Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Hurts So Good: The Science and Culture of Pain on Purpose by Leigh Cowart

8 reviews

reading_rainbows's review against another edition

This book needs multiple content warnings:  Graphic sexual descriptions in intro and final chapter, eating disorders discussed throughout, body horror especially in chapter 2&3.  There is a content warning before the author specifically discussed their eating disorder, which is way too late. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Eating disorder, Gore, Self harm, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

lybarron's review against another edition

informative reflective slow-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder

Moderate: Body horror, Gore, and Blood

dmturner's review

adventurous dark reflective fast-paced

4.5

Though I have a handful of  piercings, I didn’t do it for the pain, but for the pride. I practice a martial art and have had a lot of success, but I don’t like getting hurt, I like winning. I can endure pain if I have to, but I’d rather not. I read this book genuinely curious about why people might seek out pain, and honestly though I enjoyed reading it very much I don’t feel a whole lot more informed. :) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail

krisalexcole's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Sexual content, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Gore, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Alcohol

Minor: Cursing

theodenreads's review

challenging

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Self harm, Sexual content, Blood, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail

This book is really informative and interesting, and there's probably so many more things that could be tagged as content warnings, but the ones I tagged are probably the most major ones. Although they're not all consistently touched on in the book, there are passages of this book that are very frank and honest in their discussions of self harm and eating disorders. Please use your best judgment when reading this, friends.

lily1304's review

adventurous hopeful informative lighthearted reflective medium-paced

4.75

I ripped through this book so fast. I loved it.
I was worried the author would be a little too flippant, but she is very clear from the outset that "pain on purpose" can be really healthy or unhealthy, and she devotes a chapter to exploring the difference.
My only complaint is that some of her chapters are a little too long, and I wish she had clear citations with a bibliography - but this is pop science, so she gives brief in-text citations.
Massive trigger warning for both BDSM and eating disorders - she gives extremely vivid descriptions of both.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

meghan_is_reading's review

informative reflective medium-paced

*unhappy grumbles*

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Blood

Moderate: Eating disorder, Gore, Sexual content, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Self harm and Vomit

go2hellstephanie's review

adventurous emotional informative reflective fast-paced

4.0

This book was so fun to read!

I first heard about Hurts So Good on NPR, driving back to Virginia after Christmas. It was so intriguing to me that Cowart was so curious about pain and why humans seek it, that they went to the extent of doing a polar plunge, eating the world's spiciest pepper, and witnessing the Big Dog Backyard Ultra, where runners run until they are physically unable to.

Cowart makes pain fun to read about. Even the painful bits brought nuance and a deeper understanding to the idea of masochism. They balance the history and science lessons well, interspersed with their or others' experiences with something painful. 

Cowart’s writing focuses on the emotions, and they do it well. During the chapter on the ultramarathon runners, I cried, feeling their desire to push through or their pain as their bodies completed unthinkable human achievements.

They also handle the topic of self-harm and pain outside of pleasure with immense grace. They consistently emphasize that pain outside of one's control isn't masochism and is often abuse. 

I recommend this book if you have an interest in spicy food, long duration running, ballet, or the line that connects pain and pleasure. Such an interesting read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Blood, and Vomit