Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Being Lolita: A Memoir by Alisson Wood

52 reviews

crawforl's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Cursing, Rape, Vomit, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Pregnancy

Minor: Abortion and Self harm

laurenvoice's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0

Being Lolita: a memoir is brave, raw and emotional.

Giving this memoir anything less than five stars would be an insult. Alisson Wood bared her heart and soul in telling her story of power and abuse. Wood beautifully intertwined her story with Nabokov's story Lolita.

Part i was about grooming and emotional manipulation.

Part ii was about emotional and physical abuse.

Part iii was about discovering the truth, breaking the cycles and patterns of being in abusive relationships, and relearning what love is. Part iii spoke about the language used in stories to manipulate the reader, like in Lolita.

In this memoir, Wood made reference to Disney princesses: Ariel, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty; all these girls, portrayed as young and vulnerable, needing a "grown man", their prince, to save them. There were references to Alice in Alice in Wonderland, who was a child, small and vulnerable. And there were references to Lolita, Dolores Haze, a young girl, a child abused by an adult man, described as the seductress, as the one with all the power. When in fact, it was Humbert with all the power. Just like Alisson, she never had the power in her story; she was vulnerable and preyed upon; the teacher held all the power, and he used language and stories to manipulate her.

Being Lolita: a memoir is an emotional but empowering read. To understand the references made within this book, I would recommend reading Lolita by Nabokov. However, Wood does a spectacular job of speaking about the use of language used by Nabokov to manipulate the reader. Being Lolita: a memoir is an essential read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness

Minor: Self harm

ivanaestaba's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

read my dark vanessa prior to this and they definitely go hand in hand with each other, obviously check trigger warnings but still i would definitely recommend. i am so moved by this book, alisson wood has such a way with words! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Rape

Minor: Self harm

librarymouse's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-paced

5.0

Alisson Wood's accounts of her youth and struggles with mental health are incredibly tangible and relatable. The way she writes, weaving the narrative of how she was told to perceive her being groomed by her teacher, with the reality of the situation and the storyline in the novel Lolita make for very engaging storytelling without trivializing the memories and issues she explores. To use Lolita as a lense, framed as a love story, through which to view their relationship and then recommend Alisson go to school for English implies that Nick Norris either profoundly stupid or incredibly vain.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Vomit, Body shaming, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexism

iinasomnia's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, Vomit, Alcohol, Blood, Sexism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Misogyny

thebookpaiges's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Pregnancy, Self harm, and Death

buxomfloozy's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

5.0

The author really opens up and allows us to see and feel her trauma alongside her.  She has a way of writing that brings you into her world. It is absolutely a book I recommend. Read and learn from Alisson Wood. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

frannysal's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Rape, and Adult/minor relationship

bookwormfr_t0's review against another edition

challenging dark sad fast-paced

5.0

Beautiful written, painfully sad. Susan Choi wrote the blurb on the front "Being Lolita is an act of redemption".  I couldn't agree more.  Her story was written for her by the teacher, and she re-wrote it in truth.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, and Sexual assault

bookswithgeorgia's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Self harm, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Gaslighting, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, and Emotional abuse