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hildur1989 's review for:
Down the Drain
by Julia Fox
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Down the Drain is a memoir that reads more like a novel, with scenes so shocking and larger than life, I often had to remind myself it was an autobiography and not a novel. Julia's life has been wild, chaotic, and often self-destructive, and I appreciate her unapologetic honesty in laying it all out.
While her raw honesty is compelling, I agree with reviewers who felt the book suffered from being written entirely in the present tense. There is absolutely no reflection in this book, which is a missed opportunity. I wanted to know how Julia feels about all of this today. For comparison, Paris Hilton’s memoir (which I highly recommend!) handled this well. She reflects on her ADHD diagnosis later in life, using that knowledge to reframe her past, taking ownership of her actions while also holding adults in her life accountable. This level of reflection is absent from Julia’s book.
Julia briefly mentions a borderline personality disorder diagnosis, which she got at a young age, but it's never brought up again. Was it a misdiagnosis? Does she still relate to that label? We have no idea. The omission feels like a missed opportunity. I also really wish there had been photos.
I picked up this memoir because I genuinely admire Julia as a person, especially in recent years. I’ve come to know her as a mother, a feminist, and a real girl's girl. The Julia I’ve seen is sharp, self-aware, and often uplifting to other women, and that’s the version of her I really like. However, because this book narrates her life from when she was making reckless and sometimes selfish choices, while never pausing to reflect on them, it actually chipped away at my perception of her. I'm sure she’s grown and changed a lot, but I would have loved to hear more about how. While the memoir is gripping, I did crave reflection and a deeper sense of who Julia is today.
While her raw honesty is compelling, I agree with reviewers who felt the book suffered from being written entirely in the present tense. There is absolutely no reflection in this book, which is a missed opportunity. I wanted to know how Julia feels about all of this today. For comparison, Paris Hilton’s memoir (which I highly recommend!) handled this well. She reflects on her ADHD diagnosis later in life, using that knowledge to reframe her past, taking ownership of her actions while also holding adults in her life accountable. This level of reflection is absent from Julia’s book.
Julia briefly mentions a borderline personality disorder diagnosis, which she got at a young age, but it's never brought up again. Was it a misdiagnosis? Does she still relate to that label? We have no idea. The omission feels like a missed opportunity. I also really wish there had been photos.
I picked up this memoir because I genuinely admire Julia as a person, especially in recent years. I’ve come to know her as a mother, a feminist, and a real girl's girl. The Julia I’ve seen is sharp, self-aware, and often uplifting to other women, and that’s the version of her I really like. However, because this book narrates her life from when she was making reckless and sometimes selfish choices, while never pausing to reflect on them, it actually chipped away at my perception of her. I'm sure she’s grown and changed a lot, but I would have loved to hear more about how. While the memoir is gripping, I did crave reflection and a deeper sense of who Julia is today.