Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

What My Mother and I Don't Talk About: Fifteen Writers Break the Silence by Michele Filgate

19 reviews

cady_sass's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

This is a heavy read. As with any anthology or collection of essays with multiple authors, some things are going to resonate and others are not. I think there is genuinely something for everyone here, whether your relationship with your mother is good or great or toxic or non-existent. A lot of tough topics are handled very eloquently and it may be tough to get through at times but it’s a worthy read. I’d recommend this to most people, I think you’ll find something that sticks with you for a long time to come. I know I did. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Cursing, Ableism, Racism, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Sexism, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Medical content, Physical abuse, Violence, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, and Suicide

aus10england's review against another edition

fast-paced

4.75

Oh, this was profound. All the stories were engaging and poignant. I only wish they were all longer! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse

Moderate: Rape and Alcoholism

Minor: War and Death of parent

samanthajore's review against another edition

4.5

I don't know what I was expecting when I went into this book but whatever I was expecting this book blew away all my expectations. Throughout the different essays multiple authors went into their way of breaking free from the trauma they were put through when they were younger. The different stories all showed different perspectives of how trauma changes people and how it manifests. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Eating disorder, Death of parent, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Abandonment

mebarney35's review

emotional fast-paced

3.75

15 essays about the relationship between mother and child. After reading some excerpts online, I was hoping for some advice in this book. While there were some relatable passages, most essays feel like authors getting something off their chest. Over half of the stories deal with very heavy topics (ranging from emotional abuse to rape) and it was sometimes challenging to read. Some of the essays were written better than others. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Rape, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Child abuse, and Drug abuse

its_j's review

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective relaxing fast-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Body shaming

Moderate: Mental illness, Death of parent, Homophobia, Fatphobia, Eating disorder, and Drug use

klor's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

3.5

Picked this back up ahain after I DNF-ed earlier in the year because I wasn't quite ready for it. The book has a rich variety of stories and authors and I find myself particularly drawn to the more reflective and longform ones. I enjoyed Thesmophoria, 16 Minetta Lane, and the last three stories (Her Body/My Body, All About My Mother, and I Met Fear on the Hill). I also had a soft spot for The Same Story About my Mother. It's insightful how I can relate my relationship with my own mother spanning through various moments in various stories. A lot of these are heavy and talk well into traumas but also in how complex love and relationships are. I probably still won't recommend it to my mother, but it did make me want to get to know her more, complications and all.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual assault, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness

dtierra's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Incest, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Body shaming, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Pregnancy, Self harm, Bullying, Cancer, Antisemitism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Classism, and Emotional abuse

juliaaaaa's review

dark emotional hopeful reflective

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Rape, Mental illness, and Chronic illness

sjanke2's review

emotional reflective fast-paced

2.25

 

This collection started strong and waned from there. The ones I enjoyed are the only ones I remember (Alexander Chee and Alexander Chee). I wonder if each contributor got to pick the narrator who would read their piece, as I didn't care for a couple of the voices.

 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Racial slurs, Grief, Sexual assault, Self harm, Rape, Mental illness, Fatphobia, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Car accident, and Child abuse

mmccombs's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

An emotional and insightful read. So many complex thoughts around mothers, motherhood, and what we owe to our mothers in being alive. I liked some essays more than others (Carmen Maria Machado and Brandon Taylor are my standouts again!! They keep doing collections together and it should definitely stay that way). A strong collection and such an intriguing theme binding these all together.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Self harm

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts