Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

Schitterende kleine dingen: adviezen over liefde en leven van iemand die bijna alles al heeft meegemaakt by Cheryl Strayed

4 reviews

waytoomanybooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

Love love love this book. It’s cliche, but it really did make me both laugh and cry. This memoir came to me at exactly the right time and place in my life. I only ever hold on to books I rate five stars, and this one has earned its place. Sugar/Cheryl kindly, lovingly, and patiently gives advice, which stems from stories from her own personal life. She is as vulnerable with her readers as her readers are with her. It feels like I’m reading a conversation between two friends.

There are two quotes towards the end of the memoir that I feel capture the essence of the advice Sugar/Cheryl gives:

“It was a becoming that I would not have dreamed was mine” (323)

“Your life will be a great and continous unfolding” (351).

I highly recommend this book. And if you like this one, then you will also love How to be a Person in the World by Heather Havrilesky/Ask Polly.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Grief

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Misogyny, Drug abuse, Medical trauma, Transphobia, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Cursing, Pregnancy, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Sexism, Violence, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Abandonment, Drug use, Eating disorder, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Dysphoria, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Abortion, Chronic illness, Classism, Fatphobia, Medical content, and Suicide

koplomps's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Incest, and Sexual content

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Car accident, Child death, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Cancer, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Toxic friendship, Abortion, Bullying, Grief, Addiction, Abandonment, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Infertility

sophiegrubben's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective

5.0

life-affirming 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Incest

Moderate: Abortion, Body shaming, Cancer, Death of parent, and Child abuse

paigieodo's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.75

The reading sample for this book opens with a story from the author's life that made me flinch and stop reading. I'm not usually a fan of books that lay bare the grotesque and violent nature of the world with such grim language; I typically prefer gentler allusions to horrifying truths and then a more nuanced uncovering of their evils. But this year, I came across a handful of novels and stories that changed my mind slightly on this matter. Obasan by Joy Kogawa, Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi — many novels I read this year allowed me to explore the grossness of humanity without losing perspective on how beautiful it is, as well.

So I pressed on with Tiny Beautiful Things.

And it was the right decision. Through Sugar, Cheryl Strayed offers the most honest and kind-hearted advice rooted in a deep love for her fellow humans. I consider myself to be very reflective, very intelligent, very aware of myself and how to operate as a good person in this world. I didn't think I would learn much from this collection. But I did. It filled me. It brought me the feeling that all of us, even those who feel sickeningly wrong so much of the time, will be okay if we try.

Strayed is unafraid to explore the awful and the absurd. But more than that, she is unafraid to try to find wonder and possibility in all of it. It is hopeful. It is terrifying. It is brimming with love. And it is absolutely worth reading, no matter who you are.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia and Sexual assault

Moderate: Addiction, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Death, and Child abuse

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, and Sexual content