Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Mean Baby: A Memoir of Growing Up by Selma Blair

58 reviews

daniellekat's review against another edition

dark sad fast-paced

2.75

I mostly enjoyed parts 1 and 3 but hated part 2. This felt disjointed at times and although Blair is an ok writer, there were too many random anecdotes for me (and WAY too much name dropping). This was written in a truly honest voice, but the lack of structure and introspection had me wondering, as a reader, "why do I care?" I also felt like Blair frequently lost sight of her privilege. I think keeping in mind that her chronic illness and lived trauma has likely had a significant effect on her memory recall and perspective of self, helped me get through this without totally hating her. Ultimately, I can appreciate and sympathize with her struggles and hardships, but I can't say I would recommend this one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Medical content, and Death of parent

teacupsandfirereads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

I'll be honest, I haven't watched anything Selma Blair has been in, but I still wanted to pick this up for the learning about MS. I will say it didn't cover this as much as I thought or hoped it would. While the writing is real and raw, I felt lost in the story and the timelines. It portrays many ups and downs in her life; ways she was enabled, but also how she progressed through the various decisions she made and their consequences. While I love when a memoir is read by the author, Selma showed many emotions throughout, that while you would hope it would add to the story, I found it distracting. What I enjoyed most was the reflection throughout the story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Body shaming, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical content, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Cursing, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

sunsplat's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

sophiestasyna's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism

Moderate: Animal death, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, and Death of parent

kenxdoll's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism and Alcohol

Minor: Eating disorder, Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

itsgnat's review against another edition

informative sad slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

heatherd's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this memoir. I wasn't a huge Selma Blair fan and the only work of hers that truly stands out to me is Cruel Intentions, but I had heard this was a good listen so I decided to pick up the audio. I'm so glad I did. Not only is this book beautifully written, raw and honest, but Blair's narration is incredible and super emotional. Her life is interesting and she tells her story in a really compelling way. For me the best parts of the book were from when she had her son and after - she gets into her sobriety, MS diagnosis, and everything that happened after. The one thing I feel like was missing is more about how she got into the industry - it seemed like, boom, she's an actor, but I know it had to have been more complex than that. Either way, this is a really good celebrity memoir, and I highly recommend it, whether you are a Selma Blair fan or not.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism and Sexual assault

anjasshelf's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic

curious_oyster's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Pregnancy

Minor: Death, Toxic relationship, Dementia, and Death of parent

paigicus's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Rape, Sexual assault, Medical content, and Alcohol

Moderate: Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Eating disorder, and Death of parent

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship