Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed

18 reviews

fran_bielar's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

3.75

I’m glad i read it. Some stories weren’t as impactful but some were really really moving. Every trigger warning possible for this book but it was a great collection of stories about people and their lives - specifically looking at the harder/darker sides of people. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

These are hard stories about the darker sides of people’s lives. They talk about their trauma and why they are the way they are. This is why there are so many trigger warnings. Not every story discusses each topic, but overall the book does touch on these issues.

waytoomanybooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

Love love love this book. It’s cliche, but it really did make me both laugh and cry. This memoir came to me at exactly the right time and place in my life. I only ever hold on to books I rate five stars, and this one has earned its place. Sugar/Cheryl kindly, lovingly, and patiently gives advice, which stems from stories from her own personal life. She is as vulnerable with her readers as her readers are with her. It feels like I’m reading a conversation between two friends.

There are two quotes towards the end of the memoir that I feel capture the essence of the advice Sugar/Cheryl gives:

“It was a becoming that I would not have dreamed was mine” (323)

“Your life will be a great and continous unfolding” (351).

I highly recommend this book. And if you like this one, then you will also love How to be a Person in the World by Heather Havrilesky/Ask Polly.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Grief

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

pennyforyourthoughts's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

3.5

I don’t know exactly how to review this book as it’s a collection of advice columns that are only connected with overarching narratives from Sugar and not much else. Some sections made me cry while others felt like a slog to get through. Not all of the advice will impact everyone the same. I think I did the book a disservice by pushing myself to read it all rather rapidly as taking the sections in more bite-sized chunks when you need them may have been the better option. Overall I enjoyed the realness that this collection provided, showing humanity in all its different forms.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Sexual violence, and Death of parent

readbyroska's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

5.0

Read it if any of the following applies to you, and you can’t find your peace:

you’re feeling lost, hopeless, not good enough, deserving but unlucky, regretful, guilty, ashamed, disempowered, confused, heartbroken, lonely, isolated, alone, misunderstood, underachieving. 

Read if you are a partner, wife, husband, mother, father, boyfriend, girlfriend, daughter, son, child, friend, fuck buddy, teacher, student.

Read it if you don’t have anyone in your life who can love you and know you but still tell it to your straight. 

You will find something here for you, so sift through and find it.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Classism

koplomps's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Infidelity, and Sexual content

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

tinyy's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective fast-paced

5.0

I think I desperately needed to hear this:

”There is nothing more boring and fruitless than a woman lamenting the fact that her stomach is round.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Incest, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

I definitely missed some trigger warnings but there were so many I can’t remember them. If I had known about them, I wouldn’t have read the book. It’s so heavy. Despite that, I know that it helped me a little bit, deal with some of the things that have happened to me.

bookmarkedtbr's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic

cosmic_blooms's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Sexual content, and Grief

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug use, Fatphobia, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

novella42's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

This book has been my favorite book for the last ten years. It's a steadfast and heart-wrenching masterpiece. It's a collection of advice column responses unlike anything I have ever seen, because she doesn't hide behind the anonymity of the column but instead bares her soul in the most unexpected and vitally human ways. 
 

Strayed cusses eloquently and covers a wide number of topics with wit, humor, and deep compassion. She speaks openly about her childhood sexual abuse and a number of the letters have to do with sexual violence. She also helps readers address alcoholism, drug abuse, adultery, domestic violence, grief, miscarriage, and existential crises.

A friend who is a survivor showed me her copy on the night she shared her story with me, and said how much the book had meant to her. Since then I have read it many times at many different places in my mental health journey, but it may be too raw or intense for someone in the early stages of healing from trauma or dealing with active flashbacks/nightmares. 

It cracks me open every time, but also holds my hand as we put the pieces back together. I need to read it again soon.

The author-read audiobook is powerful. She's also quotable AF in any medium:

"The story of human intimacy is one of constantly allowing ourselves to see those we love most deeply in a new, more fractured light. Look hard. Risk that."

"Healing is a small and ordinary and very burnt thing. And it's one thing and one thing only: it's doing what you have to do."

"We like to think we're right about what we believe about ourselves and what we often believe are only the best, most moral things. We like to pretend that our generous impulses come naturally. But the reality is we often become our kindest, most ethical selves only by seeing what it feels like to be selfish assholes first."

"There is no why. You don’t have a right to the cards you believe you should have been dealt. You have an obligation to play the hell out of the ones you’re holding."

"I'll never know, and neither will you, of the life you don't choose. We'll only know that whatever that sister life was, it was important and beautiful and not ours. It was the ghost ship that didn't carry us. There's nothing to do but salute it from the shore."

"Whatever happens to you belongs to you. Make it yours. Feed it to yourself even if it feels impossible to swallow. Let it nurture you, because it will." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

questingnotcoasting's review

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

This isn't the sort of book I normally read but after re-reading Wild last month but I thought I'd try it because I really like Cheryl Strayed's writing. This isn't traditional self help because Strayed includes stories from her own life in her answers which is what I enjoyed most about it. It meant I could understand where her advice was coming from. Fortunately I can't relate to most of the problems in the letters but her advice still feels valuable because of the way she writes about universal human nature. I listened to the audiobook and it felt particularly special because she narrates it herself. Some of the letters were really heart-breaking and her advice was sometimes the opposite of what I was expecting and altogether it made for a really fascinating reading experience. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol