Reviews

The Urgent Life: My Story of Love, Loss, and Survival by Bozoma Saint John

kdanielle's review against another edition

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inspiring medium-paced

4.0

bookedwithamba's review

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emotional reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

caaaaarmel's review against another edition

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inspiring

4.0

onecrab's review against another edition

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4.0

Wow.
I almost returned this book to the library without reading, the memoir I had finished previously was still leaving a bad taste in my mouth. 
This is a really good memoir. It's super engaging and so intimate. I loved reading Bozoma Saint John's story and hearing her truth. 
And there's pictures! 

ladyquestion's review against another edition

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5.0

This was a great listen, narrated by the author. She has a experienced an immense amount of tragedy for any one person, and is still standing. I appreciate the transparency she showed, sharing the lessons she learned along the way, and being able to look back and recognize what she could have done differently, in all the relationships she had. She shared her experienced, as she experienced it without regret, but moreso with hindsight and introspection.

Her original OB needs to be sued to hell and back, never to practice again.

rivrwalkr's review against another edition

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emotional sad slow-paced

4.0

aberwin's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

4.5

mkilgallon's review

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emotional inspiring fast-paced

5.0

maybak's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

I’ve enjoyed listening to this audiobook. Bozoma Saint-John narrates her own story so we truly get a first-hand account from her. Her bubbly and go-getter personality shines through the recording. I knew little about her personal life and to my surprise, I learned that she had to grapple with loss early in life. Her college boyfriend, Ben, was depressed and ended up committing suicide. 

I was expecting to hear more about her impressive career however, her memoir focuses more on her personal life. Bozoma Saint-John takes us through her life, from her upbringing as a Ghanaian-American girl with staunchly traditional Ghanaian parents to her college flings and the life she shared with Peter, the love of her life and father to her daughter before he died from cancer. 

This book delves deeply into the topic of loss and grief, love and harship, and resilience. It can be a bit depressing but it’s really relatable as she experienced the loss of her college boyfriend, the divorce of her parents, the passing of her first child, Eve, and of her late husband Peter. 

This book sheds light on how Bozoma lived through all these traumatic experiences and how it changed her from the inside out—prompting her to live her life with urgency.

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dhd_1's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

3.0