s_mivsek's review against another edition
challenging
inspiring
reflective
4.25
Moderate: Eating disorder
Minor: Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Kidnapping, Murder, Torture, and Grief
macaronoui's review
challenging
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5
This memoir is unlike any memoir I have ever read. I’m not sure any words will properly describe this book or how I felt reading it. Ingrid from Colombia, tells a rich history of a violent and dangerous place to living as an adult in the US. In this books she takes us through her families history. Ingrid’s writing is impeccable and incredibly good. You get sucked into all of the places she goes and people she meets. While a very intense read, I’m glad I read this.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexism, Death, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Colonisation, Eating disorder, Xenophobia, Domestic abuse, and War
autumn_alwaysreadingseason's review
reflective
4.0
Ingrid Rojas Contreras' memoir details her experience with her family's inheritance of magic. Her grandfather was a curandero, who had a shop set up in his house and cured people of their ailments. He had many powers and was supposed to pass on the secrets to a male child. But one of his daughters is the only one to seem to have any gifts and he resists teaching her. The author's mother is that child. When she falls down a well as a child and has amnesia, she is caught between her life that she doesn't remember and a ghost world. She soon takes on some of her father's responsibilities. They can both see and hear ghosts, as well as turn up in more than one place at once.
When Ingrid also has a bout of amnesia in her early 20s, she becomes more interested in her family's heritage. She and her mother relate to each other. They spend time together on a mission to dig up her grandfather's bones and truly put him to rest, since people have been using his grave to ask for favors.
There was so much going on in here. It's beautifully written. There are definitely people who are not going to believe what the author is saying and she addresses the hypocrisy of, specifically Americans, not doing so. It's a powerful memoir that showcases family.
When Ingrid also has a bout of amnesia in her early 20s, she becomes more interested in her family's heritage. She and her mother relate to each other. They spend time together on a mission to dig up her grandfather's bones and truly put him to rest, since people have been using his grave to ask for favors.
There was so much going on in here. It's beautifully written. There are definitely people who are not going to believe what the author is saying and she addresses the hypocrisy of, specifically Americans, not doing so. It's a powerful memoir that showcases family.
Graphic: Eating disorder
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Death
ryanlee's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
5.0
Moderate: Death, War, Colonisation, Eating disorder, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Infidelity
The eating disorder content is contained to a couple chapters near the end of the book (for those who might need to skip it); I listened to audiobook and don’t have the page numbers.
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