A review by purplepierogi
Acne: A Memoir by Laura Chinn

5.0

what a fantastic, funny, tragic-but-laugh-through-the-pain memoir. Laura Chinn writes not just of crippling cystic acne (relatable) but more so the trauma of her parents’ divorce, zig zagging coast to coast trying to navigate life without real parental figures, her brother’s terminal brain cancer, drug-addled friends and questionable youth escapades (not relatable at all but wild and intimate and entertaining). this kind of memoir could definitely fall into the dark humor puff pity piece, but Chinn describes it all with a really biting humor that acknowledges she was going through a lot, but also maybe also was an asshole at times, just surviving. What can I say, I laughed, I cried, I bookmarked like crazy bc the little quips cut right to the emotional core of healing from trauma, I’m a fan.

thank you Hatchette Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review