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_lish_'s review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Racism, and Racial slurs
leanneymu's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
4.5
Ruth Ozeki stares at her own face in the mirror for 3 hours and then writes about it. I loved this. In fact, I would've liked it to be twice as long - Ozeki is so interesting and personable. I wanted more. (The premise would make an excellent creative writing prompt too.)
Content Warnings
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Racism, and Racial slurs
kstericker's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia
Moderate: Sexism, Racism, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, War, and Body shaming
sas_lk's review against another edition
3.75
My face is and isn’t me. It’s a nice face. It has lots of people in it. My parents, my grandparents, and their grandparents, all the way back through time and countless generations to my earliest ancestors—all those iterations are here in my face, along with all the people who’ve ever looked at me. And the light and shadows are here, too, the joys, anxieties, griefs, vanities, and laughter. The sun, the rain, the wind, the broom poles, and the iron fences that have distressed my face with lines and scars and creases—all here.
I absolutely loved this idea and I want to do it myself - just looking at yourself in the mirror for three hours and log every thought. I admire Ruth Ozeki a lot for publishing this as it is such a vulnerable thing to share with millions of people. It was interesting following somebody else's thought process; it made me more aware of mine, and how different the paths, that mine and Ozeki's thoughts take, are.
It was also quite a sad representation of how normal it has become for people to criticise their physical appearance. Admiring yourself makes you vain, but hating your features makes you normal, fine, tolerable. Isn't that so sad?
I do wish Ozeki would have touched on this a bit more, but I think she was not aware of it for the most part. Definitely going to try this myself, she's inspired me to write again.
I absolutely loved this idea and I want to do it myself - just looking at yourself in the mirror for three hours and log every thought. I admire Ruth Ozeki a lot for publishing this as it is such a vulnerable thing to share with millions of people. It was interesting following somebody else's thought process; it made me more aware of mine, and how different the paths, that mine and Ozeki's thoughts take, are.
It was also quite a sad representation of how normal it has become for people to criticise their physical appearance. Admiring yourself makes you vain, but hating your features makes you normal, fine, tolerable. Isn't that so sad?
I do wish Ozeki would have touched on this a bit more, but I think she was not aware of it for the most part. Definitely going to try this myself, she's inspired me to write again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming
Minor: Dementia and Racial slurs
daniellekat's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
4.25
Really insightful and well written.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
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