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A review by sheriffrockyraccoon
Men Have Called Her Crazy by Anna Marie Tendler
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
2.5
Anna Marie Tendler’s memoir is extremely honest in her feelings and validated a lot of dark emotions I know myself and other women have experienced.
While I did love certain parts of this book, overall I felt the pacing and writing to be a bit lacking. Tendler is by no means a professional writer so that is not to be expected, but I still found the story to lack a narrative that truly has a beginning, middle, and end. I also feel that Tendler’s healing is still very much in progress, with little changing in her ideologies and behaviors beyond her telling the reader in the last few pages that she is doing better. Frankly, with how she wrote about her size and eating disorder alongside her hatred of men, I find this hard to believe. It was frustrating at times, to see her trying to improve herself while remaining adamant in other areas. I strongly caution anyone reading this book to be aware of her rather blasé approach to mental health. It is not glamorized, but it is not rejected either.
I think if this book had been written 10 years later, it may have allowed Tendler to reflect more and offer a stronger narrative. I also think her celebrity status- and connection to another celebrity- allowed for certain content to be overlooked in favor of having a book with a famous name on it instead. Which is unfortunate.
While I did love certain parts of this book, overall I felt the pacing and writing to be a bit lacking. Tendler is by no means a professional writer so that is not to be expected, but I still found the story to lack a narrative that truly has a beginning, middle, and end. I also feel that Tendler’s healing is still very much in progress, with little changing in her ideologies and behaviors beyond her telling the reader in the last few pages that she is doing better. Frankly, with how she wrote about her size and eating disorder alongside her hatred of men, I find this hard to believe. It was frustrating at times, to see her trying to improve herself while remaining adamant in other areas. I strongly caution anyone reading this book to be aware of her rather blasé approach to mental health. It is not glamorized, but it is not rejected either.
I think if this book had been written 10 years later, it may have allowed Tendler to reflect more and offer a stronger narrative. I also think her celebrity status- and connection to another celebrity- allowed for certain content to be overlooked in favor of having a book with a famous name on it instead. Which is unfortunate.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Cursing, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic
I find that these topics are not entirely handled well and a reader should proceed with EXTREME caution before reading.