Scan barcode
Reviews
Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science that Will Transform Your Sex Life by Emily Nagoski
pershie13's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
This book is literally the holy grail of sex ed that I never really had growing up, and it was truly life changing. It taught a very thorough understanding of the body, the mind, emotions, trauma, joy, and so much more. Not only does this book go into sexuality, but it also taught me how to understand my emotions and relationships with others in everyday life. This book taught me things that I didn't think I would ever understand unless I tried something like therapy or some other method that would require unpacking so many levels of feelings and emotions, and yet my understanding of so many things surrounding human bodies and sexuality have changed as a result of this book. EVERYONE needs to read this to help unpack some of the stigma and debunk the messages were were taught (or not taught) growing up. I would give this book 100 stars if I could.
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Eating disorder
conversationswithreaders's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
emiliespalding's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
alexiab's review against another edition
3.0
This book is not bad but it was not written for people like me, and I didn’t know that until I was already reading it. And I know, “not every book has to be about you” but I can explain.
It was a lot more therapy talk and a lot less education than I was expecting, but that may have been my own misunderstanding of what to expect. The author is writing like she’s speaking to someone rather than writing to a reader, which probably works well with someone who doesn’t read often, particularly nonfiction. While I think it works in an audio format - as it feels like I’m being spoken to by a therapist - this made me feel very disinterested in reading.
I know there are a lot of people, particularly women, who don’t understand their bodies and feel a lot of shame around their sexual pleasure, so I know this would be a positive read for them. The entire book reads as constant *constant* reassurance that your body is normal, your desires are normal, over and over and over.
As someone who does not feel any shame about their sexual organs or their sexual pleasure, this felt like a redundant read. I didn’t get anything out of it, because I didn’t require a therapist to tell me I’m normal. I wasn’t aware that this book was less educational and more emotional when it came to teaching about sex, and that’s where it didn’t suite me.
The way this book is talked about, I expected to learn something groundbreaking about sex that would change how I view it. I mean damn, the tagline insists it’ll “transform your sex life”. I know it’s a positive experience for a lot of people, so I’m reluctant to give it a low rating when I am not the target audience. However, I expected to learn literally anything new from reading it and I don’t think there was any information that had me go “huh, interesting” since I’m not a sheltered, uninformed person about sex. Again, not a bad thing, just not for me.
suzeqt's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
0.75
Kind if boring considering the subject matter
hattiefrankie's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.75
lillygm's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Stalking