Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair

38 reviews

ka_cam's review against another edition

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challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.75

Generous memoir of family, faith, and being/becoming a creative person in a restrictive world. Learned a lot about Rasta. Felt the end was rushed/less developed than I was expecting and hoping for from the childhood sections.

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clairebartholomew549's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

Woof, this book was a lot, in the best possible way. I don't usually read a lot of nonfiction, but a really good memoir is an exception, and this is a really, really good memoir. Sinclair's story is about being raised in a strict, patriarchal household, and although the specifics of having a Rastafari father and upbringing may not resonate with everyone (and certainly one hopes the violence and abuse Sinclair, her siblings, her mother experienced is not everyone's experience), the themes are universal. Societies putting different expectations and restrictions on girls and boys, sexualizing girls at a young age, policing their bodies and beings, and blaming them for any sexual violence men inflict upon them. Patriarchs of a family expecting their wives and daughters to be both wives and daughters: having no needs at all, never criticizing or demanding respect from the "man of the household," and their lives revolving around satisfying the man. Chafing at the strictures of the life and world you are raised in and trying to escape with any means possible. A family attempting to heal horrible, devastating ruptures in their very fabric and laying the groundwork for healthier families in the future. Sinclair captures all of this absolutely breathtakingly, with immense compassion for her younger self (and with more compassion than I could ever muster in her situation for her father) and a voice that is so grounded and evocative. Despite this book being heavy at times, I was glued to it and couldn't stop reading. There is something hopeful about this story: Sinclair and her family do eventually break free of their traumatic upbringing, and they strive to do better for future generations. This is a beautiful, unflinching, triumphant story, and I highly recommend it to everyone. 

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lisettemarie's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad

5.0


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sophiemattholie's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

5.0

this book made me want to write a memoir and forgive my mother and walk into the sea

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flowchelle's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring tense slow-paced

4.0

Wow, this book was a lot more than I realized it would be! I fully understand the importance of the grandparents story and it gave the parents much more depth but it was so much to process with how soul crushing each generations story was. However, that obviously made Safiya’s triumphs even more impressive and mold breaking. This was such a multifaceted and beautifully told story that got my emotions entirely entwined! I was shocked by her
ability to forgive her father in the end
and
brought to tears by the description of the generations of women healed on the beach

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mamaofperfectpayton's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative sad tense medium-paced

4.0


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arayo's review against another edition

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emotional informative inspiring sad

3.75


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sadhbh2525's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0


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apthompson's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

3.5


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amberinpieces's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

5.0


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