The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
jetix's review
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, and Racism
Minor: Death of parent
cstefko's review against another edition
5.0
It always feels lame to describe a work as "powerful," but honestly, that's the best way to put it here. Powerful, important, necessary, and more. Horlick harnesses the power of her voice to speak about an issue (abuse within queer relationships) that isn't often discussed, even in LGBTQ communities, as well as to speak out against the racism she's experienced as a Jewish woman. But they don't feel like ~issue~ poems, if you know what I mean (not that there's anything wrong with those). They feel like someone you care about is opening up to you, trusting you with the toughest moments of their life. This is confessional poetry at its finest.
It's pretty impressive how the poems are so strong on their own, yet still combine to form such a vivid, cohesive story. I liked all the references to circuses and tarot (TRC fans, holla). And y'all know how much I love poetry that evokes the region it came from.
Some standout poems for me were "Apprentice,""Horoscope," and "Anniversary." I don't want to quote anything because I want everyone to read this collection :3
Also just want to give a quick shoutout to independent bookstores, because if I didn't visit bookstores like Powell's and Elliott Bay Book Company, both of which had great feature sections on Pacific NW authors, I never would have found this book. (Y'all know I love my B&N, but the poetry section is so, so lacking.) I wish I'd had more time to explore EBBC, but I went on the day they had the Bruce Springsteen signing, and it was a madhouse :O But yes, kudos to them for featuring local and marginalized voices.
It's pretty impressive how the poems are so strong on their own, yet still combine to form such a vivid, cohesive story. I liked all the references to circuses and tarot (TRC fans, holla). And y'all know how much I love poetry that evokes the region it came from.
Some standout poems for me were "Apprentice,""Horoscope," and "Anniversary." I don't want to quote anything because I want everyone to read this collection :3
Also just want to give a quick shoutout to independent bookstores, because if I didn't visit bookstores like Powell's and Elliott Bay Book Company, both of which had great feature sections on Pacific NW authors, I never would have found this book. (Y'all know I love my B&N, but the poetry section is so, so lacking.) I wish I'd had more time to explore EBBC, but I went on the day they had the Bruce Springsteen signing, and it was a madhouse :O But yes, kudos to them for featuring local and marginalized voices.
saintcormorant's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
3.75
yeoroll's review against another edition
4.0
i havent read all the poems in this because i couldnt find the entire thing online 3 i wish i had a copy !!
caseythecanadianlesbrarian's review against another edition
5.0
For Your Own Good by Leah Horlick is full of the kind of writing that inspires superlatives. It’s one of the best books of poetry I’ve ever read, a genuinely important, incredibly powerful book that has stirred awe in a lot of readers, me included. This is not because For Your Own Good is in itself prone to any grandiose gestures or excess, but for the reason that it is truly a near-perfect, devastating collection of poetry.
I do not say devastating lightly. These poems are about an abusive lesbian relationship, violence in a supposedly safe queer space. There is plenty of triggering material: racism, colonialism, physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. But there’s a lot more than that, too...
For the full review, check out my website:
https://caseythecanadianlesbrarian.wordpress.com/?p=1717&preview=true&preview_id=1717
I do not say devastating lightly. These poems are about an abusive lesbian relationship, violence in a supposedly safe queer space. There is plenty of triggering material: racism, colonialism, physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. But there’s a lot more than that, too...
For the full review, check out my website:
https://caseythecanadianlesbrarian.wordpress.com/?p=1717&preview=true&preview_id=1717
dfparizeau's review against another edition
4.0
I have read collections of poems before where their is a cohesive narrative and (seemingly) consistent speaker before. However, few have gripped me in the same way that "For Your Own Good" did.
This is another book I have felt mild shame about having not read before, but it was clear after finishing it that I was not ready until now. The word choice in this book is judicious and the result are poems where I felt I could visualize emotions as strongly as I could the imagery being described.
This is another book I have felt mild shame about having not read before, but it was clear after finishing it that I was not ready until now. The word choice in this book is judicious and the result are poems where I felt I could visualize emotions as strongly as I could the imagery being described.
tenderness's review against another edition
4.0
I have sworn to myself a life of people who know when to stop. I promised—
and spent my first night in the new apartment drawing circles in salt and rain, whispering
to my old self, come here. I built this for you. I promised.
this was a very difficult read but a hugely necessary one, as is discussed in the author's conclusion note at the end. be aware if picking this collection up of its discussion of racism, rape, and abuse. this collection yanks the reader through the beginning, middle, end, aftermath, and healing of an abusive lesbian relationship and it's incredible what it accomplishes in such a short number of pages. incredibly devastating, powerful, and crucial reading.
and spent my first night in the new apartment drawing circles in salt and rain, whispering
to my old self, come here. I built this for you. I promised.
this was a very difficult read but a hugely necessary one, as is discussed in the author's conclusion note at the end. be aware if picking this collection up of its discussion of racism, rape, and abuse. this collection yanks the reader through the beginning, middle, end, aftermath, and healing of an abusive lesbian relationship and it's incredible what it accomplishes in such a short number of pages. incredibly devastating, powerful, and crucial reading.
shiftoptiondash's review against another edition
5.0
Devastating. This is a collection I'll be coming back to for decades.
helmagnusdottir's review
5.0
Painfully beautiful. A story of strength and violence, being robbed of agency, and silenced by her own community. This is a book about sexual assault, and the times after, the life before, between, and since. It's gorgeous, and tough, and teeth, and nail. This book will stay with me.