Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Karamo: My Story of Embracing Purpose, Healing, and Hope by Jancee Dunn, Karamo Brown

1 review

itsmeyseniab's review against another edition

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reflective fast-paced

3.5

You are not your past. You have prepared for your future. A yes can propel you, but a no will never hurt you.

As a fan of Netflix's Queer Eye, naturally I was excited to pick up Karamo's memoir as he and the "culture" aspect of the makeovers is one of the show's highlights for me. Although I do appreciate how candid he was with telling his story, I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. At times it came off as preachy, condescending and left me feeling that he has a bit of a savior complex with a substantial dash of self-righteousness (which was baffling to me considering how empathetic and sincere he comes across on screen). Some examples of this behavior include:
  1. Karamo's high school best friend Stephanie becoming pregnant with his child Jason and secretly raising him as a single mother until Karamo was made aware of him when he was 10 years old. Karamo got to attend college and thrive academically while Stephanie "was only able to get her GED." (Yes, that is a direct quote and incredibly insensitive in my opinion).
  2. Karamo discusses in detail how he became addicted to various drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy during his twenties but frowning down upon others who were addicted to seemingly "worse" drugs. Make it make sense.
  3. Karamo stating that he was the reason why his kids broke the generational curse of fathering a child at 16. "I'm proud to report that Jason didn't lose his virginity until he was twenty years old to a girl he loved." I'm sure Karamo asked for Jason's blessing before publishing that sentence, but my goodness is that deeply personal and unnecessary to include.

I was pretty bummed that I didn't enjoy this as much as I thought I would, but I definitely do recommend the audiobook as it's narrated by Karamo himself. 
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