Reviews with content warning for Medical content - All the Young Men

Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

All the Young Men by Ruth Coker Burks

28 reviews

bookishpip's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

What a stunning book.

I’ve read quite a few memoirs - it’s one of my favourite genres - but although I generally enjoy memoirs, very few are so impactful that I experience strong emotional responses throughout. This is one.

Dubbed as the modern day Florence Nightingale, this is the account of a woman who, visiting a friend in hospital, comes across a door with a red x on it and someone inside crying for help, to deaf ears. She goes inside and meets a young man in his final moments, succumbing to AIDS. This was the catalyst for an enormous shift in her life as she begins to work to fight for the rights and fair treatment of those with HIV and AIDS, providing essential and human help to sufferers along the way.

I really experienced such a rollercoaster of emotions with this one. Although the content is largely heavy and sad (yet incredibly important), there are moments of humour and sass that just make me desperate to be friends with this lady. The selflessness of her actions and the way in which she navigates the world is truly such an inspiration.

Honestly, this was such a remarkable read. Highly, highly recommended.

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xashleyxvix's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

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author2223's review against another edition

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emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

4.75

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lily_west's review

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challenging emotional sad medium-paced

4.0

I devoured this book in a day, mostly so I could get all of the crying over with. The story is so sad and so necessary. Ruth Coker Burks writes in a way that is intriguing, enveloping, desperately sad, lighthearted when it's needed, and even funny. You get a sense of the real people behind her stories. The insight of a straight person into gay clubs and drag culture in the eighties and nineties is well done, too.

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questingnotcoasting's review

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emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

4.0

This is a fascinating and heart-breaking memoir. It's written in a conversational way which is very readable and really pulled me into the narrative. There were a few moments which felt like they'd been heightened for dramatic effect, like Ruth having a perfect comeback before leaving a room. However generally I thought the writing style worked well and the inclusion of so many personal anecdotes helped give a real sense of the people she knew. The subject matter makes it a tough read at times but her sense of humour also comes through.

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