Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

They Called Us Exceptional: And Other Lies That Raised Us by Prachi Gupta

30 reviews

dakotahreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Classism

Moderate: Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Racism

Minor: Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Injury/Injury detail

aweekinthelife's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

very engaging on audio and while I didn’t go in expecting to read all day, I ended up listening to this book for 5.5 hours straight and finished it in a day. Gupta’s writing is gripping and engaging and I appreciate her analysis and reflection on her life and parsing out mental health experiences from between two cultures. 

reminds me of: What My Bones Know (Stephanie Foo), Between Two Kingdoms (Souleiki Jaoud), Mad World (Micha Frazer-Caroll), and Trick Mirror (Jia Tolentino)  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Racism

ash_verma's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

hollydyer328's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

This is exactly the thing that I am looking for in a memoir, specifically with a focus on the BIPOC experience. Sometimes memoirs come across as a glorified journal on public display, and this is not that. 

Prachi Gupta tells deeply personal stories of growing up in an Indian-American family steeped in cultural beliefs and messaging from colonialism about being exceptional, strong, independent, flawless, etc. She lifts the hood on her own family which on the surface showed exceptionalism but inside showed deep dysfunction and mental health struggles. Her family story is wild, and I gasped at multiple points throughout. It felt like reading a family drama, but the family is REAL!

What I appreciate with Gupta’s writing is that she shows she has reflected and processed her trauma and gives language for the external forces of systemic racism, Indian culture, and inter-generational forces that influenced the beliefs and behaviors of her family members. She shows that she is sturdy in herself to speak on these events with reflection, awareness, and wisdom. She takes her story and presents it in a way for that the general public can empathize, relate, learn, and reflect.

I listened on audio and Gupta does a great job narrating. I think I would have enjoyed it slightly more in print, only because there is so much going on that the reader needs to digest it slowly. However the audio helped with the pronunciation of certain terms, and she gets emotional and show her vulnerability which was touching to listen to. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Violence, and Suicide attempt

taroroot's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Violence

entropyseeker's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

This book devastated me for the reflection that I saw and the mirror it held. If I could, I would read this book for the first time again. I recommend reading the CWs

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

nataliebootlah's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Oooof. What an exceptionally difficult, yet important read. This memoir is, in many ways, a love letter to the author’s mother. It’s a classic dissection of the model minority myth alongside the societal pressures and demands that come with trying to achieve the ‘American Dream’. 

 

This is an emotional rollercoaster of a book; it’s raw and heartbreaking. The story itself is a mesh of retelling and reflection, and oh how brave it is to share the darkest parts of your life with anyone who picks up your book. I found it particularly difficult to read because of the abuse Prachi, her mother, and older brother go through at the hands of her father. Prachi does a wonderful job showcasing what non-physical abuse looks like. It left me wanting to give this whole family a hug, even her father. 

 

“In our family, we learned to love one another for how well we were able to conform to the story they wrote for us—not as who we really are.” 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Grief

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, and Suicide attempt

bookbuyingwithkatie's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Self harm

ohsunnyaa's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, and Xenophobia

Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment

bookdragon7's review against another edition

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse