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dejeneratereads's review against another edition
Will return to this. Was reading a library copy and decided I wanted to buy my own for annotation purposes.
belwood303's review against another edition
2.0
I do enjoy Strayed's writing style and this book was interesting to read but I gave up after awhile. Mostly I don't feel advice column translates well to book length material even when it is compelling writing. perhaps if I was following this column in more real time I would have read more.
libraryaddict's review against another edition
I appreciate the effort the author put into each letter response, and I think this compilation of letters and responses is great. A lot of these might even be relevant to situations current readers face. It just got a bit repetitive and so I put it down in favor of other books on my TBR list.
julziez's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
trnolan's review against another edition
4.0
Always a fun re-read and I take something new away every time. I didn't connect with as large a portion of the essays as I have in the past. As I get older I find myself diverging more from Strayed's world view and also less interested in some of the messy problems that Strayed's readers bring to her. And this book plays a bit too much into the struggling creative myth for my tastes. But Strayed has the ability to evoke so much emotion and share herself fully. I cried, I laughed and I learned something new. Happy that this book has a permanent place on my shelf.
bry_dilla's review against another edition
4.0
I feel lighter from this book. I enjoyed every chapter and could find something relatable even in those letter that seemed unrelatable to me.
kobookshelf's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Beautiful. Inspiring. Though provoking. Literally felt every emotion reading this. I’m glad I took my time with it. There were a couple stories and letters of advice that really stuck with me. Others I thought the advice was bad or she used too much of her own trauma in the response. But I guess that’s the point isn’t it? There is no “right” way to do life.
teresa81186's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
savvystory's review against another edition
4.0
I first read this book in my 20s because my big sister sent it to me. ❤️ It was my introduction to boundaries and the idea that I could live my life for me. It was my guiding light out of a bad relationship and in a lot of ways to the person I am now.
Rereading it now as a 32 year old, it’s helpful to be reminded of Sugar’s main point: only you can make the life you want for yourself, and you need to go for it. She’s like a compassionate big sister encouraging you to attend the party (of life).
But also now that I’m a mental health professional, her use of her personal trauma in her responses has me feeling queasy. On one hand I think her honesty and vulnerability helps drive her points home and hopefully energize people. On the other hand it feels icky to leverage stories of self harm and childhood sexual abuse so graphically. She doesn’t know the people she’s responding to and is only going off their letter. I can only read so much in one setting because her answers can be so intense.
I think she does a good job of acknowledging the limits of her advice. And she seems to pick the letters she feels confident she can respond to based on her experience. She also focuses on letters in which the person seems to be asking permission for the thing they want, and she reflects that back. She is compassionate, direct and fair.
Rereading it now as a 32 year old, it’s helpful to be reminded of Sugar’s main point: only you can make the life you want for yourself, and you need to go for it. She’s like a compassionate big sister encouraging you to attend the party (of life).
But also now that I’m a mental health professional, her use of her personal trauma in her responses has me feeling queasy. On one hand I think her honesty and vulnerability helps drive her points home and hopefully energize people. On the other hand it feels icky to leverage stories of self harm and childhood sexual abuse so graphically. She doesn’t know the people she’s responding to and is only going off their letter. I can only read so much in one setting because her answers can be so intense.
I think she does a good job of acknowledging the limits of her advice. And she seems to pick the letters she feels confident she can respond to based on her experience. She also focuses on letters in which the person seems to be asking permission for the thing they want, and she reflects that back. She is compassionate, direct and fair.