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A review by ankelsocks
Ten Steps to Nanette: A Memoir Situation by Hannah Gadsby
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
TW: mental illness, suicide, physical- mental- sexual- child- abuse, trauma, physical trauma, depression, anxiety, genderdysphoria, lgbtqi+ abuse and more that I can't think of right now.
I'm quite blown away by this book. The biggest chunk of it reads(listens) like an autobiography, detailing Hannah's life as a child in a tiny Tasmanian town to where she gains traction as a comedic artist. The last half is a detailed description of how she sculpted Nanette out of her trauma's. Red threads through the story are Hannah's autism, her relationship with her mother, her sexual- and gender identity and her (in)ability to interact with the world around her. The first half has its slow parts, but is generally really helping to gain insight in what made Hannah Gadsby who she is. She is witty, self -deprecating, but also critical and angry, especially when she mentions the political tensions surrounding homosexuality in Australia during her growing up. I listened to the audiobook, which I'd generally really recommend, since it's read by Hannah herself, telling you her story.
However much I loved this book, it was also incredibly triggering. Perhaps it was the added layer of hearing Hannah Gadsby read/tell the book herself, but the book is full to the brim with heavy topics. Suffering from mental illness myself, this book triggered anxiety attacks in me. I often listened to while cycling, and sometimes had to stop because the book made me too anxious or sad.
If you can find a way to deal with that though, please read(or better: listen to) this book.
I'm quite blown away by this book. The biggest chunk of it reads(listens) like an autobiography, detailing Hannah's life as a child in a tiny Tasmanian town to where she gains traction as a comedic artist. The last half is a detailed description of how she sculpted Nanette out of her trauma's. Red threads through the story are Hannah's autism, her relationship with her mother, her sexual- and gender identity and her (in)ability to interact with the world around her. The first half has its slow parts, but is generally really helping to gain insight in what made Hannah Gadsby who she is. She is witty, self -deprecating, but also critical and angry, especially when she mentions the political tensions surrounding homosexuality in Australia during her growing up. I listened to the audiobook, which I'd generally really recommend, since it's read by Hannah herself, telling you her story.
However much I loved this book, it was also incredibly triggering. Perhaps it was the added layer of hearing Hannah Gadsby read/tell the book herself, but the book is full to the brim with heavy topics. Suffering from mental illness myself, this book triggered anxiety attacks in me. I often listened to while cycling, and sometimes had to stop because the book made me too anxious or sad.
If you can find a way to deal with that though, please read(or better: listen to) this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail