covering fear of death? extremely relatable. vomit fetish essay? i’ve never related to anything less