Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

From the Ashes: My Story of Being Métis, Homeless, and Finding My Way by Jesse Thistle

16 reviews

alexaamackie's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, Violence, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Racism, and Medical trauma

Minor: Death and Emotional abuse

evandaniel's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

A wonderful reminder of perseverance and hope. Very honest and raw, Jesse’s story hits the hardest for me when he experiences profound loss. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Colonisation, Cursing, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Mental illness, Alcohol, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Alcoholism

Minor: Terminal illness, Alcohol, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Cursing, Xenophobia, Death, Death of parent, Hate crime, Grief, Toxic friendship, Blood, Cancer, Medical content, Murder, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

brookeasmith17's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

This book is incredibly honest and raw. It deals with difficult topics such as addiction, homelessness, abandonment and abuse, but it is a story about survival, mistakes, wisdom and finding your way home. It’s an extremely moving read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, and Body horror

Moderate: Medical trauma, Violence, and Child abuse

cemeterygay's review against another edition

emotional reflective

5.0

I can't add much more other than it was an incredibly emotional read. If you're in the right emotional headspace I would absolutely recommend reading it. Especially if you are native, I would recommend taking care of yourself while reading this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Blood, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Violence, Child abuse, and Confinement

Moderate: Bullying

kelly_e's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

Title: From the Ashes: My Story of Being Métis, Homeless, and Finding My Way
Author: Jesse Thistle
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 4.5 
Pub Date: August 6 2019

T H R E E • W O R D S

Honest • Eye-opening • Important

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Abandoned by his parents as a child, From the Ashes is a memoir from Jesse Thistle, a Canadian Métis-Cree. After a stay in the foster care system, Jesse and his brother landed in the care of their paternal grandparents. Having endured his painful past, Jesse succumbed to addiction, petty crime and life on the streets. In a moment of clarity, Jesse knew he would die if he continued on the path he was on. A story of heartbreak and perseverance, of prejudice and racism, of Indigenous culture and education.

💭 T H O U G H T S

From the Ashes is a special book, and one of the most honest memoirs I've ever read. Filled with trauma and struggle, it's also filled with love and hope. Thistle gives incredible insight into addiction, homelessness, and indigenous culture and discrimination. It is my hope that this book will help open people's eyes, to empathize, to show compassion to those people who are afflicted with the disease of addiction, and to those who face trauma leading to undesirable circumstances. Jesse is a gifted storytellers and has filled this memoir with emotion delivering a story which will make you look at the world differently. My one wish would have been to have gained a little more knowledge and an more in depth look into Jesse's Indigenous roots.

If there is a book with a more powerful dedication, I have yet to come across it. Thistle pays tribute to the families of all those lost and missing Indigenous people, those robbed of their Indigenous identity through residential school or cultural erasure, and to those whose lives have been damaged by colonization.

A extremely raw and difficult, yet moving and inspiring story of resilience this should be essential reading for all Canadians.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• All Canadians!
• Fans of memoirs
• Readers looking to expand their understanding

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Mom used to think I was mute, but I could speak fine, I just chose not to. My words belonged to me, they were the only thing I had that were mine, and I didn't trust anyone enough to share them."

"All us criminals start out as normal people just like anyone else, but then things happen in life that tear us apart, that makes us into something capable of hurting other people. That's all any of the darkness really is—just love gone bad. We're just broken-hearted people hurt by life." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Moderate: Abandonment, Child abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, and Suicide

substance misuse, homelessness

tantheman's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, and Medical trauma

annabunce's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Self harm, Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Medical content

Moderate: Abandonment

ladev12's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Vomit

booksbutmakeitgay's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Medical trauma, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Vomit, and Xenophobia

book_perk's review

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

4.5

This was a stunning memoir of Jesse Thistle's trauma, courage, and relationships. I was impressed with the honesty and bravery with which Jesse tells his story. The story is intense, extraordinary, and stomach-turning. I loved the writing style with the short chapters and powerful poetry intertwined. 

I don't necessarily feel right trying to rate this book as it is so deeply personal but I will do my best to explain my thoughts. In general, I would rate this 5/5 because it was captivating and most of all Jesse's bravery in sharing his story and pain can be felt through each page. On a personal level, I would rate this a 4.5/5 star because I was hoping for a little more detail on how felt turning his life around, dealing with guilt for past mistakes, and reconnecting with family and his heritage. Nonetheless, I think this is a must read for everyone. Just make sure you look up trigger warnings ahead of time as there are a lot of them! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Gore

Moderate: Blood, Excrement, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Vomit