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keeganrb's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Racism, and Sexual assault
loveclairebearx's review against another edition
3.75
I appreciated that early on, she set the tone that she is writing this memoir from her 90+ year old perspective with all the hindsight and wisdom that comes from that, dropping in history and life lesson anecdotes along the way. There were many turns of phrase that wowed me and fourth-wall breaking quips (“let me tell you”, “do you hear me?”) that I loved.
I most enjoyed reading about her upbringing which adequately informed my understanding of her choices as an adult. She plants a lot of seeds and foreshadows things to come throughout in a satisfying way.
It’s without question that Cicely is a talent who has broken barriers and deserves memorialized in the halls of history, however, I found myself feeling disconcerted over her blatant self-righteousness. This seemed to escalate with the trajectory of her success which made the second half of the book a challenge as I grew to feel detached from her. For this, I subtracted part of a star.
I also think this memoir could have easily been shortened by 50-100 pages without sacrificing any key takeaways from her life, so I removed one full star for the length.
Moderate: Addiction and Sexual assault
readingwithcoffee's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
crazybookishcool's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Addiction and Sexual assault
Minor: Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Grief, and Death of parent
infamouskai's review against another edition
4.5
Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use
Minor: Sexual assault
railee's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Physical abuse
Minor: Sexual assault
alyssamakesart's review against another edition
3.0
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Sexual assault
zombiezami's review against another edition
4.0
Although I liked the book a lot overall, there was a lot of respectability politics throughout, which I suppose isn't surprising for someone of Tyson's generation. For example, it struck me as very odd that she railed so hard against Blaxploitation films for their stereotypical depictions of Black folks, while at the same time being close friends with Tyler Perry and championing his work.
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Child abuse, Incest, Sexual content, Slavery, Vomit, Police brutality, and Pregnancy
Minor: Biphobia, Cancer, Genocide, Blood, and Stalking
Lynching, serophobiadeepcurvesahead's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, and Sexual assault
sjanke2's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use