Reviews tagging 'Fatphobia'

Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon

26 reviews

marena02's review

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Bullying, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Islamophobia, Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Addiction, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Vomit, Violence, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Self harm

mattyvreads's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

This is, without a doubt, my favorite book that I have read this year. I devoured it. Immensely captivating, unwaveringly poignant. An actual masterpiece.

It is a courageous exploration of Layson’s personal navigation through addiction, discrimination, physical and emotional abuse, eating disorders, mental health, grief — all underscored and interwoven with the racial and gendered perspective of his lived experience. 

The book is incredibly accessible, offering not just a baseline understanding of issues on racism and feminism, but through personal stories, working the reader up to examples of intersectional discrimination, examples of misogynior, and examples of a complex relationship with the human body. He offers critique of the elitism and inherent racism of major universities.

But, somehow, the book is not “preachy” whatsoever. (And even if it was, I’d still be here for the ride.) It’s tender, it’s emotional, it’s personal in a way that says: “this is my experience. This was my friend’s experience. This was my mom’s experience.” It’s incontestably honest and indefatigably moving. 

I can’t stop thinking about this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Child abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Fatphobia, and Racism

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Hate crime, and Rape

Minor: Misogyny

kshertz's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

It’s really difficult to write a story like this. This is America and this is his life. I was really emotional throughout this entire book because it was incredibly touching and difficult to see what he had gone through. It was also incredibly important to see that he is representative of a larger group of people. He is a truly gifted writer too and I found myself crying a few times which has not happened in a book in a while.  This book definitely lives up to the hype and everyone should read it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Dysphoria, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Body horror, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Drug use, and Fatphobia

bootsmom3's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Classism, Cursing, Racism, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Fatphobia, Sexual violence, Violence, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Infidelity, and Medical content

Minor: Dementia

michellektong's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Murder, Addiction, Child abuse, Rape, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Body shaming, Racial slurs, Self harm, Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Infidelity, Grief, Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Violence, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, and Eating disorder

masonrg16's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Addiction and Sexism

savvylit's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Every now and then, a title truly sums up a book's contents. This is one of the heaviest memoirs I have ever read. Laymon writes with a searing honesty that spares no detail, revealing all of his own flaws and traumatic experiences. Beyond Laymon's unparalleled honesty, this book is also a beautiful tribute to the oft-rocky yet incredibly close relationship that he has with his mother. Despite their difficulties, Laymon's love and gratitude for his mother and her teachings is incredibly apparent throughout Heavy.

Heavy is a beautiful and brutal book that deftly covers so much: life, violence, hunger, poverty, unconditional love, self-destructive behavior, second chances, and - most of all - Black abundance.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Fatphobia, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Racism, Body shaming, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Rape, and Racial slurs

jenmcreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Fatphobia, Racial slurs, and Eating disorder

It won’t let me add a gambling content warning but I’d advise that as well

tlaynejones's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Eating disorder, Grief, Child abuse, Rape, Physical abuse, Police brutality, and Racism

Moderate: Sexual violence, Addiction, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, and Mental illness

lowbrowhighart's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Child abuse, Racism, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, Addiction, and Fatphobia

Moderate: Islamophobia, Alcoholism, Grief, Misogyny, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, Hate crime, Xenophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Alcohol, Medical content, Sexism, Self harm, Police brutality, Mental illness, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Minor: Pedophilia, Death, Pregnancy, Transphobia, Car accident, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, Gun violence, Infidelity, Cursing, Dementia, and Medical trauma