Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir by Akwaeke Emezi

36 reviews

egmamaril's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Medical content

wholeottabooks's review

emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

I don’t think I’ve ever read a more vulnerable memoir than this. Emezi is one of my favorite authors and I don’t think anyone elses writing can even begin to compare. Emezi is out of this world and beyond our time. They discuss non binary non human forms of life, the dedication and sacrifice it takes to reach your dreams, the solitude upon reaching them, and so much more. I wanted to hold Akwaeke and tell them how much they mean to me.. how much their mind, heart, and soul, and words speak to me… This memoir has many valuable life lessons and I think it’s one that’s meant to be savored, cherished like a sacred text, and studied for reflections. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Sexual assault

janeanger's review

challenging dark emotional reflective fast-paced

4.0

This is a complicated, beautiful book. Written as a series of letters to a variety of recipients, real, imagined, and culturally significant, there's something super intimate and challenging about each of them. I would probably give it a 4.5, but there were some parts that made me want to crawl out of my skin -- kind of in a good way, but also in a horrible way. So Imma keep that .5 in my own heart. That said, Emezi is beyond talented with words. I'm going to keep reading them!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Cannibalism, and Suicidal thoughts

starrysteph's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring slow-paced

4.5

Beautiful. Deeply poetic, deeply vulnerable, and deeply illuminating. 

Having already read most of Emezi's work, this memoir gave me a lot of clarity around the concepts explored in their books (specifically Freshwater). 

CW: suicide attempt, suicidal thoughts, transphobia, rape, sexual assault, mental illness, medical content, dysphoria, grief, infidelity, toxic relationship, chronic illness, self harm

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Transphobia, Infidelity, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Sexual violence, Rape, Mental illness, Medical content, Grief, and Dysphoria

Minor: Car accident and Cannibalism

whatellisreadnext's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

A reread via audiobook, loved it even more the second time around.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide and Rape

imrereads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

4.5

I don't know where to begin with such a powerful memoir. Author memoirs are one of my favourite types of books, but I don't think I've ever read a memoir quite like this. It felt groundbreaking. Word view shifting. Oh so intimate. I won't ever forget this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, Cannibalism, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Gore

reneethebookbird's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Self harm

solenodon's review against another edition

challenging emotional slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Dysphoria, Medical content, Medical trauma, Homophobia, and Infidelity

Minor: Sexual content

elthechameleon's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

4.5

I listened to this book slowly, as each word seemed savored and carefully chosen. I loved the author acting as narrator. 

It is a bit misleading to speak of this as a transgender or non binary book as this author’s identity revolves around being an obanje grappling with embodiment, a concept not in line with western ideas of identity or queerness. 

This book is powerful. Reflective. The author doesn’t care if you like it, and that makes this book more of a gift. 

I loved their plant imagery, particularly the pothos chapter and the final two chapters. Grateful to hear this language. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

hailskp's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

4.5

Breathtaking! A book everyone should read. It’s a beautiful, evocative, tense and wild expression of embodiment, what it means to be alive, and in a liminal space. I was in awe and uncomfortable and confronted with my own body. This is a classic which I know is not the authors intention, instead it is to find the power of spirit, to accept our death, our life and be in our truest essence. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Death, and Suicide