Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

Spare by Prince Harry

101 reviews

hannahcstocks's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Abandonment, Xenophobia, Violence, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Classism, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Child abuse, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, Death, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, Murder, and Miscarriage

allisonobrien's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective slow-paced

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Racism

ashbooks5's review

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.5

First let me say: I think Prince Harry is extremely brave for having this published especially with the way the press have eviscerated both he and Meghan in the last couple years. In this book, he lays all of his cards on the table and finally allows the world a chance to see the story from his perspective. Within these pages, Harry recounts his life from the day of his mother, Princess Diana's, death to literally only a couple months ago when he is informed that his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, has died. 

I think that Harry is a deeply emotional person who has not been allowed to show or share that emotion in both public and privately among his family and I think that can do a number on a person. When he receives the news that his mother has died, no one hugs him or really comforts him. He is expected to show that infamous British stiff upper lip. I was shocked to find that for most of his life, Prince Harry thought that his mother faked her death and intended to resurface in the future. Every day he thought that he would receive a call from his mother who would tell him where to meet her. Reading about this was heartbreaking. 

The first section of the book recounts how Harry acted out a lot in his teens and twenties after his mother's death. Some of these stories are hilarious such as his encounter with shrooms at Courteney Cox's house and how he had one of his school friends shave his head (I cackled) but some were also definitely disappointing like his decision to dress up as a Nazi officer to attend a costume party. I actually remember seeing those pictures and being highly disappointed in him as he was my "favorite" prince of the two. 

The military section of the book was kind of boring but I appreciated it because Harry was allowed to be himself completely in the British army. Also, his position was revealed numerous times in the press when he was serving in the military in Afghanistan, and I am surprised whoever did this wasn't arrested because he ended up being targeted. 

The last section was all about his love story with Meghan Markle and I loved it. (I may have thrived on the fact that I got married within a few months of this royal couple.) I am appalled at the treatment of Meghan Markle by both the British and American press. I think we can all know why she's been getting such a different treatment but there are those who pretend to not see the rampant racism. It is for this reason that Harry asked to take a step back from royal service which ended up leading to them basically being booted from the royal family (with no security, might I add). 

Other things I took away from the book:

• Harry's frostbitten...um...nether-regions after his exploit to the North Pole (I wish I could say I didn't laugh buuuuuut)
• The anger of his family when Harry speaks against the press
• How much Prince William (and Kate Middleton) needs to get over himself
  • No like seriously...
• Harry's love of Botswana and his work with conservation and also his work with veterans
• How much of a boss Meghan Markle is 
• My happiness when Harry started therapy

All in all, I enjoyed Spare. I wish all of the best for Harry and Meghan.  Honestly, I'm happy for them both because they're living away from the limelight and as privately as they can. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Gaslighting, Car accident, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Drug use, Stalking, Toxic relationship, and War

hannahpings's review

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

ended up liking spare a lot more than i thought i would. a moving, engaging reflection on self-actualization, liberation, and love. this is a man!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Car accident, Death of parent, Drug use, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, and Racism

choufrise's review

emotional informative medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death of parent, Grief, and Drug abuse

Minor: Car accident, Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Colonisation, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts

kbairbooks's review

challenging emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

I did not grow up knowing anything about the Royals, and for many years of my teenage and young adult life did not understand the appeal of learning and speaking about these people. I remember times in my life seeing headlines and wondering, how could they possibly be true and how could they possibly talk about other human beings like that no matter what their status is. Over the past couple of years, more or less since Megan‘s entrance into the Royal family, I became more interested and learned more about the royal family and their dynamic and so forth. The amount of empathy and sorrow I feel for Harry and Meghan, and also the pride and joy of their strength of character, their strength of heart, and their love for each other is just beautiful to witness. And overall I appreciate the vulnerability and honesty of writing a book such as this which is so open and vulnerable. It takes a courageous person to be vulnerable and speak their truth regardless of others’ perceptions.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Misogyny, War, Abandonment, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Hate crime, Mental illness, Miscarriage, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Classism, Death of parent, Drug use, Pregnancy, Racism, Car accident, and Racial slurs

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic

staceyinthesticks's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent and Grief

Minor: Alcohol, Animal death, Car accident, Cursing, Drug use, Pregnancy, Death, Racism, War, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts

alykate's review

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Bullying, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Drug use, Racism, Stalking, and Suicidal thoughts

mollie1h's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Miscarriage, Racism, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Animal death, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Death

kimveach's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

I rarely read memoirs, so I don't know how to critique them.  Instead, I'll share a few thoughts.  I listened to this, which is the best approach to this work.  It would be best if you listened (at regular speed) to Harry speaking to understand how sincerely he feels about his story.  It's hard to know if all the conflicts in his life, especially with his father and brother, happened as he tells it.  Do two people ever tell the same story about a situation?  

This is a story of a boy without a stable home life whose mother dies tragically.  That trauma carries into war zones and his search for a relationship that can withstand the scrutiny of the press.  With the help of therapy, he's able to move forward.

Some of the best parts for me were learning about life in the palace, at Eton, and in the army.  It was also fascinating to learn how Prince Charles divided royal duties and access to money between the brothers.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Sexual content, Torture, Drug use, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Abandonment, Death of parent, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, War, Classism, Grief, Pregnancy, Car accident, and Cursing