Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death by Maggie O'Farrell

17 reviews

msteinhaus's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

4.0

Maggie O'Farrell's writing is lovely--very evocative without being over-the-top or cloying. I appreciated that while near-death experiences are the thread around which this memoir is organized, they aren't always the primary focus of a given vignette. My only complaint is that the last chapter about her daughter felt out of place--it is a sharp evolution/departure from the other stories and I would have preferred its exclusion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Miscarriage, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

bethnash's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infertility, Miscarriage, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Death, Infidelity, Violence, and Murder

localcat's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Miscarriage, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder

shelfofunread's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Miscarriage and Violence

Minor: Ableism, Bullying, and Blood

bradypus's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Infertility, Car accident, and Pregnancy

kelly_e's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

3.25

Title: I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death
Author: Maggie O'Farrell
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 3.25
Pub Date: August 27 2017

T H R E E • W O R D S

Intimate • Unconventional • Articulate

📖 S Y N O P S I S

I Am, I Am, I Am is the deeply personal memoir from British novelist Maggie O'Farrell, exploring seventeen brushes with death sprinkled throughout her life. From a childhood illness to a a frightening encounter deep in the jungle to dealing with a child diagnosed with severe allergies, each essay explores the preciousness of life.

💭 T H O U G H T S

This book had been on my TBR since it's release, and I honestly thought I was going to love it. Not only did it come highly recommended to me, but the beautiful cover and synopsis were right up my alley. However, it failed to engage me completely the whole way through. It is a deeply personal and insightful account of the fragility of life, yet I wasn't overly moved. What didn't work for me was the structure. Personally, I think a chronological order of events would have benefitted the narration and made for a more enjoyable reading experience. With that said, her writing is stunningly beautiful and she explores the complexities of life in a delicate manner.

I anticipated loving this book, and honestly it didn't live up to my expectations. While this wasn't the powerful, moving memoir I was hoping for, it was still worth reading.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• readers who enjoyed The Year of Magical Thinking
• Maggie O'Farrell fans

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"The people who teach us something retain a particularly vivid place in our memoires. I'd been a parent for about ten minutes when I met the man, but he taught me, with a small gesture, one of the most important things about the job: kindness, intuition, touch, and that sometimes you don't even need words." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Miscarriage, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Death, Infertility, Sexual assault, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Pregnancy

l1llymay's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror and Blood