Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

All About Love: New Visions by bell hooks

3 reviews

yourbookishbff's review against another edition

challenging hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.0

I'm glad I read this, and love bell hooks' reflective and earnest writing style in these essays. A few essays stand out for me (in particular, Honesty: Be True to Love, is one I'm still thinking about). I would note that this was originally published in the early 00s, and modern readers (like me!) may struggle with how hooks engages with gender essentialism (challenging it but ultimately still writing within its assumptions and constructs, which tracks for the early aughts) and Christianity and spiritualism. There are broad assumptions made about men and women in M/F relationships, in particular (and some odd commentary on and apologism for Bill Clinton that doesn't sit particularly well today), but I suspect that this is a generational difference, as the audience she was writing for had a different set of cultural touchpoints and childhood experiences in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. I think there is a lot of value in these reflections for readers who recognize the different challenges early feminists faced and the constructs they were still largely fighting against. And ultimately, hooks' thoughts are a gift for us as we look back and forward, and I appreciate her thoughts on community care and living by a love ethic, that have so much relevance for us today.

Notes on the audio specifically: I really struggled with the audiobook, honestly. I loved the narration by January LaVoy, but the book itself is incredibly difficult to navigate. None of the chapter titles included in the print book are included in the audiobook's visible chapter titles, and the audiobook numbers the preface, introduction, etc., meaning that the chapter numbering in the audiobook never aligns with the individual essays. I constantly felt confused about where I was, and I feel frustrated that this was sloppily done. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Sexism, Domestic abuse, and Misogyny

Minor: Infidelity

kaiulanilee's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcohol, Physical abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Sexism

vixenreader's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

The themes are familiar (especially when compared to the years 2000 and 2023), but its perspective on finding love in a society that continues to promote lovelessness is still relevant.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Death, and Sexism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Addiction, Hate crime, Religious bigotry, Drug use, Fatphobia, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Homophobia, and Racism

Minor: Mental illness, Violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship

Discussions of isolation, homelessness, the negative affects of the mass media, and hopelessness are featured.