Reviews with content warning for Racism - Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes, and Growing Up

I really enjoyed reading about Naya's life in her own words. It was very candid and she was open about all the experiences in her life.

Like everyone, I was devastated to learn of her death but I am so glad we got to hear about her life in her own words before she passed. I can only imagine what else she would have achieved if she was still with us.

Still I am glad she was able to share part of her story and also even more happy to know she lived a lot of life, good and bad

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hayleythegoose's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

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lindseybarnett's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

3.0

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jaivscott's review against another edition

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funny informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

I really appreciated this book. I’ve been wanting to get it for a long time, and it’s always nice to get a different perspective on life.

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kendallrosenlof's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

5.0

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itsmeyseniab's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced

4.0

I really enjoyed this one! I loved the format of this memoir: each chapter serving as a "lesson" or chapter of her life and ending with a list of things she's sorry for versus what she's not so sorry for. I really appreciated how open and honest Naya was about different events in her life (both when she was in the public eye and when she wasn't). It didn't feel sugarcoated at all which was definitely a breath of fresh air in the market of celebrity memoirs! Her voice translated very well on the page and I felt as though I connected with her on a deeper level when she spoke about certain trials and tribulations she had gone through.

The audiobook was great and I would definitely recommend it, especially if you were a fan of Naya. Her spirit was infectious and she is, and will continue to be, deeply missed.

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wolfiegrrrl's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced

3.0

I am glad I opted to listen to the audiobook so I could hear the tone and inflection in her voice. Her style of writing feels very much like a conversation with the readers - from the uncensored opinions and anecdotes to the non-linear storytelling - so it wound up being a great match with the audiobook format. The non-linear storytelling wound up being both a pro and a con for me because, while I understand the choice to break the story up into sections the way she did, I had a little trouble fitting all the puzzle pieces of the conversation together in my head, but I think that speaks less about her writing than it does about me.

The section where she spoke about how adulthood comes with reaching the point where you look at your parents and can finally see them as people going through their own problems instead of tyrants out to make your life miserable is something I related to quite a bit, and I am glad that she was able to reach that moment of understanding with her mom after everything.

Overall, the stories and reflections shared in this memoir were interesting and the gimmick of ending each chapter with Sorry and Not Sorry lists is really sweet, but there are topics that are discussed with less sensitivity than should be called for. It would seem that the unfortunate implications she makes while doing so are due to clumsy wording more than intentional malice, but the thoughts still hang there.

In the end, this is a book she wrote to reclaim and reconcile her life story in a way that would hopefully reach the people who needed to hear it so that they would know they're not alone in their experiences, and that's pretty great.

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