Reviews tagging 'Infertility'

Perish by LaToya Watkins

5 reviews

arguhlincozzi's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Incest, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Abandonment, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Excrement, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

Amazing but extremely painful book, even though it's all handled with care by the author. Important book.

booklovertamisha's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Addiction, and Infertility

lifewithjoce's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Rape, Sexual violence, Drug use, Death, Physical abuse, Murder, Infertility, Emotional abuse, Abortion, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, and Suicide

d0505's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Violence, Sexual violence, Self harm, Infertility, Rape, Emotional abuse, Incest, Blood, Animal death, Sexual assault, and Miscarriage

Moderate: Bullying and Child abuse

literaryintersections's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

4.5

I'm not quite sure how to rate this honestly. This book is heartbreaking. It's unbelievably difficult to read but the overall point of the story is so important. Hurt people hurt people. As Mariame Kaba says "No one enters violence for the first time by committing it." All of the people in this book are hurt, they are all violated. They all experience hurt beyond belief. And many of them use the hurt that they experienced to hurt others. Violence doesn't just come out of nowhere. And in this book the violence comes from those we trust most; those who should never hurt us. It comes from fathers, mothers, brothers, grandmothers.

One woman is truly violated as a child, and becomes pregnant from that rape. When she tries to abort it, she hears a voice say "bear it or perish yourself" and in order to save herself, she decides to keep the child, setting off a long line of generational trauma. And the trauma isn't just physical violence. It's the trauma felt and experiences when secrets are kept. When children are chosen over other children: loved differently or not at all. Helen Jean then passes this violence and trauma onto her 4 children, who all pass it along onto their children in various ways. Until Helen Jean's grandchildren realize that they need to do whatever they can to stop this cycle of violence. 

I am honestly tearing up just writing this review because it is truly a devastating book. But it made me think a lot about the little and big violences that we experience everyday from our parents, families, grandparents. And how those traumas can be passed on in quite devastating ways. "No one enters violence for the first time by committing it". It's hard not to fault Helen Jean for her various actions and mistakes. But she experienced so much violence. She was so hurt. And hurt people HURT people. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Miscarriage, Infertility, and Incest

Moderate: Abortion and Racism