Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Spare by Prince Harry

102 reviews

katrinaburch's review against another edition

emotional funny informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

What a book. I've always liked Harry more than William (not sure, maybe because we're both the younger in the family? Not sure exactly) and this book cements that liking. I know he had help writing this book but unlike a lot of ghost written books, I actually believe he wrote a lot of it. It's well written, easy to read, and at least for me, you really do feel what he's going through. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War

Minor: Drug use, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Car accident, and Pregnancy

mamasuereads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

I enjoyed listening along as well as reading the physical book on this one.  As a child growing up, he was awarded so many incredible experiences being a royal, even with being the spare.  But then, at such a young age to lose his adored mother, it seems that life was halted.  After his mother's death, it seems he was haunted and hunted all while experiencing his teen years . . that isn't easy for any child let alone a young man in that cold, impersonal royal "family" unit.  I use quotations because that family is his blood but that's about it. I could not imagine no hugs, no kisses, what a very cold-hearted bunch. Now he can be whoever he is meant to be and raise his children with love and affection. I'm certain his mother is smiling down upon his family unit.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

liesthemoontells's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

As someone with a morbid curiosity about the royal family, I don't know why I didn't listen to Prince Harry's audiobook earlier. It is filled with information that confirms my existing belief that the British Royal Family is the most privileged institution of human rights abuse in the world.

From a purely academic perspective, this memoir is ground breaking and history making for breaking the code of silence around what really goes on behind the closed doors of the royal palaces. 

From an entertainment perspective, it has everything you could hope for in a celebrity memoir: packed with scandalous anecdotes about a world the ordinary reader will never experience, which helps to humanise a figure that we rarely see other than through the telephoto lens of a tabloid, or glossy official media coverage.

Is it extremely one-sided? Yes. Are the parts about Harry's wartime experiences in Afghanistan a little bit boring and morally icky? Yes. Is his stated support of the monarchy pretty flimsy considering that the recollections he includes in this book of his King and the Heir to the throne paints them as insecure, conniving, snivelly little overgrown rich boys? Yes. Did I struggle to put it down? Yes, I was riveted.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gun violence, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Colonisation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

katie0528's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

4.75

A tragic memoir as Harry reflects on growing up in the toxic enviorment of the royal family and the invasive paparazzi that led to his mother's death and consumed his own life leaving to his split with the royals. Harry speaks with a deeply reflective voice of someone who has clearly spent years in therapy trying to unpack the toxic world he was raised in. He owns his mistakes and offers a deep empathy to his own family, even as he laments the state of disconnection. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Racism, Stalking, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Classism

emilycheslock's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective tense slow-paced

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Misogyny, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Colonisation, and War

Minor: Addiction, Blood, and Abandonment

rhiannonhoward's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny lighthearted reflective relaxing sad tense slow-paced

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Classism

abi_lowe's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Car accident, and Death of parent

Moderate: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Violence, Stalking, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and War

Minor: Medical content

jewelleryjen's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced

3.25

I don't have much of an interest in the Royal family and I would never have picked up this book if it hadn't been for a review on YouTube by Leena Norms. I saw headlines about Megan and Harry leaving the family and was interested in their side of it. 
This book was very interesting, it smacks of privilege (having a bad time?!- fly to Botswana and escape) but of course it does, the guy was a Prince and doesn't know anything else. There are parts where I can see he's trying to say he's normal, but it made me cringe as it seemed very inauthentic (I shop in TK maxx and dry my laundry on the radiators round my flat). If you can give him the benefit of the doubt on those things this book is hugely telling. It's mostly about death, the press and his search for belonging. The entire family are utterly dysfunctional and he doesn't shy away from talking about it. They are expected to do what they're told, or what is tradition, and never show emotions, not even to each other. 
This is an enjoyable book to read, the chapters are short and easy.
I missed out on some of it as I didn't know who he was talking about when referencing cousins etc and there were stories from papers that I'd never read or heard of, but it didn't stop me enjoying it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Stalking, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and War

jeanettesreadingcorner's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic