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ivi_reads_books's review against another edition
3.75
The author doesn't tell the reader what to do or think. She rather observes what happens and what doesn't happen. What gets said and what doesn't and thus encourages readers to self-reflect on their own behavior
Graphic: Mental illness, Racism, and Colonisation
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Deportation
Minor: Police brutality
abbie_'s review against another edition
4.25
- Loved the essay about diversity being a white word and the new buzzword in publishing. White authors feel threatened by BIPOC authors seemingly monopolising all the publishing deals (lol sure) so they do their best to shoehorn characters of colour into their work - as long as they’re writing with empathy, so the saying goes, no harm done. But Elliott argues that unless you’re writing about a particular community with love, it’ll be glaringly obvious and damaging to said community. White authors like Lionel Shriver immediately go onto the defensive, claiming censorship, criticism turned into censoring free speech.
- There’s a hard-hitting essay about Elliott’s sexual assault. During sexual violence trials, it’s the woman’s innocence that’s put on trial, not the man’s guilt. Before choosing to believe a man is *not* a rapist, people do not subject him to the barrage of questions we demand of women to prove they *are* a victim. We demand a woman put her trauma and pain on display, to watch as we pull it apart, put fingers into open wounds, make her perform her trauma again and again before, more often than not, still choosing not to believe.
- The essay about food deserts in North America was amazing, the way the US and Canada have manufactured them, enabled poorer people to become overweight and then ill. Why do people believe that the answer to what is choking us - capitalism and colonialism - is to shove more of those same things down our throats while we choke?
- Essay on photography, voyeurism, colonialism, consent, power, desire - not as strong as some of the others but I liked how she explored white photographers encroaching on communities they don’t belong to to further their and western white society’s stereotypical views of a community
- Essay on lies and fiction (made me think of something else I read recently) where women writers are often conflated with their characters. Men rarely receive this treatment, but people often treat fiction written by women as autofiction
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Colonisation
eve81's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Colonisation
remimicha's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical trauma, and Toxic friendship
june_haya's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Alcoholism, Genocide, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Abortion
ltulisiak's review against another edition
5.0
Additionally, the author is originally from Buffalo, NY, and was partially raised in the greater Cleveland, OH, area, so I felt a geographical connection with her, as well.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Suicide attempt
clarabooksit's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Sexual assault
biancafrancisco's review against another edition
5.0
The book teaches you a lot about the issues indigenous communities and individuals struggle with (most that were imposed on them by colonizers), and how not only they are still dealing with and trying to heal from the very real and tangibly present damage this legacy of colonialism and genocide has transfered through generations, but are simultaneously dealing with modern versions of the same violence nowadays.
I was surprised to see, that through the connections she makes between several systemic structures, there was much for me to relate to as well. I'm an immensely priviledged white european, but I'm still a woman, I'm still a daughter, I'm still bound by the constraints of capitalism and the patriarchy as well as witness to intergenerational trauma, to mention a few, and, in the end, you can't accurately assess any structural issue without it intertwining with the others.
All in all, I recommend it to literally everyone, as I think there's learning opportunities in this book for all of us. I'm extremely glad I picked it up.
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
indrabindra's review against another edition
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Genocide, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, and Colonisation
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Fatphobia, and Grief
emzireads's review against another edition
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Rape, and Violence