Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma by Stephanie Foo

8 reviews

bambooboy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, and Abandonment

Moderate: Cursing, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, War, and Classism

Minor: Hate crime, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

crystalisreading's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

Transformative book,  for both the author,  and any reader open to what she is telling us. Highly likely to be triggering to anyone with cptsd. I had to set it down and take a break multiple  times. But I also learned so much,  about myself and about others.  the audio version is well-done too. Foo works in radio and podcasts, and you can tell.  Hugest recommendation! just please check content warnings first.

Thank you to #NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an advance copy of #WhatMyBonesKnow by Stephanie Foo. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Moderate: Ableism

Minor: Chronic illness, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Colonisation, and War

elaine707's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

An excellent memoir that delves into C-PTSD like I have never seen before. As an Asian American grappling with trauma and a new diagnosis, Foo encapsulates the healing process. She made me feel validated in feelings I have long forgotten and buried while also reminding each of us that to be loved is because of who we are, not in spite of it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Police brutality

faithaforman's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

Powerful and moving, the author's delving into her own trauma responses were eye-opening. Her exploration of self and path to self-love and self-acceptance gave me hope.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Violence, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Cancer, Cursing, Racism, Police brutality, and Classism

gabhopesreads's review against another edition

5.0

This is the best memoir I've ever read. It's so well-written, phenomenal on audio and one of my favorites this year so far. I loved the narration, plus the included audios of her therapy sessions. I loved how she went into details about history, hers and forgotten history, erased history. I loved how it felt like I was put under a microscope and dissected, but in actuality she was explaining her C-PTSD. At the end, the message of hope mirrored my own that I was lucky enough to find years ago. I wish I'd read this sooner, when I'd been drowning in my diagnosis. But the thing with C-PTSD is it's always there, so this will be helpful to read at any point in my life. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

clarabooksit's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.75

I’m not good at reviewing books that wow me, but this blew me away. I love a book that both moves me and educates me, and this did both in spades.

Foo narrates her journey toward self-discovery and well-being with incredible candor and immersive storytelling. Her writing feels effortless and inclusive: it’s not just her story but an invitation to the reader to join her on her journey.

I loved it. Highly, highly recommend. A favorite of the year, for sure.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Police brutality, Medical trauma, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Death and War

katharina90's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

I'm always on the lookout for books about C-PTSD to foster a deeper understanding of my own complex trauma. 

Foo writes about this topic in a very approachable way, blending memoir and journalism. At times it's a painful read but less triggering than I expected. What I found most interesting was her work with Dr. Jacob Ham. 

I didn't love that the author sometimes presents subjective statements and experiences as universally true. I also strongly disagree with her generalization that Psychologists are more knowledgeable than LCSWs. 

"We're gonna keep practicing curiosity and exploration rather than judgment, and it's through that practice that you'll start to be nicer to yourself."-Dr. Jacob Ham 

"This was Dr. Ham’s whole theory: that because of its repetitive nature, complex trauma is fundamentally relational trauma. In other words, this is trauma caused by bad relationships with other people—people who were supposed to be caring and trustworthy and instead were hurtful. That meant future relationships with anybody would be harder for people with complex trauma because they were wired to believe that other people could not be trusted. The only way you could heal from relational trauma, he figured, was through practicing that relational dance with other people. Not just reading self-help books or meditating alone. We had to go out and practice maintaining relationships in order to reinforce our shattered belief that the world could be a safe place."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Abandonment

Moderate: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Gaslighting

Minor: Hate crime and Police brutality

zombiezami's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Cancer, Child death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Excrement, Kidnapping, Murder, and War