Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Dog Flowers: A Memoir by Danielle Geller

23 reviews

mondovertigo's review

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Infidelity, and Death of parent

Moderate: Child abuse and Pregnancy

Minor: Animal death and Racism

thunderousdandelion's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol

rorikae's review

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

3.75

'Dog Flowers' by Danielle Geller is a memoir that centers on Geller's memories of her mother interwoven with artifacts from her mother's life. The memoir is populated with photographs, letters, and other pieces that Geller found in her mother's belongings. As an archivist, Geller uses these pieces to supplement her own recollections of her mother as she delves into her memories as well as the aftermath of her mother's death. 
I really enjoyed the play of written essays with archival materials from Geller's mother. The addition of these pieces elevated the text and made it unique in a way that stands out from other memoirs that only utilize words. I do wish that these pieces had been interwoven more frequently into the text. They are inserted in groups, which works as a great supplement to the essays but I would have loved to see more direct commentary from Geller on specific pieces, especially those that include her. 
This is a hard memoir to read as Geller had a traumatic childhood and her family deals with a great deal of addiction, loss, and mental health issues. Geller does a great job of interweaving the different struggles that her family has gone through with her own quest to learn and understand more about her past. I hope that this will inspire more works that utilize archival pieces paired with memoir. I really enjoyed the audiobook but I will say that I recommend having the ebook or a physical copy on hand as well as the descriptions of the pieces are not quite a match for actually seeing them. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Moderate: Death and Suicidal thoughts

buttermellow's review

challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Abandonment

Moderate: Drug use, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

sophnbooks's review

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

4.0

It’s hard to ever find the words to “review” a memoir. However, this is a challenging story of a Navajo woman grieving her mother after she passes and it’s very well organized. The author, Danielle Geller, even includes photographs and documents that correspond with the passages. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Colonisation

readswithnatalieb's review

4.0

 

This is a very tough memoir to read. If you’ve survived trauma, of pretty much any kind, this could be very triggering. 

 

I picked this book from Net Galley, wanting to learn more about the Navajo Nation, especially in nonfiction form (but also nonfiction is my jam). And while I learned a bit about Navajo Nation, it wasn’t what I expected! Most of the story doesn’t take place on a reservation, but Navajo cultural and lifestyle aspects are woven into the story. 

 

Geller’s tale was an absolute cry for help. She shows her soul telling bits from her childhood, into her teenage years, and adulthood. She does jump around quite a bit, so I couldn’t tell what was memory or what you’d consider present day, if that’s what she was trying to convey. She includes references about growing up as a minority, her dysfunctional family, and what it’s like being the glue for her family. 

 

Her mother passed away, her father is an alcohol, and her sister is addicted to drugs. She very much had me in my feelings wanting to give her a big hug, because being the glue of your family is such a tough task. I was super invested. 

 

Despite the sad stories, she includes photographs and letters from happier times in her life, reminding her where she came from and guiding her to who she wants to be. 

 

Content warnings: death of a parent, abuse, alcoholism, bullying, drugs, addition, racism. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Drug use, Racism, and Death of parent

sjanke2's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

 This book felt like a meeting point of In the Night of Memory and Carry: A Memoir of Survival on Stolen Land. As a reader, I connected with Geller's former professions of walking streets during a political campaign (grueling) and being an information professional. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent

Moderate: Child abuse, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, and Suicide attempt

_lia_reads_'s review

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, and Death of parent

caseythereader's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

4.25

 📚 This use of the archive of Geller's life is incredible. It's such a unique structure for a memoir.
📚 Additionally, the photographs and other items help to remind the reader that this isn't just a parade of anonymous events, it's the life of a family.
📚 Reading a description of something awful her father did and then looking him in the eye on the next page...I can't even find words for it.
📚 There's so much in here about generational trauma and cycles of addiction and abuse, and yet, there is a feeling of healing and growth by the end of the book, even though things aren't "fixed" or "solved." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

caityclarkreads's review

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Death of parent