Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Tung by Kiese Laymon

35 reviews

savvylit's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Every now and then, a title truly sums up a book's contents. This is one of the heaviest memoirs I have ever read. Laymon writes with a searing honesty that spares no detail, revealing all of his own flaws and traumatic experiences. Beyond Laymon's unparalleled honesty, this book is also a beautiful tribute to the oft-rocky yet incredibly close relationship that he has with his mother. Despite their difficulties, Laymon's love and gratitude for his mother and her teachings is incredibly apparent throughout Heavy.

Heavy is a beautiful and brutal book that deftly covers so much: life, violence, hunger, poverty, unconditional love, self-destructive behavior, second chances, and - most of all - Black abundance.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol

micaelacccc's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Racism

Minor: Incest

whatadutchgirlreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction and Eating disorder

Moderate: Racism and Sexual harassment

Minor: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

clover6872's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Ableism, Biphobia, Death, Sexual assault, Dementia, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism

rosaelise's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, and Racism

Minor: Sexual assault and Police brutality

lowbrowhighart's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Dysphoria

Minor: Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Transphobia, Vomit, Dementia, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Pregnancy

shoshthemost's review against another edition

informative inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, and Gaslighting

coderedkira's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

4.75

The audiobook was excellent, having Laymon read it brought the raw emotions forward and made it incredibly engaging.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, and Sexual assault

jayisreading's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

4.5

This is a difficult but beautifully written memoir that’s addressed to Laymon’s mother, creating an admittedly unsettling intimacy by writing in the second person perspective, which really highlights the volatile relationship of the author and his mother. Laymon has a complex love for his mother that will hurt as he shares the abuse and praise that he received from a fixed figure in his life. He writes about being a heavy Black man, exploring a bit more on what “heavy” might mean. He poetically writes about the heaviness of the literal body, of masculinity, of Blackness, of language, of abuse, of complex love. There’s an incredible rhythm in the way he writes that evokes such power in his words.

Being a queer PhD student of color in the academy, I was especially taken to the section that focused on Laymon’s experiences at Vassar College. The things he poignantly wrote aren’t secrets by any means, but the way he laid out the issues that those from marginalized groups face really struck me. It especially gave me more insight on how Black men are treated in such a toxic environment. The sheer amount of emotional labor Laymon took on while in the academy needs to be highlighted. The way he was treated on campus as a Black man needs to be highlighted. The way tenure was handled needs to be highlighted. This book was written in 2018, yet, the issues still persist nearly half a decade later.

I really appreciate the brutal honesty and reflective nature of this memoir, and I can only imagine how difficult it must have been to write this. This book is well worth your time for the way he explores difficult matters from his personal life in addition to nuanced criticism of US society. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Racism, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Body shaming, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Police brutality

evagomoore's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Dysphoria