This was funny but chaotic, a manic energy continually peppered with jokes, but with an appealingly open look at the reality of mental illness, from sThis was funny but chaotic, a manic energy continually peppered with jokes, but with an appealingly open look at the reality of mental illness, from suicidal ideation ("But, unfortunately (?), suicidal urges have always been more like fantasy football to me, an avocation done on weekends") to intrusive thoughts. The sheer earnestness of it was endearing, but the lack of actual cults (besides the usual 12-step programs) was disappointing....more
This started out feeling a little too personal - not in terms of the detail being too intimate, but just in terms of a sense of intruding on a conversThis started out feeling a little too personal - not in terms of the detail being too intimate, but just in terms of a sense of intruding on a conversation between people you don't know, like the story wasn't meant for strangers. But as it progressed to the move to the country, and all the details of getting set up, I became invested. Not to mention all the animal friends that showed up. I'm not sure what it is about the 'tree change', but even when it sounds like so much discomfort hard work, it still sounds like a dream. The escape, the freedom. And right now, in the middle of lockdown, all that space and being part of a community, sounds pretty amazing.
Merged review:
This started out feeling a little too personal - not in terms of the detail being too intimate, but just in terms of a sense of intruding on a conversation between people you don't know, like the story wasn't meant for strangers. But as it progressed to the move to the country, and all the details of getting set up, I became invested. Not to mention all the animal friends that showed up. I'm not sure what it is about the 'tree change', but even when it sounds like so much discomfort hard work, it still sounds like a dream. The escape, the freedom. And right now, in the middle of lockdown, all that space and being part of a community, sounds pretty amazing....more
This is the untold story of the challenges of trying to stay kind while practising on an overstretched NHS front line
Medical memoirs are absolutely onThis is the untold story of the challenges of trying to stay kind while practising on an overstretched NHS front line
Medical memoirs are absolutely one of my favourite genres, and this one was extra enjoyable to read because the author was a former journalist and writes beautifully. The balance between actual medical stories and NHS politics was skewed a little more to the latter than I would have liked, but completely understandable given the extreme frustration of frontline staff during this period. It definitely portrays (and inspires) anger over the unfair attacks on NHS workers by the government, as well as anxiety and despair over the underfunding and understaffing. It would be interesting to know how much the pandemic changed all of this, for better or for worse.
Twins love, but they bicker and fight and judge. Twins are wicked and harsh, as hard on their twins as they are on themselves. Harder. All of the thinTwins love, but they bicker and fight and judge. Twins are wicked and harsh, as hard on their twins as they are on themselves. Harder. All of the things a twin hates about herself are obvious in her twin.
This is an incredible memoir about what it's like to be an identical twin, and what it's like to lose one. Christa Parravani captures so wonderfully the comingled identity of twins, even weaving her sister's writing throughout her own to tell the story. Through their shared childhood trauma and mistrust of men, they turn even more to one another. The depth of their bond then becomes the depth of her loss when Cara dies of an overdose, and the book captures this in heartwrenching detail as Christa tries to find a way to rebuild herself alone. Beautiful and tragic and ultimately hopeful.
This was an entertaining enough collection of biographical essays, if nothing groundbreaking. I appreciate the honest discussion of some of the challeThis was an entertaining enough collection of biographical essays, if nothing groundbreaking. I appreciate the honest discussion of some of the challenges of childbirth and motherhood, but also felt like someone who could afford full-time night nannies was probably not facing anything close to the worst of it....more
This was a fascinating look at the current increasing polarisation between those with different political views, especially as focussed around the COVThis was a fascinating look at the current increasing polarisation between those with different political views, especially as focussed around the COVID-19 pandemic and responses to it. It's framed around the trajectory of the author's 'doppelganger' - Naomi Wolf, who she has been frequently mistaken for, and who shifted from a liberal feminist scholar to one of the most public faces of COVID conspiracy theories and the associated political movements. This is not an 'us vs them' attack, but rather a look at how this phenomenon can occur, including examination of the failings on both sides. It doesn't provide any easy answers or quick fixes, but possibly some measure of hope that we can find our way back if we take more time for self reflection (and less time on inflammatory social media!)....more
Most perspectives on polyamory are strictly black and white, for or against, without leaving much room for nuanced discussion. This book is an honest Most perspectives on polyamory are strictly black and white, for or against, without leaving much room for nuanced discussion. This book is an honest look at both the positives and negatives that can come from the lifestyle. It’s just a single relationship experience, and the toxicity in that relationship shouldn’t be seen as a problem for polyamory more generally, but some of the key themes are here - freedom, love, jealousy, insecurity, sex, control, communication. She explores the best and worst of herself, her partners, and her experiences in a way that adds a personal dimension. In the end, what is made most clear is that all relationships can be good or bad, but the polyamory-monogamy dimension shouldn't be seen as what defines this....more
This was brutal. I'm a huge Friends fan and like probably almost everyone, really loved Chandler and by extension Matthew Perry. If I'd read this befoThis was brutal. I'm a huge Friends fan and like probably almost everyone, really loved Chandler and by extension Matthew Perry. If I'd read this before he died, I'm not sure exactly what I'd think of it - in some ways it's just the story of a fame-hungry narcissist who clearly has massive issues with women. But he's also just a broken man ravaged by insecurity and addiction, looking for love and acceptance, who grows and acknowledges those issues from his past while finding joy in helping others overcome the same struggles. It could have been a story of hope and change.
But of course, reading it after his death changes everything. It's utterly devastating right from the beginning, with Lisa Kudrow's introduction and clear concern for her friend, through all his talk about his close brushes with death and how grateful he is to still be alive, to the ending - finally clean and full of hope for the future, dreaming of finding love and having the kids he's always wanted. Knowing how it all ends, that he doesn't end up finding any of those things, this is definitely heartbreaking....more
I’m an ordinary person who found herself on an extraordinary journey. In sharing my story, I hope to help create space for other stories and other voiI’m an ordinary person who found herself on an extraordinary journey. In sharing my story, I hope to help create space for other stories and other voices, to widen the pathway for who belongs and why
I had a general sense of respect for Michelle Obama without really knowing that much about her, but this book deepened it. She's a Type-A overachiever that I could relate to, but one who also lived with the challenges of being a Black woman at school and work. It was interesting to see her honest descriptions of the challenges of being with Barack Obama, trying to find herself alongside someone who already had such determination and ambition of his own. She candidly presents her doubts about his political carrer, and the cost she had to pay to keep the family as he pursued his dreams. It's fascinating to learn about what it's like to live at the White House, the behind-the-scenes-look, and her pride in all the initiatives she worked for (children’s health, care for military families, education for girls) and frustration at those that didn’t work out (gun control). It muat be such a bizarre surreal life for a previously normal person but she never gives the sense of being changed for the worse by it....more
I can see why this has been so popular. I never watched iCarly or any of her other shows, but that doesn't really matter here. It's the story of a girI can see why this has been so popular. I never watched iCarly or any of her other shows, but that doesn't really matter here. It's the story of a girl pushed into acting by her controlling mother, driven to OCD and anxiety and eating disorders, and only able to start unpacking it all and healing after her mother's death. It could be overwhelming and depressing, but it's told with insight and humour and I ended up just admiring how well she made it through to a place where she can have the life she wants for herself....more
Sue Klebold is the mother of one of the Columbine shooters and I knew this would be emotionally intense to read, but it surpassed even that expectatioSue Klebold is the mother of one of the Columbine shooters and I knew this would be emotionally intense to read, but it surpassed even that expectation. It's so hard to reconcile the son she describes with the mass murderer who rampaged through that high school, which is obviously the same dissonance she feels, and is part of what is so scary about all of it - how easily one can hide these things. This book is her exploration and explanation for how she could have missed what her son was planning and who he had become, something she will quite clearly never entirely come to terms with (who could?) but which she has leveraged for good in her suicide awareness and prevention activism. ...more
Britney Spears is a strange cultural figure - wholesome child star to party girl to mental breakdown to recent revival. The revelations surrounding heBritney Spears is a strange cultural figure - wholesome child star to party girl to mental breakdown to recent revival. The revelations surrounding her involuntary conservatorship were shocking, and what she describes in this memoir makes it all seem even worse. The writing style is basic, childlike, but she captures the fear, anger, sadness, and resignation of being undermined, gaslit, and controlled by the people she should have trusted. It's sad to read, to know she can't get that time back, but lovely to see what she's managed to fight back and create for herself now that she's won her freedom....more
This was a relatable memoir of what it is like to go through a breakup. It covers all the stages of grief and healing, the inevitable unwise decisionsThis was a relatable memoir of what it is like to go through a breakup. It covers all the stages of grief and healing, the inevitable unwise decisions such as jumping back in with the ex and clinging to other unsuitable men, then eventually moving on and finding friends and herself again. Very funny, but also insightful....more
A classic 'train wreck twenties' biography of the sort that is so appealing because we can relate and see our own worst moments in them, but comfort oA classic 'train wreck twenties' biography of the sort that is so appealing because we can relate and see our own worst moments in them, but comfort ourselves that we never got quite that bad. Bryony Gordon has all the insecurities and unhealthy interactions with unworthy men (self-medicated with alcohol, drugs, and partying) that characterise most women's young adult years, and manages to write about them in a relatable and funny way. ("I’m sorry, Emmeline. I’m sorry, Germaine. I’m sorry Anais. I’m sorry Sylvia and Gloria and Simone. I’m sorry that you set out to change the world, and still there are girls who will waste their energy over a stoner who wears woollen hats in August.") From the beginning we are reassured that she ends up in a stable place, so it is shaped throughout more as a story of redemption than one of desperation....more
I picked this up after seeing her character in Big Mouth reading it, so well done product placement! It was fun to read - Jessi Klein is very funny, wiI picked this up after seeing her character in Big Mouth reading it, so well done product placement! It was fun to read - Jessi Klein is very funny, with an endearing self-deprecating honesty that makes her stories very relatable. The book as a whole felt a little disjointed - there was no obvious ordering to the chapters, which were more like stand-alone fragments of biography/essay, and at times would refer to things we already knew without acknoweldging that fact. So closer to a fun set of anecdotes than a cohesive biography, but still enjoyable....more
Like I’m guessing most people, I picked this up mostly for the ghoulish fascination with learning about gruesome crimes and the people who committed tLike I’m guessing most people, I picked this up mostly for the ghoulish fascination with learning about gruesome crimes and the people who committed them. What I didn’t expect is what a good job the book does at humanising these people. It’s uncomfortable - there’s a big part of me that just wants violent criminals to be Bad People who deserve nothing good, instead here we’re presented with complex people acting out of fear, anger, trauma. So still fascinating but also unsettling, as it's not easy to know what to take away from it. I guess a big part of it, and what the author advocates, is for the recognition of some of the complex causes of violent crimes, and better support and intervention in place to prevent people reaching that point....more
I loved this, could not stop reading. I'd watched the show and was very pleased to find that the real Piper is far less annoying than the TV characterI loved this, could not stop reading. I'd watched the show and was very pleased to find that the real Piper is far less annoying than the TV character. It was fun trying to find the familiar characters within the story, as many had been added/removed/renamed. There was a lovely sense of camaraderie between the prisoners that I hadn't been expecting, but also just a harsh insight into the conditions they live under and especially the lack of support for rehabilitation or release, leading to struggles on the outside and a sad cycle of reincarceration for many. ...more
Another intense but unexpectedly sweet (true) story from the Holocaust. This time it's three sisters who endure (and survive) Auschwitz and Birkenau, Another intense but unexpectedly sweet (true) story from the Holocaust. This time it's three sisters who endure (and survive) Auschwitz and Birkenau, carried through by their deep bond to one another. There are some really nice sections on how they moved on afterwards and managed to find peace, the hope they found in settling the new state of Israel and finally feeling a sense of security and belonging (sitting somewhat uncomfortably with the current conflicts in the region, and political tension surrounding any discussion)....more
I wanted to be a good girl and I wanted goodness to be the theme of my life and my work
Drew Barrymore has had a rough and incredible life, showing amaI wanted to be a good girl and I wanted goodness to be the theme of my life and my work
Drew Barrymore has had a rough and incredible life, showing amazing strength in bringing herself out of the downward child-star spiral. In this book you feel the loss of childhood through her childlike voice, but also occasionally get a glimpse of the steel underneath that carried her through. Lots of fun stories about her life, her work, her friends and co-stars (I particularly love her friendship with Cameron Diaz). There is something really lovely about the way she is trying to build a positive life for herself after losing her own childhood, and this is definitely a feel-good read because of it....more
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