cam_go_loud's review against another edition
Book Riot Read Harder Challenge #11.- Read a food memoir by an author of color AND #23.- Read a book that demystifies a common mental illness.
happydog33's review against another edition
5.0
Roxane Gay is such an amazing writer. This book takes a very personal story and makes it universal. Such crisp writing that never shies away from a difficult truth.
isleoflinds's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
gabieowleyess's review against another edition
4.0
I need to read absolutely everything that this woman has written.
autisticenbynerd's review against another edition
5.0
I’ve heard of Roxane Gay – who hasn’t – but she isn’t someone I’ve actually read before now despite meaning to do so. So I figured why not. I admit I was slightly hesitant in going in to this book because of my personal history. I’ve always struggled with food and my weight, especially because I’m so short. I’ve never been as heavy as Gay, but at my heaviest I was nearly 45kg (100lbs) overweight. I’m not much lighter than that at the moment.
I was anxious about what the book would bring to the surface when I read it. Despite being anxious, I pushed myself to pick it up and start and while it struck a chord with me in many places, I’m so so glad that I decided to go ahead and read it.
Gay talks about how after an event as a child she turned to food as solace in order to provide the satisfaction that she needed in life especially instant satisfaction. As someone who eats for that feeling, I empathised with her so much, though our reasons for doing so are entirely different.
The level of brutal honesty in this book is astounding. Despite all the punches to the gut I experienced throughout it, I couldn’t put it down. She has gone through so much and to come through it and grow as a person is amazing. The relationships with other people that she experienced who wanted to lose weight for various reasons was something that struck another chord with me. As she says, the world is fixated on the fact that you have to be skinny to be happy which isn’t the case. We might have reacted slightly differently to that advice but what they made us feel was the same.
It isn’t just fat shaming and fat culture that Gay touches on by also rape culture and racism and the reasons why she stayed quiet for so long. She didn’t think she’d be believed. Looking at the media today, I don’t blame her at all and I can’t even imagine what it was like back then when it happened.
While it is obvious that she is quite possibly still suffering from PTSD which is what turned her to food in the first place as well as other coping methods that could be considered self harm, she also made it clear that she has come a long way compared to where she used to be.
The level of honesty both about her life, her body and what happened too but also about how the world views her and other people who are obese, was intense. I’ve put off writing this review for about a week because I can’t do the book justice.
I was anxious about what the book would bring to the surface when I read it. Despite being anxious, I pushed myself to pick it up and start and while it struck a chord with me in many places, I’m so so glad that I decided to go ahead and read it.
Gay talks about how after an event as a child she turned to food as solace in order to provide the satisfaction that she needed in life especially instant satisfaction. As someone who eats for that feeling, I empathised with her so much, though our reasons for doing so are entirely different.
The level of brutal honesty in this book is astounding. Despite all the punches to the gut I experienced throughout it, I couldn’t put it down. She has gone through so much and to come through it and grow as a person is amazing. The relationships with other people that she experienced who wanted to lose weight for various reasons was something that struck another chord with me. As she says, the world is fixated on the fact that you have to be skinny to be happy which isn’t the case. We might have reacted slightly differently to that advice but what they made us feel was the same.
It isn’t just fat shaming and fat culture that Gay touches on by also rape culture and racism and the reasons why she stayed quiet for so long. She didn’t think she’d be believed. Looking at the media today, I don’t blame her at all and I can’t even imagine what it was like back then when it happened.
While it is obvious that she is quite possibly still suffering from PTSD which is what turned her to food in the first place as well as other coping methods that could be considered self harm, she also made it clear that she has come a long way compared to where she used to be.
The level of honesty both about her life, her body and what happened too but also about how the world views her and other people who are obese, was intense. I’ve put off writing this review for about a week because I can’t do the book justice.
snchard's review against another edition
4.0
Listened to the audiobook read b the author, and it was really powerful. I am not usually a nonfiction/memoir reader, so the non-linear timeline threw me a little, but it was beautifully written. At times, I felt like I was reading 88 separate (exceptionally rebloggable) Tumblr posts. Although chapters and sections describe terrible things happening, it never felt like Gay was asking for pity or overreacting or wanting attention, as I am always afraid memoirs will. She told a story that needed to be told, and it was important, and she succeeded.
ndouglas11's review against another edition
5.0
You know those books that mean so much and you feel like everyone should read them because then the world would be a kinder, more understanding, better place? For me, this is one of those books.
booksbythecup's review against another edition
“The story of my life is wanting, hungering, for what I cannot have or, perhaps, wanting what I dare not allow myself to have.” —Hunger, Roxane Gay
I've seen this book many times over the years and after reading another review about this book, I decided to pick it up. Gay's writing is piercing and potentially one of the most vulnerable books I've read in quite some time. For her to capture words in the pages of this book that felt like looking in the mirror at times, I was hungry for more. I felt understood as a woman who has undervalued my worth because I've picked up some weight. Feeling shamed for being bigger than I've been before and feeling a measure of disdain from others because it's like, what happened to you, is what I see in the unspoken expressions from others that speak volumes even when they are silent.
Devouring this book in almost one sitting because I felt represented by much of what is said. Struggling with body image issues, knowing what I need to do but not always having the energy to do it. Being told that the better me is trapped inside the fat me, struggling with self image and confidence because I want to do better but feel like giving up.
-
“In yet another commercial, Oprah somberly says, “Inside every overweight woman is a woman she knows she can be.” This is a popular notion, the idea that the fat among us are carrying a thin woman inside. Each time I see this particular commercial, I think, I ate that thin woman and she was delicious but unsatisfying.”
-
I could relate to this, I also laugh at Gay's response because it lightens the mood a bit, while at the same time causing me to stop and reflect on how I feel when I see these ads, how my feelings can fluctuate up and down, somewhat like my weight.
I could go on and on about this book but the caption won't allow for that. -
Overall, piercing, painful at times, read worthy.
-
I've seen this book many times over the years and after reading another review about this book, I decided to pick it up. Gay's writing is piercing and potentially one of the most vulnerable books I've read in quite some time. For her to capture words in the pages of this book that felt like looking in the mirror at times, I was hungry for more. I felt understood as a woman who has undervalued my worth because I've picked up some weight. Feeling shamed for being bigger than I've been before and feeling a measure of disdain from others because it's like, what happened to you, is what I see in the unspoken expressions from others that speak volumes even when they are silent.
Devouring this book in almost one sitting because I felt represented by much of what is said. Struggling with body image issues, knowing what I need to do but not always having the energy to do it. Being told that the better me is trapped inside the fat me, struggling with self image and confidence because I want to do better but feel like giving up.
-
“In yet another commercial, Oprah somberly says, “Inside every overweight woman is a woman she knows she can be.” This is a popular notion, the idea that the fat among us are carrying a thin woman inside. Each time I see this particular commercial, I think, I ate that thin woman and she was delicious but unsatisfying.”
-
I could relate to this, I also laugh at Gay's response because it lightens the mood a bit, while at the same time causing me to stop and reflect on how I feel when I see these ads, how my feelings can fluctuate up and down, somewhat like my weight.
I could go on and on about this book but the caption won't allow for that. -
Overall, piercing, painful at times, read worthy.
-