Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

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

16 reviews

jazzybelle17's review against another edition

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Racism, Violence, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Genocide

baileeliz_'s review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

i don’t rate memoirs typically so i won’t give a star rating, but this is possibly the most important book i’ve read on CPTSD and highly encourage anyone who has this diagnosis to read it if they are able. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Racism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

rubellaface's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Quick caveat: I do not have C-PTSD. I am a second-generation Filipino American who grew up to have high-functioning anxiety & depression due to tiger parenting, growing up Asian American, and being forced to become an alpha daughter. 

Reading this book triggered me and had me questioning my reality and how I’ve often laughed-off or disassociated my personal trauma in order to succeed in life (and therefore be perceived as being okay). Her coping mechanisms were/are my coping mechanisms, and funnily enough, I didn’t even realize they were coping mechanisms. So as Stephanie went down the rabbit hole of finding out what her bones know and how to fix it, I was right beside her– transfixed and checking my own bones for fissures and trauma from similar situations in my family life. 

Cause Stephanie Foo does not pull her punches when recounting her childhood. Every abusive situation is described in a way that is almost clinical and ripe for analyzing. Her book is basically an emotional autopsy of her trauma, and the way she uses her journalism background to thoroughly vet every single c-ptsd-related therapy is both thrilling and heartbreaking. As a reader, you want Stephanie to find a therapy that works for her and that can “cure” her, and I just wanted to hug her each time a practice or therapist failed her. 

Needless to say, I was emotionally invested in Stephanie’s book. I cried towards the end as she found stable ground and the tools to fight for her peace of mind. And I cried again at the similarities in how we approached our weddings and wedding guests. Her healing journey echoed and reaffirmed my own, and I will recommend this book to all my AAPI friends who I know have gone through sh*t and are trying their best.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Addiction, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Violence

Moderate: Ableism, Pandemic/Epidemic, Racism, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Misogyny, Sexism, and Classism

Very triggering. Sometimes in a good way.

mangomerle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Classism, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Toxic friendship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Vomit, Toxic relationship, and Suicidal thoughts

jshapiro12's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Grief, Racism, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Eating disorder, Alcoholism, Bullying, Addiction, Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Body shaming, and Panic attacks/disorders

ruthmartinartist's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Addiction, Racial slurs, Violence, Pandemic/Epidemic, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Abandonment, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Torture, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, and Body shaming

melodyseestrees's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Self harm, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gaslighting, Eating disorder, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Car accident, and Addiction

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

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

Minor: Death and War

antistic's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

The start of the book where she describes the trauma she went through growing up was difficult for me to get through. But I'm glad I did because reading her journey through her trauma and healing was something I absolutely needed at this time. The book touches on trauma, mostly parental abuse but also touches on generational, racial, and workplace trauma. I like how honest she is on what healing feels like — from the difficulties of finding a good therapist, to trying all kinds of different therapies (some of which work for her and some which don't), to including her therapy transcripts within the book. It makes it feel tangible and real, and she wonderfully weaves in some of the current science and theory about trauma to to make a book that feels both personal and broad. I leave the book feeling glad that her life is looking up and hopeful for my own.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Child abuse, and Abandonment

Minor: Alcoholism, Colonisation, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, and Rape

careinthelibrary's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

4.0

This was really good. It struck me how candid Stephanie was being about her childhood traumas, how those experiences affected her and as a result rippled down to all of Foo's relationships and aspirations.
The descriptions of the childhood abuse was palpable, sickening, and incredibly sad. Major content warnings for these scenes, please take care while reading.

The relationships with her parents in her adulthood was also fascinating. How she manages to maintain some contact with her father despite how much he hurt her. We do what we must to find mental and physical safety but how much we can crave love from our parents even if we fear them. It's a constant balancing act and so emotionally exhausting.

I don't know very much about psychiatry and psychology so this aspect of the memoir was a bit over my head but I still followed along. She made it pretty easy for non-experts to understand the different kinds of treatment she sought. This memoir is so sad, reading about Foo encountering so many hurdles and struggling to find the light at the end of the tunnel. Knowing that she was well enough to write this memoir, reflecting on her life does little to lessen the second-hand blow of her life story to the reader. It's heavy heavy heavy.

I wish her the best in continuing to heal and understand herself before and after the trauma.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Bullying, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Cursing, Grief, Self harm, Hate crime, Ableism, Alcohol, Suicide attempt, and Alcoholism

Minor: Body shaming, War, Incest, and Infertility

negative self-talk, bad therapy experiences, victim blaming.