I am so enthralled with the very concept of this book in which the author uses her obsession with sea creatures as the basis of these fabulous life stories that use the sea creatures as complex allegories for her life. Even the title, referring to the point in an ocean where the light can no longer penetrate, relates to moments in her life.  As a memoir, it is insightful and tells the story of a unique life of Queerness and mixed-race identity.

I particularly appreciated how the author's experience of trauma and sexual assault were presented in such an unusual and poignant way.  All of this was done in the midst of providing rich details about marine ecosystems and creatures, some of which (like the octopus), we often hear about in other contexts, but some  of which I knew nothing about and found fascinating.  This is just such an unusual set-up and read. 

I highly recommend it.

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This was an incredibly painful book to read about the author's struggle with is son's addiction. 
How many rock bottoms can one family survive?  The writing is elegant and the author's love for his child permeates every word as he begins his decent into addiction, struggling with recovery and relapse. The book is a heartache from beginning to end, told from the perspective of a parent desperate to help, but powerless over their child's choices, but also over his own drive to provide comfort and protection for an addict caught in the narcissism and criminality of active addiction. Prepare to have your heart broken, over and over, and make sure you have the pace to reflect on everyone you ever loved who has known addiction. 

I also want to point out that this book also alludes to the unpopular and often ignored topic of how bad parenting plans impact the children who have to live them out--a very real reminder for separated parents and the professionals so write those plans for them.

Recommend.
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This was the perfect book to fall asleep listening to. It wasn't so much that it was boring, as that the cadence of the narration is very soothing.  The author employs a writing technique in which he makes long lists of things, often the latin names for plants or animals, that might interest the hardcore biologist and botanist enthusiasts, but I found lulled me to sleep, like a lullaby.  In fact, I would listen to the same chapter several nights in a row, having not made it to the end of even one chapter before I drifted off to sleep.  I would like to say that the book was light and pleasant, as he describes at length the natural spaces that he is so drawn to--and there is something compelling about how much he loves these spaces and wants to make sure they are preserved--and yet the racism of 1901 finds its way into a world it has no business being.  This is in addition to the complete exclusion of women from the narrative in any meaningful way.  All said, I just can't recommend it.

​Not recommended.

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It is sometimes hard not to romanticize groups of people I have little contact with.  Seeing Rastafarians while I travel or from a distance and reading some of the more popular writings, the combination of political and spiritual philosophy is alluring in what might helpful an inappropriate exoticism.  This book, though, is a reminder that dysfunctional fanaticism exists everywhere.  Here, amidst a philosophical framework that is essentially pacifist and equalitarian, the rigid sexist code of the author's father leads to abuse and control that mirrors what is found in so many other religious communities.  

This memoir of childhood abuse, multigenerational abuse and neglect, and isolation is a powerful reminder that there isn't a single path to healing.  Reminiscent of  Educated, I loved the arc here, at once critical of the abuse and showing compassion for the pain of the abuser's abuse as a child and young adult.  With such a different setting, though, this book had something new to offer and I appreciated the reminder that extremism in all its forms is problematic.

Moreover, this is a lyrical book, written by a true writer.  Every word seems carefully selected, every thought part of bouquet of thoughts, placed together is just the right way to convey the complexity of a life.  I am often turned off by this highly curated type of poetic writing, but not this one.  The wording was just joyfully crafted, even at the most heartbreaking moments of narration.  

​Recommend.

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The title of this book was really misleading, although the photos on the cover might have given me a hint that it wasn't going to be a romance novel.  A memoir written by a well-known presidential historian, the center of the memoir is her husband, who was a speech writer for JFK, Lyndon B Johnson, and Bobby Kennedy.  The audio version includes audio clips from some of the speeches she talks about. Perhaps the title refers to the triumph of love over hate in the American political landscape or to the love that they had for the country, because romantic love was not at the center of the story, at least not until the very end when they are working together on this project.  I wish the book had told us more about their interpersonal dynamics, a 1960's power couple at a time when two careers and children was uncommon, probably especially so in the highly charged DC world.  I would have been really interested to have had that explored more.

As a history of the Democratic party, it was a detailed historians account--at times deeply interesting and at times fairly mundane and boring.  What I liked the most, though, was the reminder that this moment in time, when it feels like the country has reached the end of its capacity to endure the political divides that it is based on, is not unique.  It is not even the moment in time in which the demise of the country appears the most imminent.  Hearing the first hand account of the turmoil, of the violence, of the divisions in the country, especially during the five year span of time in which MLK and the Kennedy brothers were assassinated, provided some solace for me, knowing that the country has been here before and has returned from the brink of implosion many times, that it is still possible that it could right itself.  

I don't know that I have ever heard or read many of the speeches from that era, but they were not only actually inspiring, but still relevant.  It is hard to remember sometimes how far we have come and that this was accomplished not only with protests in the streets and with education in classrooms, but also with leaders in the system with a vision and willingness to show up to do the hard work of leadership.

The hesitation that I have in making a recommendation on this one is just that there really were sections that were dull, including a few that I fell asleep to multiple times before finally just skipping, something I rarely do.

Recommended, but a soft recommend.  

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I als odid not This is a reflective memoir by a long distance, thru-hiker, which in places is sort of a micro-history of trails across contexts.  This read like a book written by someone who has spent a lot of time walking by themselves reflecting on random things and then using those ideas as the springboard to explore tangentially related things which comes back to walking for long periods of time alone in order to think more about the topic they are obsessed with.  I mean, some of it was interesting for sure, but there was just a lot of ruminating and reflecting on wildlife, snails, ants, and humans over time and space to come back to the same concept of trails.  I found it pretty pedantic, going over the same points in different contexts ad nauseam. I did enjoy the chapter on Newfoundland, while really disliking the chapter on the deer hunt. I also did not love the reverence with which he talked about indigenous concepts.  It felt oddly detached and maybe performative.  Even after reflection, I can't really put my finger on why I didn't like how he wrote those parts.  Overall, it was a very masculine reflection on a life of leisure time and isolation that just did not resonate with me.

Not recommended.

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I typically do not love a graphic memoir by a celebrity that drops a lot of names and has that "tell all" sensationalist vibe.  That is especially true for celebrities who it is obvious are financially struggling and the books feels like a way to help them maintain their celebrity lifestyle instead of doing something akin to regular work.  This book had all of that feel to it.  But, I have to say that I was indeed significantly invested in his story as he described the abuse and neglect he experienced while being a child actor in Hollywood.  The sex abuse, his mother's addiction issues, and his father's exploitation of his career were heartbreaking.  His own use of drugs to manage the abuse he encountered was unsurprising and the train wreck was hard to turn away from.  I was surprised that the book is now more than a decade old.  His defense of Michael Jackson, although softer than his initial support of him in the wake of the initial waves of allegations of abuse, are still heartbreaking.  His portrayal of Corey Haim was similarly heartbreaking.  All of this was long before #metoo, but nevertheless a precursor to the harsh, harsh world of child entertainers.  

​Not not recommended.

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One of the best memoirs about grooming I have ever read, and I have read a lot of them.  Because Wood is a writer, was one in high school, and her abuser was her English teacher, she write detailed contemporaneous journals and letters at the encouragement of the teacher and which he kept.  When she left him, she took them. The result of this is that her depiction of the dynamics of that relationship are painfully vivid and provide insight and understanding about how she experienced the world and saw herself during the time she was his target. It is jarring, to put it mildly.  It is widely know that Lolita has been a handbook for pedophiles for the 70 years since it was published.  I know countless women whose abusers used the techniques in the book to replicate the control that Humbert Humbert had over Lolita.  What is unique about this story is how the teacher tried to get her to read the book and constantly compared them to the "couple" in the book, as if that relationship was something to aspire to.  It is powerfully written, providing insight not only for those who have had similar experiences, but for those who could benefit from some insight into this type of emotional abuse.  I feel confident in saying that if you have not lived through it, this is one of the most accurate depictions of the experience.  I really cannot recommend it enough.  This book just has not gotten enough attention, probably because it is an intense and painful read, but it is one of the best books on child abuse out there.

​Highly recommend.

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This is an intense memoir about child sex abuse, domestic violence. immigration, and cancer.  Yeah, it is a lot.  Especially since it is a pretty short book, but the author conveys an incredible amount of information, emotion, and content with an unusually efficient writing style that didn't feel clipped when reading.  

Recommend

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This memoir about moving beyond a life time of abuse is both well written and insightful.  Providing a detailed accounting of what it took to leave, this book is one of the better life stories of domestic violence that has come out in the last five years.  From teen parent to CEO of the National Coalition Against Domestic violence, her story reflects a deep understanding of the complexity of relationships steeped in domestic violence.  Definitely worth the time to read.
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Recommend.

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