Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Punch Me Up to the Gods by Brian Broome

4 reviews

agnesjlopez's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Moderate: Mental illness and Medical content

ash_ton's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.0

Broome has a great voice. I love when I can be immersed in a memoir, can envision it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, and Sexual content

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, and Alcohol

Minor: Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, and Classism

caitlancole's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

The heaviest, rawest memoir I’ve ever read — and I think the most important. The audiobook was exquisitely done and moved me to tears. I am in awe of Brian Broome. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury

leahsbooks's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0

For my full review of this book and others, visit my blog at http://leahs-books.com/2021/03/21/punch-me-up-to-the-gods/

Thank you to Bookish First for providing me with a copy of this book. I am giving my honest opinion voluntarily.
 

This was a memoir that felt more like a story, and I couldn’t put it down. Brian Broome shares the story of his life, deftly weaving the experience as he watches a young Black boy on a bus with tales of his childhood and contrasts them with the experiences of his adulthood. While he shares these stories, he doesn’t hold anything back. 

 

Growing up as a young, dark-skinned, poor Black boy in rural Ohio, Brian wasn’t in an ideal situation. He dealt with racism early, and faced abuse from his father in the hopes of helping him to act like less of a sissy. His peers bullied him for being gay even before he knew anything about sex, and this strongly influenced his views of race and sexuality for a long time. 

 

“But my Black, male body has betrayed its manhood on many occasions. My hips have swing too freely, and my heart has allowed itself to be broken far too easily. Tears, by far, have been my most pernicious traitors, and it took a long time before I was able to dry the wellspring up. My body has finally learned.” 

 

However, these internalized views impacted his behavior into adulthood, slowing his path to self-acceptance. A lot of the book was so painful to read, and there were so many times that I wanted to just give the author a huge hug and tell him that he was just fine the way he was, even though I know that it wouldn’t have changed those long-held beliefs. 

 

But I think the part of the book that I enjoyed the most was how it portrayed the author as a work in progress. It’s a memoir, so it doesn’t all wrap up neatly with a full resolution the way a fictional story would. The author doesn’t share his story from a place of nirvana, where he has reached a place of perfection, emotional enlightenment, and complete healing. He just talks about his story and lives in his truth, using a simple yet deep and evocative writing style. I loved seeing his progress through life and the work he puts in towards self-acceptance. 

 

“When I was a kid, I thought that the key to being a Black man was to learn how to properly lean on things to look cool. What I didn’t know at the time is that what Black men lean on the most, whether we want to admit it or not, is Black women.” 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, and Suicide attempt