As a millennial, I was the perfect age to watch iCarly, so I recognised Jeannette as soon as I saw her picture on this book.
And what an eye opening eAs a millennial, I was the perfect age to watch iCarly, so I recognised Jeannette as soon as I saw her picture on this book.
And what an eye opening experience it was! You truly have no idea what goes on behind closed doors for the stars you see on the tv.
Jennette’s mother was abusive. She endorsed her anorexia and fuelled it, she both emotionally and physically harmed her and it took years of therapy after her mothers death for Jeannette to come to terms with this. The person she loved the most was also the most toxic.
So happy for Jeannette to have found the strength to write this novel and let the general public into this really private area of her life.
I too am glad Jeannette McCurdy’s mother is dead and I have no problem saying so.
“I believe in the kind of fairy tales that have depth, complexity, profundity and moments of darkness that birth a fiercer belief in light; the kind “I believe in the kind of fairy tales that have depth, complexity, profundity and moments of darkness that birth a fiercer belief in light; the kind where endings are not endings but breakthroughs that lead to the next adventure.”
I’m a big fan of Evanna Lynch, but I knew very little about anorexia or her experience with it. This memoir covers her journey from age 10 when she first starts restricting her food as a way of staving off womanhood. All the way to her time spent as an inpatient and the road the recovery, which is ongoing.
Plenty of heavy topics, severe self hate and the constant battle she has in her mind. I found it fascinating and terrifying in equal measure. It fully immerses you into the life and mind of an anorexic. I do need a lighter read now though.
“More than anything else, I hope this story helps you find the lighted path out of your own darkness.” ...more
Update: Honestly the hate I’ve received for this review has blown my mind.
“you’re an idiot. And a bit of a dick. Grow up.”
“Maybe the fact you strugglUpdate: Honestly the hate I’ve received for this review has blown my mind.
“you’re an idiot. And a bit of a dick. Grow up.”
“Maybe the fact you struggled with mathematics for 16 years mean you struggle to appreciate quality storytelling.”
Fucking hell. It’s my opinion. My review. You don’t agree that is absolutely within your rights but don’t start tearing me apart, because I will not argue with you. I’ll just delete your dick comments.
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DNF on page 234
I feel like I’m not reading the same book as everyone else? It’s boring. This happened, and then this happened and then the same thing happens again. Also I know this is supposed to be a memoir but am I honestly supposed to believe her mother survived a brain injury with not a jot of medical care? How she conveniently managed to scrimp enough money for the next semester of college borders on the unbelievable. Her brother is an asshole and I really don’t want to see how that unfolds. She teaches herself trigonometry. Honestly how? I studied maths in the school system for 16 years and still struggled with it. How does someone with absolutely no prior experience with it just teach herself maths at college level?! I know some people pick it up quicker than others but really?! She even gets 100% on an algebra test at college.
Maybe I’m being overly harsh, but I’m just not having a good time - good on her for standing up for herself, but this is too wordy, definitely exaggerated and there are way too many other books in the world....more
“If you wake up in the morning, it is a good day.”
This was a really tough novel to read - I mean obviously, it is set in Auschwtiz - it was hardly “If you wake up in the morning, it is a good day.”
This was a really tough novel to read - I mean obviously, it is set in Auschwtiz - it was hardly going to be a walk in the park! I don't think I quite prepared myself, or wasn't able to entirely remove myself from the novel, so became completely invested and because of this, it absolutely tore me apart.
Based on a true story - Lale uses his education and knowledge of languages to get himself a job as the Tatowierer after each Jewish family must volunteer one young male for 'work'. This 'work' turns out to be the concentration camps on Auschwitz and Birkenau.
We witness first hand the atrocities Lale sees happen, and also the cruelty and torture he endures at the hands of the Nazi's. Despite knowing this was a 'memoir' of sorts, and that Lale would eventually escape, I was still terrified when reading this. Books like this need to be published and read, as I think that despite everyone knowing what the Holocaust was, I think people might be in danger of forgetting just how truly horrifying it was, and the lowest depths of humanity.
Though not always 100% gripping, I feel that it added to storytelling. Not everyday was filled with violence, some days nothing happened at all - and the prisoners whiled away the days, too starved or beaten to really do anything. Non-fiction books aren't always designed to be enthralling, and for me this story's purpose was more for education and the sharing of someone's past, rather than to simply entertain the reader.
I've seen a few reviews commenting on the writing style, how it is written quite factually rather than emotionally, and to be honest I do agree. It is written more as a timeline, than a novel. There is a lot of focus on the romance, where I would have rather had more info on the other prisoners/conditions etc. But I understand it was done this way because it is the couple's story to tell; I just would have preferred more detail in other places. (view spoiler)[ For example, how he was able to find Gita so quickly at the end. He just turned up at the train station and she just got off?! Is that actually how easily it happened? I would have liked to have seen a bit more of his research into how he knew she would be there? Or was it literally just fate? (hide spoiler)]
3.5 stars
"Politics will help you understand the world until you don't understand it anymore, and then it will get you thrown into a prison camp. Politics and religion both." ...more
“Americans call them hillbillies, red necks or white trash. I call them neighbours, friends and family.”
The term Hillbilly is one that has never mea “Americans call them hillbillies, red necks or white trash. I call them neighbours, friends and family.”
The term Hillbilly is one that has never meant much to me. Living in the UK when I had heard it mentioned it was only through TV and film. I pictured trailer parks, alcoholic fathers and screaming mothers. So to read a memoir from someone of the Hillbilly background sounded interesting . I clicked want to read, then promptly forgot all about it! So when I came across it in my local charity shop for £1.50 I had to pick it up - a hardcover copy with only US or Canadian price on it I didn’t even think this copy was UK published
A fascinating insight into a culture often hidden from view. Though racially similar to middle class whites, their circumstances and mannerisms echo that of Latino immigrants and African Americans. J.D’s Home life is one rife with violence and addiction, a life cycle very few escape from.
“Our homes are a chaotic mess. We scream and yell at each other like we’re spectators at a football game. At least one member of the family uses drugs...At especially stressful times we’ll hit and punch one another, all in front of the rest of the family.A bad day is when the neighbours call the police to stop the drama.”
Despite being a memoir, it was very easy to read. I was riveted by the views held by these people and the way society attempts to help, but ultimately doesn’t even scratch the surface of a culture stuck in a rut.
“Chaos begets chaos. Instability begets instability. Welcome to family life for the American Hillbilly.”
J.D is one of few who manages to beat his circumstances and overcome values ingrained in him (taking the law into your own hands, family loyalty to the extent of violence to those who insult your relatives) and makes it to college and then law school.
A hard hitting read yet humorous at times this book has enlightened me regarding areas I’d never learned about properly before, in an honest and emotional way.
“Whenever people ask me what I’d most like to change about the white working class, I say “the feeling that our choices don’t matter.” ...more
"I looked at him. I saw all the death in the world. I felt helpless."
This book broke me. It was raw, thought provoking, heart breaking and real. Such "I looked at him. I saw all the death in the world. I felt helpless."
This book broke me. It was raw, thought provoking, heart breaking and real. Such a simple concept, a young man caught up in his busyness and business, competing to be the best in his job finds out that his old college professor is sick. And so begins a tale of regular meetings between Mitch and his old professor - Morrie. I know this book wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, but anything that makes me stop and think for a while and even tear up is what I love about reading. As a memoir, you don't have to agree with everything they discuss, it's just beautiful to hear thoughts from someone facing the end and to be reminded of our own humanity and fleeting lives. This book touched me, what else can I say?...more
There really isn’t anything I can add that many other reviews haven’t already done. It’s a five star read because it is important, because it is real There really isn’t anything I can add that many other reviews haven’t already done. It’s a five star read because it is important, because it is real and because the holocaust is something we should never forget. ...more
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