Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Acceptance: A Memoir by Emi Nietfeld

10 reviews

nlallen1's review against another edition

emotional funny medium-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Child abuse, Eating disorder, and Suicidal thoughts

westmin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

An honestly incredible memoir about fighting tooth and nail for your own stability and happiness, deeply entwined with a critique of the so-called meritocracy. Hard to say I “enjoyed” it because it was a very difficult read, made more difficult by the fact that some of the content reminded me of my own struggles (and triumphs!). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Forced institutionalization

kaitlin1210's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Transphobia

rlinnyc's review

dark emotional sad fast-paced

3.25

Please review content warnings if you have specific triggers, this book spans many difficult scenarios.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Biphobia, Drug use, Homophobia, Sexism, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, and Classism

mosleyjen's review

challenging dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

4.0

Starts slow but gets better and more reflective as it goes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

stephlerone's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

wildestdreams's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Suicide attempt

lizthelizard's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0

READ THE CONTENT WARNINGS

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Forced institutionalization

hollyd19's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

This memoir is absolutely exceptional. 

Acceptance recounts Emi Nietfeld’s childhood up through graduating from Harvard. Contending with a mother who is both a compulsive hoarder and an expert gaslighter, Emi faces down institutionalization, homelessness, negative foster families, and poverty to claw her way to the academic successes on which she pins her future. But Nietfeld is very clear: she doesn’t want to be seen as an inspirational, bootstraps-pulling story of grit and resilience. Instead, with bracing candor, she lays bare her life as a window into the incredibly irrational and often actively harmful hoops through which any youth facing adversity must jump through. 

Early on, her mom’s charm combined with her full authority over her daughter’s life landed Emi in the residential psych ward where her problems were treated as entirely her fault, glossed over with platitudes and encouragement to “own up” to her role in all that had happened. Reading about Emi’s institutionalization was sobering and infuriating. I highlighted an upsetting number of instances when those in authority abused Emi, blamed her for her trauma, and even told her that her ambitions were a source of her issues and that she should stop trying to succeed. 

Fast forward to her years applying for schools and the ways that Emi had to prostitute her own story for admission was devastating. After years of being held responsible for the failures of the adults around her, suddenly she had to display her deepest wounds to be considered worthy of what she needed to create a better life. This felt especially true learning about her pursuit of scholarship money and accommodations. 

This memoir comes replete with trigger warnings, but I cannot recommend it enough. It is courageous, honest, and piercing. It belongs in the ranks of other remarkable memoirs like The Glass Castle and Born a Crime. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Biphobia and Vomit

Minor: Transphobia

co27's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism