Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance

34 reviews

mountaineer77's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Hillbilly Elegy is a memoir of a forgotten people by much of the United States. JD Vance is the exception and he himself recognises that. No matter political affiliations or moral qualms with the left or the right, this is a book that needs to be read to understand a mindset that embeds itself in the South & within work class poverty of the Appalachian Mountains. I had not expected to cry so much! Escaping the clutches of his childhood, Vance not only found himself a new mindset, he also was thrust into a new lifestyle. I appreciated his admitted faults throughout the chapters and the faults of his own people. It might not resonate at all with you or you might hate many of the accounts of this book, but it is Vance's childhood story & it is the telling of his family & their flaws & their triumphs.

It is not pretty. The language is harsh & raw. There are countless trigger warnings. But - This is a gritty and painful tale of failures and a boy who inherited a culture of abuse.

I do not rate memoirs, but if I had to, this would be one of the top ones I've listening to/read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, and Domestic abuse

the_reading_italian's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

1.25

This was hot garbage. I started reading this to see if I could figure out what is going on in this mans head - and it was not very helpful. J.D. Vance brags about a lot of things that he shouldn't, and it becomes more and more obvious throughout the book that he is just severely troubled. I wouldn't really recommend this book to anyone. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Death and Suicide attempt

Minor: Rape and Murder

elizabeth_lepore's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Domestic abuse

lolololo4's review against another edition

dark inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, and Cursing

Moderate: Violence

beklovesbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective

4.0

Really enjoyed this memoir. It got a little into the politics of how do we solve these problems, but mostly stuck with a fascinating, insightful and compassionate look at one man’s family history. Got a little into ACE scores and recovery material, but wasn’t preachy. SO much swearing! But it was authentic to the circumstances, not gratuitous.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug abuse, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Classism

Minor: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail

dkamada's review against another edition

hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

2.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

jennawhite0813's review against another edition

inspiring reflective

3.5

Very interesting and moving story. I hope people can look past their political views, and be inspired by the young boy that worked hard to overcome his difficult life circumstances. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Drug abuse

sarahs9's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

chemeducator's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Addiction and Death

Minor: Racism

notsansastark's review against another edition

informative slow-paced

1.5

The introduction did not age well. Vance has since worked for Peter Thiel. I thought the memoir part was crazy. Some insane memories. It reads as honest. I did not agree with a lot of his takes, but it's better to try & understand given the role he may be playing. I think the second half is more interesting. 
Had a bit of an issue with the very first source cited in the book--it is the very first paragraph of a blog post but it is introduced as a sociological take. Not that bloggers can't have opinions but it is a blog and not a peer-reviewed article if you catch my drift. 
The first half is very violent. The violence surprised me. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Suicide attempt