Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Carry by Toni Jensen

17 reviews

melodys_library's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Colonisation

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Mental illness, and Physical abuse

Minor: Dementia, Trafficking, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

snowiceblackfruit77's review against another edition

dark emotional informative medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Trafficking, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

cuddlygryphon's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Dementia, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, and Sexual harassment

callielseaman's review against another edition

dark informative reflective sad slow-paced

2.5

 really liked so much about this book: relevant political topics, indigenous representation, heart wrenching stories about what it’s like to live in America today. What I struggled with was the structure. There was enough information and story here to have been a beautiful chronological memoir, but instead it was a collection of essays in a confusing order. This took me so much longer to read than similar length books because I was getting consumed about where we were and who the people were (ex: a new boyfriend or the later husband, mom or stepmom?, does dad have a girlfriend?). I do think this memoir has some great, valuable perspective; I just really wish the story had been in order.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

cbeghuin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gun violence, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism

jayisreading's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

4.25

Carry is moving and heartbreaking, written from the perspective of a Métis woman who also happens to be white-passing. I really appreciate how Jensen presented her insights with this in mind and its relations to the various topics she covers ranging from gun violence to domestic abuse. She doesn’t shy away from sensitive topics but never sensationalizes them. There’s a lot of care that went into each chapter, especially as Jensen considered the impact various circumstances and issues had on her own life.

I would say it’d be more accurate to describe this book as a collection of essays tinged with personal anecdotes as opposed to a memoir due to its structure. Not that this is a bad thing, since I still enjoyed this memoir (of sorts). Something I really appreciate about Carry is Jensen’s unique voice and writing style. It was very clear that she found her rhythm, which allowed each chapter to come together as beautifully as they did.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Racism, Trafficking, and Classism

Minor: Genocide, Rape, and Suicide

dominicangirl's review

emotional sad slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Physical abuse, and Racism

Minor: Animal cruelty

suzyreadsbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, Police brutality, Dementia, Trafficking, Mass/school shootings, Murder, and Colonisation

Minor: Suicide

MMIWG

snax's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism and Gun violence

knkoch's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective slow-paced

3.75

These essays and their structure in this collection reminded me a lot of Alicia Elliott's A Mind Spread out on the Ground. Both are semi-autobiographical and touch on different eras and projects in each author's life, with an emphasis on one or more general running themes. For Elliott, it was mental health and the indigenous experience in Canada. For Jensen, guns and violence run through most every essay, set in many disparate corners of the US. 

I thought Jensen did well in her exploration of violence, both domestic and through guns, mass shootings, and police violence. Her research into violence committed in particular against Native women was deep and impactful. I learned so much more about the human cost of fracking, and how deeply it's tied to the sex trafficking of Native women. 

This was often a hard read, but very informative and resonant.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Trafficking