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melissa_cosgrove's review against another edition
5.0
This book is heavy, for sure. But there’s hope here too. The language is rich and raw and unique, his voice is direct and honest, and there’s a rhythm and cohesiveness to the whole experience.
I don’t think I’ve ever read a memoir written in second person before, and I’m blown away by how well it worked here. It was a really creative, effective way to portray such a complicated maternal relationship.
As someone who also has a very complicated relationship with my mother, I was in awe of his capacity for compassion and empathy, while staying true to himself, his trauma, his very justified anger and pain. It’s a delicate balance I have yet to achieve in my own writing. I underlined so many quotes in this book, and I know I’ll be reading it again.
Really really excited to see him speak in Buffalo next week. Really really excited to read the rest of his work.
This book is powerful and abundant and I was hanging on every word.
Graphic: Addiction, Eating disorder, Violence, and Racism
Moderate: Rape
alexisgarcia's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Body shaming, Child abuse, Mental illness, Cursing, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Racism, Bullying, Sexual content, Grief, and Addiction
rlgreen91's review against another edition
4.5
But as I said, this was necessary. The political is personal and the personal is political. The political and policy decisions we make has repercussions years, decades, centuries later. So much of the pain we deal with as a society is the consequences of deliberate political and policy decisions made by forebearers and ancestors. So much of the pain we deal with in our personal lives are the consequences of decisions made in response to those political and policy decisions. Simultaneously, we are the forebearers and ancestors making the political and policy decisions and decisions in response to that that will cause pain for others in the future. It all becomes this overwhelming, never-ending maze of hurt in many ways.
How do we start to heal on a personal and societal level? Hell, how do we just get it to stop hurting, at least? I agree with Laymon that that requires a level of honesty and vulnerability that many of us, myself included, struggle to engage with or refuse to contemplate.
This was a hard but necessary read - a memoir I will surely revisit but at least a good number of years from now. Maybe then I'll have a better idea of how to answer my questions. Until then - basking in Black abundance. 4.5 stars.
Graphic: Eating disorder, Addiction, Child abuse, and Racism
Moderate: Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual violence
mattyvreads's review against another edition
5.0
It is a courageous exploration of Layson’s personal navigation through addiction, discrimination, physical and emotional abuse, eating disorders, mental health, grief — all underscored and interwoven with the racial and gendered perspective of his lived experience.
The book is incredibly accessible, offering not just a baseline understanding of issues on racism and feminism, but through personal stories, working the reader up to examples of intersectional discrimination, examples of misogynior, and examples of a complex relationship with the human body. He offers critique of the elitism and inherent racism of major universities.
But, somehow, the book is not “preachy” whatsoever. (And even if it was, I’d still be here for the ride.) It’s tender, it’s emotional, it’s personal in a way that says: “this is my experience. This was my friend’s experience. This was my mom’s experience.” It’s incontestably honest and indefatigably moving.
I can’t stop thinking about this book.
Graphic: Racial slurs, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Child abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Fatphobia, and Racism
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Hate crime, and Rape
Minor: Misogyny
bootsmom3's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Classism, Cursing, Racism, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Fatphobia, Sexual violence, Violence, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Infidelity, and Medical content
Minor: Dementia
michelle_my_belle's review against another edition
Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Incest, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
michellektong's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Murder, Addiction, Child abuse, Rape, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Body shaming, Racial slurs, Self harm, Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Infidelity, Grief, Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Violence, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, and Eating disorder
rubyc's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Rape
savvylit's review against another edition
5.0
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.
Graphic: Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Fatphobia, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Racism, Body shaming, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Rape, and Racial slurs
reneereads's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault