Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair

85 reviews

honeyvoiced's review against another edition

medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cancer, Infidelity, Racial slurs, and Colonisation

mnboyer's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

At its core, this memoir is Safiya Sinclair (Jamaican poet) reliving the trauma of her past -- her father was a serious, meticulous Rastafarian and was absolutely *horrible* to his family. Women and young girls were seen as 'impure' and couldn't make any of their own choices. Sinclair finds her passion, poetry, but her father doesn't support her. Now, her mother does -- she's a strong woman who, like many, has issues getting out from under the control of her husband. But, the entire book, you're rooting for these women to free themselves.

Wonderful prose, a really interesting memoir where you do learn a ton about Rastafarian culture and belief systems (I had no idea!), and a great ending where there is closure... you get to learn about Safiya Sinclair's background, which helps you to understand her poetry on a deeper level.

Now, I do wish she'd leave ASU and come down to UA, but I suppose I can just keep hoping for that! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Sexual harassment

deen734's review against another edition

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racism, Slavery, and Grief

Minor: Cancer, Infertility, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

sandiet's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Self harm

limonadia's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment

creativerunnings's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Classism

Minor: Cancer

j_nell's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

jodiesbookishposts's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts

larakatharina's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Self harm

shansometimes's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

I love a good memoir, and this one is excellent. From the first page, I was wowed by how beautiful the writing was without being overly flowery. I didn't know anything about the author, Safiya Sinclair, going into this, but when it was revealed later in the book that she's a poet, I thought, "Ohhhhh! That explains it." The prose is seriously stunning.

Sinclair's memoir is about growing up in Jamaica under her strict Rastafarian father's thumb. The Rastafari religion is one we rarely see books about, and Sinclair described her life under its rigorous rules with candor and nuance. Her locs, her sexuality and "purity," her food, her clothing (no pants), her access to family and friends outside the Rasta community...all under the control of her father. The reader watches as the author's life unfolds and her father becomes increasingly volatile, bitter, and abusive.

Despite all of that, Sinclair ultimately inspected her father's actions through a lens of humanity and grace without excusing his mistreatment of her, her siblings, and her mother. And if I get started on the incredible way she portrayed her mother as the strikingly strong overcomer she surely is, I'd be here all night. It's getting to the point in this review where I realize the book was far better than I can describe, so I'll just recommend it. If you're into memoirs, religion/cult analysis, coming-of-age stories, and reading about Black women making something out of nothing, read this.

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Content Warnings

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

Minor: Sexual assault