Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Just as I Am by Cicely Tyson

10 reviews

loveclairebearx's review

emotional slow-paced

3.75

Written in a conversational tone often addressing the reader as “child”, this felt like the book equivalent of sitting down to hear grandma share her story - and Cicely sure has a lot of great stories to share.

I appreciated that early on, she set the tone that she is writing this memoir from her 90+ year old perspective with all the hindsight and wisdom that comes from that, dropping in history and life lesson anecdotes along the way. There were many turns of phrase that wowed me and fourth-wall breaking quips (“let me tell you”, “do you hear me?”) that I loved.

I most enjoyed reading about her upbringing which adequately informed my understanding of her choices as an adult. She plants a lot of seeds and foreshadows things to come throughout in a satisfying way. 

It’s without question that Cicely is a talent who has broken barriers and deserves memorialized in the halls of history, however, I found myself feeling disconcerted over her blatant self-righteousness. This seemed to escalate with the trajectory of her success which made the second half of the book a challenge as I grew to feel detached from her. For this, I subtracted part of a star. 

I also think this memoir could have easily been shortened by 50-100 pages without sacrificing any key takeaways from her life, so I removed one full star for the length.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction and Sexual assault

readingwithcoffee's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual harassment, Racism, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Child abuse, and Infidelity

crazybookishcool's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Addiction

Minor: Death, Grief, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Infidelity

infamouskai's review

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

Growing up, Cicely Tyson was a household name, but in reading this book, I realized I knew very little about the woman behind Hollywood legend. In her memoir, she provides an insightful and inspiring recollection of her life, loves and career. I found her words to be beautiful, honest and never over-written. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use and Drug abuse

Minor: Sexual assault

mimccub's review

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Sexual assault

Minor: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Physical abuse

railee's review

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

What a remarkable woman and wonderful life. Beautifully written, full of Ms, Tyson’s spirit on every page. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse

Minor: Sexual assault

alyssamakesart's review

hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Alcoholism, and Drug abuse

zombiezami's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring medium-paced

4.0

Cicely Tyson is someone who my mother and grandmother both admired a lot. I didn't know much about her. My main connection to her was watching her on How to Get Away with Murder. I really enjoyed hearing about Tyson's career, outlook, and overall life in this book. I had no idea she was in a relationship with Miles Davis (because I also don't know much about his personal life), and I was really amazed and saddened that someone as talented and important as she was believed it was her job to fix his life. I also thought it was my job to fix a boyfriend's life when I was in high school. It's amazing how pervasive that messaging is for women. 

Although I liked the book a lot overall, there was a lot of respectability politics throughout, which I suppose isn't surprising for someone of Tyson's generation. For example, it struck me as very odd that she railed so hard against Blaxploitation films for their stereotypical depictions of Black folks, while at the same time being close friends with Tyler Perry and championing his work. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Child abuse, Incest, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Slavery, and Vomit

Minor: Blood, Cancer, Genocide, Stalking, and Biphobia

Lynching, serophobia

deepcurvesahead's review

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

This book was SPECTACULAR. I flew through it because the writing is great and the subject is a legend. Rest In Peace, Cicely Tyson. You were a true inspiration, a national treasure, a beacon of light. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, and Sexual assault

sjanke2's review

inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

Gripping from beginning to end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault

Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use