Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Forager: Field Notes for Surviving a Family Cult by Michelle Dowd

24 reviews

apairofducks's review against another edition

5.0

I connected with this book on such a deep level that I’m struggling to articulate my thoughts on it. It’s difficult and emotional and hard to read, and somehow I couldn’t put it down. Maybe a 4.25, maybe a 4.5, but for now I’m giving it a 5 bc wow, oh wow. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal death and Cancer

abijmieds's review

challenging dark emotional funny informative inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Approachable but challenging, Dowd's childlike tone discomforts the reader in light of the dark experiences she shares. A continual reminder of her own youth at the time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal death

rkanderton's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

3.5

The story was told in the present tense but then jumped around a lot so was sometimes hard to follow. I think I agree with other reviews that some of it felt quite surface level and didn’t really explain how things affected her and sort of glosses over a lot, however that may be down to memory and the fact that it was years and years of her life. It also would have been interesting to hear how she actually escaped and then integrated into the wider world, as the book doesn’t really go into detail about it. However, I can totally respect how difficult it must have been to relive all these things by telling her story, and that this book is authentic to Michelle and is written in a way that is comfortable for her to express herself and what happened to her, so in that regard I cannot fault it. To critique it at all feels disrespectful, and I can only admire her bravery and courage to share her experiences with the world. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Torture

harperphillips96's review against another edition

dark informative tense slow-paced

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

daniandsn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

4.75

As I eat from the earth, I consecrate what I devour, because there is still some wild left in me, and even darkness can be a gift. We are made of recovery

Stunning in writing, Michelle tells the story of how she grew up and escaped from her family cult. This story is harrowing, challenging, but told in breathtaking detail. We follow the inner thoughts of her as an intelligent young girl trying to make sense of the world around her that tells her children and women alike are not meant to be heard, special, or have opinions of their own. Neglected by even her own mother, who refuses to get too attached to any of her children in case God asks her to sacrifice them, Michelle instead is cared for by the Mountain and its sustaining plants.

Forager is about the trials of abuse Michelle faced as a child, as well as a story of her coming to terms with what it means to be a woman, and the fear that is attached to it in a hyper-patriarical religious cult. 

She tells me I am growing up, that I am becoming a woman. And then she tucks me into bed, like I am a little girl.

It is also the story of trying and failing to control and understand her own body, through diet, connection to the mountain, or having moments where she dissacociates to protect herself. 

We don't bring water, not because Dad wants us to learn to find it within the plants, but because he wants us to suffer the pains of thirst and be humbled, to know only the Lord our God can save us.

I did wish the book went into more details about her escape and living off of the land. Parts of it felt rushed, a chapter sometimes jumping ahead years. 

I would absolutely read more by this author. She has a beautiful writing voice and told a deeply vulnerable story about pain and resilience. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault

mishellsch's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

Very proud to have attended the same college as this writer despite our vastly different upbringings and childhoods. This book falls into my favorite subgenre of hybrid or science memoirs, so I am likely biased about my enjoyment of this book. I am not huge into cults or true crimes and this book was about Michelle's life, not her Grandfather's (the founder of the cult-- The Field).

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Death, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicide attempt

alysssa1011's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Sexism, and Sexual assault

daphnehumming's review against another edition

dark reflective tense fast-paced

5.0

While a dark experience, the book highlights Dowd’s resilience and the skills she learned to survive and connect with nature. The writing is high quality and the story compelling 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Sexual assault and Terminal illness

keholmes's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual assault

jackslackofshelfcontrol's review

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Minor: Ableism, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Medical content, and Suicide attempt