A review by rustbeltjessie
Live Through This: On Creativity and Self-Destruction by Sabrina Chap

3.0

I was really underwhelmed by this book. I've been wanting to read it since it first came out, but it wasn't what I thought/hoped it would be. I wanted it to be more about the actual relationship between art and self-destruction: like, why do so many artistic people also have a tendency to be self-destructive? I also wanted it to be more about the actual use of art in overcoming self-destructive behaviors. A lot of the essays barely even seemed to be about self-destruction at all, and even of those that were, most of them just weren't that good. The best pieces were the ones by Daphne Gottlieb, Cristy C. Road, Fly, Bonfire Madigan Shive, bell hooks, and Kate Bornstein. The rest, I could take or leave.