Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Worthy by Jada Pinkett Smith

10 reviews

aclevela724's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Grief, and Death of parent

adiajamille's review against another edition

informative medium-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, and Death of parent

jwartts's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad

4.75

Easy to read first-hand account. Simply addresses rumors while deeply exploring the Author’s foundation. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Trafficking, and Pregnancy

amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, Gun violence, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Police brutality and Trafficking

alex_johnson_2021's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful slow-paced

5.0

I think this memoir did a good job with detailing Jada's early life and understanding why she is the person that she is. She admits that there were mistakes that she made in her life, and she's actively trying to be a better person. I even like the portions at the end where she asks the readers questions about their lives based on the theme(s) of the chapter. My only issue with this book is that it does feel a bit long to go through and a bit too enlightened. There is a sense of distance, especially when it comes to explaining the entanglement between her and August and I wished she would have went a bit deeper to explain it, rather than a rushed section. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Abandonment

mari1532's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

#20booksby20blackWomen hosted by @melanatedreader

I listened to the audiobook through my library.

I have been a fan of Pinkett-Smith's acting for a while. I particularly enjoyed her in Gotham and The Women. So, I would have likely chosen to read her book anyway, but this book was all over the internet before its release and that heightened my interest. Living through the 2010s when the media tore women apart I suspected that the sensationalization of her book was just that. For instance, the comments that she made about her relationship with Tupac. I just wanted to read the book and form my own opinion.

It is clear from her writing that Pinkett-Smith has done a lot of therapeutic and healing work on herself. The vulnerability it took to open her book with her thoughts of suicide is truly inspiring. I also appreciated how she discussed the many ways that she worked on her mental health throughout her lifetime.

I also appreciate that she discussed her relationship with Sheree Zampino. All too often women, especially in Hollywood are pitted against each other. And it was beautiful to hear about how Pinkett-Smith and Zampino were able to come to an understanding with each other and form a familial bond for their children.

I did feel that this memoir was a bit long. Pinkett-Smith did a really thorough job discussing her life and highlighting the relationships and stories that shaped her outlook and life today. It did feel like a tribute to Tupac in some ways as he was a large figure throughout the book. However, it appears clear that he was one of Pinkett-Smith's closest friends and that their time together and his murder had a large impact on her life and career.

The one thing that I did not like about this book is that at the end of every chapter, she posed questions and ways for the reader to reflect on their own life. These just felt a little out of place because they felt more self-help-oriented than memoir-focused.

If you are a fan of Pinkett-Smith's acting, singing, or producing (seriously watch Netflix's Queen Cleopatra) I would recommend this book. Additionally, if you love learning about other people's journey through life this is a book that you will enjoy. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Pregnancy, and Classism

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Gun violence

Minor: Police brutality and Murder

kshertz's review

inspiring medium-paced

3.75

Jada has lead a fascinating life. The more I learned though, the harder it was for me to understand a lot of her choices. She seems very lost but I’m hoping this religious quest helps her find the meaning she’s looking for. There’s a lot to say for her never giving up with all she’s been through. She doesn’t care if she’s likeable, she just wants to be real. But hard to read a book about someone that is so unlikeable! Catch 22. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

hesticht's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use

Moderate: Addiction and Alcoholism

Minor: Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Abandonment

zviews11's review

emotional informative inspiring medium-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief

Minor: Bullying, Drug use, Infidelity, Murder, and Pregnancy

emquegeeaye's review

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

This was a very good, well thought out, well-written, thought provoking and insightful book. Jada did her big one with this. It felt very truthful and honest and I left this book with a better understanding of who Jada is. I felt like I was on the journey with her to get to know who she is bc she'd lost herself so long ago. Oftentimes we get lost in being a wife, mother, house manager & having our own careers that we just don't take time for us and lose sight of who we are. We also don't realize how childhood fears and traumas shape our lives into adulthood. Both Jada and Will have a lot of similar childhood traumas they just react to them differently. Will might make a joke or might shut down completely but he always smiles through it as if it doesn't affect him. A trauma response. Jada on the other hand would lash out, curse, self soothe with alcohol & "grown up time" 😉 and eventually she deferred to Will's go-to method of coping by smiling through it. The problems or perceived problems they have in their marriage is not for me to judge bc those are their problems and they deal with them accordingly. And what works for them may not work for others. Especially those not in their tax bracket. Bc what they go through on a daily basis and what they've gone through for the last 30 years is what my mawmaw would say are "rich people's problems". And idk nothing about that. But my biggest takeaways from this book are that she loves Will deeply. And at times she's loved this man more than she loved herself. Gotta keep in mind she met this married man when she was very young, inexperienced in relationships and new to her fame so she hadn't quite figured out who Jada was as a celebrity or Jada the adult. Shes been with this man her whole entire adult life. And I can understand where she's coming from in that aspect bc I've been with my husband since I was 18. I've been with him longer as an adult than I was a child. And sometimes you just need to find yourself and figure out who you are separately and aside from being someone's wife or mom. She loves and adores her children. And she also loves and is loved deeply by her friends. And that is a blessing. Bc she still has a lot of the same friends from early childhood and her teen years. Everybody can't say that. I also loved the questions she would ask. Seemed like it was those questions you get in therapy. Your "homework". And the recommendation of books that have helped her along her journey. I will be picking them up. Overall great book. I would recommend to anybody who just wants to figure out how to find your true self and know your worth. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug use, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol