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epiphxnygirl's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
tense
3.0
read_with_tea's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
4.25
chelseachips's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
coletteharris's review against another edition
5.0
When I was learning about OCD I never thought the name fitted me - there’s so much misunderstanding and misinformation out there. Similarly to how Rose describes, it took me deep internet tunnels of research to learn about Pure O and sexuality OCD. I wish I could go back in time and put this book in my hands, and meet this author in person to give her a huge hug and thank her for writing it.
If you struggle with repetitive distressing thoughts or have someone with OCD in your life (and want to understand what they might be going through), this book is for you. I highlighted the most relatable and resonating passages as I went through and ended up with marks on almost every single page. This is the most relatable and accurate description of Pure O/Primarily Obsessive I’ve ever read, it feels like the author got inside my head and wrote it all down.
I get that I’m effectively screeching my gratitude into the void by posting this on Goodreads, but to Rose Cartwright: thank you for your bravery in sharing this story that is experienced by so many people but feels so insurmountable to discuss and comprehend. I wish there was a six star option specifically for this book.
If you struggle with repetitive distressing thoughts or have someone with OCD in your life (and want to understand what they might be going through), this book is for you. I highlighted the most relatable and resonating passages as I went through and ended up with marks on almost every single page. This is the most relatable and accurate description of Pure O/Primarily Obsessive I’ve ever read, it feels like the author got inside my head and wrote it all down.
I get that I’m effectively screeching my gratitude into the void by posting this on Goodreads, but to Rose Cartwright: thank you for your bravery in sharing this story that is experienced by so many people but feels so insurmountable to discuss and comprehend. I wish there was a six star option specifically for this book.
dressedupbanana's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
medium-paced
3.25
thebrookie9's review against another edition
4.0
Really informative memoir about ocd. It’s not often that ocd is accurately portrayed in the media and it felt so important to read someone else’s experience of learning that they have ocd and the struggle of getting helpful treatment. Definitely made me feel seen, understood, and not alone.
amonkhouse's review against another edition
4.0
It didn't quite hit 5 for me because some of the language was a bit cringey and the end was overly long, but I loved this and read it in one go.
ranniewhitlock's review against another edition
3.0
I started this after watching the tv show that it’s based on, which I loved so much for being one of the only accurate portrayals of OCD in the media. I was so excited to read this, and expected to devour it in a few days, but halfway through, I ended up putting it aside for several months.
The show left me in tears multiple times for how absolutely real it felt, and the relief that something like it exists in the world as a piece of art. Even after being diagnosed for several years, the show opened up several new conversations and ways to help my husband understand what it’s like in my head all the time. So I expected the book to be similar - maybe even something I could give to my parents to read (something a little tamer than the necessary but still graphic show.)
But there’s a distance in the book that I can’t quite figure out. We get lots of detail of Rose’s thoughts, and the way it affected her, but it still feels a little bit…intellectualized, maybe? The time skips (which I usually don’t mind) didn’t seem to serve the story as much as everything being laid out chronologically would have, since it requires a lot of knowledge/remember of Rose’s personal history. Overall, I found the show more relatable, and easier to use as a conversation starter, and I’m usually a book person all the way.
All in all, I’m so grateful for Rose, for the work she does, and for her bravery in sharing her story. And the show wouldn’t exist without this book. So any personal nitpicks aside, I’m glad I read this, and I’m so glad it exists.
The show left me in tears multiple times for how absolutely real it felt, and the relief that something like it exists in the world as a piece of art. Even after being diagnosed for several years, the show opened up several new conversations and ways to help my husband understand what it’s like in my head all the time. So I expected the book to be similar - maybe even something I could give to my parents to read (something a little tamer than the necessary but still graphic show.)
But there’s a distance in the book that I can’t quite figure out. We get lots of detail of Rose’s thoughts, and the way it affected her, but it still feels a little bit…intellectualized, maybe? The time skips (which I usually don’t mind) didn’t seem to serve the story as much as everything being laid out chronologically would have, since it requires a lot of knowledge/remember of Rose’s personal history. Overall, I found the show more relatable, and easier to use as a conversation starter, and I’m usually a book person all the way.
All in all, I’m so grateful for Rose, for the work she does, and for her bravery in sharing her story. And the show wouldn’t exist without this book. So any personal nitpicks aside, I’m glad I read this, and I’m so glad it exists.