Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethewey

8 reviews

narbine's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

thewellreadmrs's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

waytoomanybooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.0

It’s so hard reading memoirs where someone is going through something so challenging and so painful because all I want to do is step in and do something. Or I say, “Don’t do that! Do this!” As if “this” is easy. As if “this” is obvious. As if “this” is even something I would or could do myself. It’s a painful reminder that we don’t always or often see the big picture when we’re in the middle of it. That we could go through this exact same painful experience and get the exact same painful result. That maybe we’re not as smart, as brave, as strong as we’d like to think. What makes a memoir memorable are the ones ones that plumb the depths of human emotion and endurance, that wring you out, that make you have to get up and walk around before going back to the material. I think people write memoirs to remind the authors themselves and the readers of their shared humanity. The author is exposing their soul, and they’re asking their readers to help them take care of it. This is just such a memoir.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

tinytrashqueen's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Eating disorder, Racial slurs, and Racism

mamaofperfectpayton's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

thepassivebookworm's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad slow-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

amandaatkinson06's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Racism, Violence, Blood, and Gaslighting

Minor: Pregnancy

foreverinastory's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

5.0

 I am scraped raw.

Memorial Drive is a memoir about Natasha's mother and how she was murdered by her stepfather. This book alternates from past and present POVs as Natasha recounts her first 18 years of life culminating in her mother's death. This book was emotional and hard to read. I wanted to go back in time to stop the pain that Natasha's family felt (minus the stepdad he deserves nothing).

This short book illustrates a complicated relationship between mother and daughter and several of the instances that put them on that path. But we always see how much her mother cared for her and her younger brother.

One of the most evocative parts of this memoir was that the Tretheway family had evidence that their stepfather was going to kill either the children or Natasha's mother. There are at least two if not more damning phone calls that were recorded yet the police did nothing. I don't know if it was misogyny or racism or misogynoir but I am just so devastated by this family's loss because it was so preventable had the police actually listened. Just another reason to defund and renovate the system.

Rep: Black/biracial author, Black mother, father in law with suicidal ideation and possible other mental illnesses.

CWs: Murder, Grief, death of parent, gaslighting, death, fatal shooting/gun violence, emotional and physical abuse, racism, child abuse, domestic abuse, alcohol consumption/alcoholism, toxic relationship. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Racism, and Alcohol