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chloereadsbooksyoutube's review against another edition
Don't feel like I can rate this - I came away with very mixed feelings. I like that Erica shared her experiences in such a brave, open and honest way. But... the first half of the book was waaaay more engaging than the first.
hainyh's review against another edition
4.0
'Getting Off' is Erica Garza's rather raw - and at times painfully honest - account of her years long battle with sex addiction. An affliction which is seldom spoken about, and more so associated with males, it's great to see such a taboo subject talked about with such overwhelming honesty.
Garza's writing takes you on the journey with her, her anecdotes and accounts of situations succinct and snappy and bereft of unnecessary detail, which some auto-biographical accounts can get caught up in. I whizzed through this book in no more than a couple of hours, so fascinated was I by the topic itself, complemented by Garza's brilliant writing style. As you might expect from the subject matter is is certainly x-rated in places and so not suited for the most prudish readers amongst us, but is an eye-opening and fascinating read.
Garza's writing takes you on the journey with her, her anecdotes and accounts of situations succinct and snappy and bereft of unnecessary detail, which some auto-biographical accounts can get caught up in. I whizzed through this book in no more than a couple of hours, so fascinated was I by the topic itself, complemented by Garza's brilliant writing style. As you might expect from the subject matter is is certainly x-rated in places and so not suited for the most prudish readers amongst us, but is an eye-opening and fascinating read.
critterbee's review against another edition
3.0
This book is very difficult to read. It is honest, true, harsh, heartbreaking and the author was very brave to share her story. It is a well-written book, But what I found uneasy or disturbing was that the content is very upsetting. She just keeps hurting herself. The pain is very devastating. Perhaps writing the book has helped her more than anything else.
*eARC Netgalley*
*eARC Netgalley*
libbyajt's review
4.0
There are two quotes I really loved from this book. Overall, I thought it was a lovely and powerful read. Worth your time, especially if you want to learn more about porn and sex addiction. I loved the authors honesty a lot.
Pg 10, "I romanticized brokenness as a means of resisting change"
Pg 198 "she has learned the value of compassion and how to give that to herself when nobody else will"
Pg 10, "I romanticized brokenness as a means of resisting change"
Pg 198 "she has learned the value of compassion and how to give that to herself when nobody else will"
eleellis's review
5.0
Erica Garza's Getting Off is an autobiography of a Garza's experiences with sex and pornography addiction. The writing is raw and surprisingly graphic, but not so in an exploitive or titillating, immature way.
In interviews, writer Sherman Alexie has claimed for one to be a great writer, a writer must be able to write openly and fearlessly honest and it's hard to imagine Garza not doing that any better than in this book.
Some may find the content objectionable, however, if the writing had not been done as it is found in this book, the impact upon the readers' feelings toward Garza would be lessened.
Through the book, Garza reveals her self-discoveries of why she behaves the way she does. The origins of these discoveries add to the power of her writing, especially when one combines those with the knowledge of how accomplished she has become. Through these discoveries, the reader is faced with the knowledge that insecurity, habits and destructive behavior can strike anyone, even those that appear to have it all.
Highly recommended for those that like open and frank memoirs, but be forewarned, the book is sexually graphic, but for the book to have been effective, such writing was necessary.
In interviews, writer Sherman Alexie has claimed for one to be a great writer, a writer must be able to write openly and fearlessly honest and it's hard to imagine Garza not doing that any better than in this book.
Some may find the content objectionable, however, if the writing had not been done as it is found in this book, the impact upon the readers' feelings toward Garza would be lessened.
Through the book, Garza reveals her self-discoveries of why she behaves the way she does. The origins of these discoveries add to the power of her writing, especially when one combines those with the knowledge of how accomplished she has become. Through these discoveries, the reader is faced with the knowledge that insecurity, habits and destructive behavior can strike anyone, even those that appear to have it all.
Highly recommended for those that like open and frank memoirs, but be forewarned, the book is sexually graphic, but for the book to have been effective, such writing was necessary.
maedo's review
2.0
This book originally piqued my interest for two reasons: to try to understand the actions of men who'd hurt me in the past whose behaviors seemed to fall under the umbrella of sex addiction, and also to try to understand the masochism in me that led me to keep coming back to be hurt. Like Garza, I am now happily and healthily partnered, but it took work to overcome the soul void she describes, that feeling of one's entire value being found in others' desire. I have enough remove from that time now that I was ready to look it in the eye.
Unfortunately, I finished Getting Off feeling underwhelmed, like I had just read an explicit Eat, Pray, Love (which happens to be referenced in the book as an inspiration for Garza's travel to Bali to heal; if I had known that in advance, I would have known this book was not for me).
Let the subtitle be your guide on this one - it is truly one woman's journey through sex and porn addiction, in the sense that it is Erica Garza's memoir, which happens to be focused on sex and self-destructive behaviors and how she as an individual came to understand them. The best parts of the book for me were the footnotes giving information about sex addiction in general, and brief snippets about the experiences of people in her Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous meeting. I realized from this that what I wanted were case studies of several sex addicts and more broad strokes as a whole. This is not a subject for which a large body of work exists, but it should, because man is online dating crawling with sex/love addicted behavior patterns.
Unfortunately, I finished Getting Off feeling underwhelmed, like I had just read an explicit Eat, Pray, Love (which happens to be referenced in the book as an inspiration for Garza's travel to Bali to heal; if I had known that in advance, I would have known this book was not for me).
Let the subtitle be your guide on this one - it is truly one woman's journey through sex and porn addiction, in the sense that it is Erica Garza's memoir, which happens to be focused on sex and self-destructive behaviors and how she as an individual came to understand them. The best parts of the book for me were the footnotes giving information about sex addiction in general, and brief snippets about the experiences of people in her Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous meeting. I realized from this that what I wanted were case studies of several sex addicts and more broad strokes as a whole. This is not a subject for which a large body of work exists, but it should, because man is online dating crawling with sex/love addicted behavior patterns.
amymorgan's review
4.0
Thank you Edelweiss for my review copy of this book.
An incredibly brave and raw account of one woman and her journey through two decades of being addicted to sex and porn.
I was honestly not sure about this story before I began reading it. But Garza's account of her journey is well written and brutally honest taking you through her deepest moments of shame and despair and into her moments where she finally can see a life outside of her addiction.
There are several parts that may be a bit too graphic for some tastes but I applaud this author for sharing her story so that it may be able to reach others who may be alone and suffering. The only criticism I have is that there are facts included at the end of some chapters and by the time you get to the end of the chapter you have a hard time remembering what they were a reference to.
An incredibly brave and raw account of one woman and her journey through two decades of being addicted to sex and porn.
I was honestly not sure about this story before I began reading it. But Garza's account of her journey is well written and brutally honest taking you through her deepest moments of shame and despair and into her moments where she finally can see a life outside of her addiction.
There are several parts that may be a bit too graphic for some tastes but I applaud this author for sharing her story so that it may be able to reach others who may be alone and suffering. The only criticism I have is that there are facts included at the end of some chapters and by the time you get to the end of the chapter you have a hard time remembering what they were a reference to.