Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Just Ignore Him by Alan Davies

25 reviews

misskatz's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

Moderate: Pedophilia and Death of parent

blueberryqueen's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

I can't describe this book as an enjoyable read but it was a powerful one. Alan Davies is a brilliant writer and I finished this in less than a day. I'd like to listen to the audiobook at some point as well

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Bullying and Homophobia

laurajordensharris's review

challenging emotional funny inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol

asourceoffiction's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring medium-paced

This is not the book I expected it to be. But it is an important one, and a book I won't forget for a while.

Davies is inherently funny and his humour is often self-deprecating. But shedding light on the trauma of his childhood really puts all of that in context. By examining his relationship with his family - and his father in particular - he unpacks a lot of emotional issues and lifelong struggles.

He speaks with fierce honesty and humility, holding nothing back. This isn't always an easy read, and it's incredible how it manages to be funny and heartbreaking, sometimes in the same sentence. 

Incredibly brave and fascinating, this is one of the best memoirs I've read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Grief, and Death of parent

jaslouis's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

I wasn’t sure what to expect but Davies is an excellent writer. He writes with great detail and beauty. I found sometimes it jumped around quite a lot so it made it difficult to follow the timeline but that did not affect the overall message. A brave and raw book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Death of parent

vicf99's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

5.0

Absolutely heartbreaking. Listening to Alan narrate this himself was so devastating that I had to listen to the whole 8.5 hours in one sitting. This book felt a lot like some form of self-therapy and there are many questions posed throughout the book for which he has no answer. This is definitely a book which will stick with me for a while.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Death of parent

Minor: Homophobia

rachel26's review

challenging dark emotional funny inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Grief, and Death of parent

musicboxmemories's review

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Death of parent

emily_lane's review against another edition

dark emotional funny sad medium-paced

4.0

I have a tendency to pick up memiors because I enjoy them, without scoping out the blurb so all I knew when downloading this was it was the funny, charming, clever Alan Davis.

This was a very hard listen, well written, with moments of whimsy amongst the traumatic recollections. It encompasses why you should always, always listen to victims.

Would recommend anyone who's a fan of a memior, who has space to listen to hard topics, or anyone who enjoys Davis' comedy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Death of parent

Moderate: Bullying

watermelleon's review against another edition

challenging informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

Challenging, emotional, dark, incredible. 

Warning: this is not an easy read. There were times I had to pause, and take a breath, or contemplate what was being said. It is very triggering for many reasons, quite graphic in detail, and for this reason I imagine is very difficult for a lot of readers. 

One thing I did not expect from this read was how nuanced it would be written. This is not a sob story where someone is feeling forced to sell their journey as trauma porn for others to feel something over. This is a delicate, intelligent, and well thought out commentary on the society we live in, toxic masculinity, the fickle nature of sexuality, the social and physical effects of childhood trauma, the attraction of dangerous volunteers to risky roles, the court system, the police, feminism, and generational trauma (to name just a few!) 

At one point, Alan touched upon a particularly sore spot for me that I was not expecting to appear at all. But his conversational voice and facts presented reminded me the reader that survivors of trauma exist everywhere in so many forms and we all have learned lessons that have value when we are ready to reach out and discuss it with others. 

I'm so glad to have picked the audio book version, which added another level of expertly guided feelings by Alan. He is a fantastic voice, and had me crying on many many bus journeys and walks.

An incredible last line that will stick with me for a long time as well. I wish for many of my friends and family members to read this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Many people were shocked to hear that this is about Alan's experiences of Childhood sexual abuse by his father, not sure if it is in the marketing but had a few people mention they thought it was just about emotional abuse! The sexual abuse is very detailed and a big part of the book.