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alylentz's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, and Religious bigotry
churameru's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Eating disorder and Sexual assault
maisierosereads's review against another edition
4.0
Love is an Ex-Country is a poignant memoir about Randa Jarrar's life and experiences as a fat, queer, Muslim Arab-American woman. She discusses childhood, marriage, sex, motherhood, her Muslim identity, kink, her white-passing privilege, and much more on a personal level; she also weaves in facts about, for instance, the occupation of Palestine and how that affects her as a Palestinian. This memoir is not always easy or comfortable to read, with explicit depictions of e.g. domestic abuse and sexual assault, but if you are able to read about these topics it is worth it.
There is a strong theme of travel throughout the book - with journeys around the USA with her dog as well as to multiple other countries - but I would not call it a travelogue, which seems to have caused some confusion for other viewers. I personally prefer memoirs-with-travel rather than travel-with-memories, so this did not bother me.
If you would like a taste of the style of this memoir, many of the chapters have previously been published as essays in various magazines. Randa has also written fiction, which I will definitely be looking into and reading in the future.
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Islamophobia
clarabooksit's review against another edition
2.5
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Islamophobia, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Drug use and Police brutality
bookswithmybulldog's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Eating disorder