Litsy

Long Island Compromise: A Novel | Taffy Brodesser-Akner

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Taffy is so good at teasing apart family relationships and finding what makes characters tick. I wish the ending hadn‘t wrapped so quickly, though.

A wealthy father is kidnapped and tortured for a week. He comes back a broken man to his wife and young children. It affects each of the three kids differently into adulthood. When the family money dries up, they have a reckoning with what their lives have become.

squirrelbrain I‘m about a third of the way through this (the money has just disappeared) and enjoying it very much. 8h

Megabooks @squirrelbrain its really good! A bit longwinded at times, but I really enjoyed the characters. 5h

48 likes2 comments

Tamra

Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death, and Hard Truths in a Northern City | Tanya Talaga

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Devastating. 😢 A reminder there is serious work for the Americas to do with respect to racism against Indigenous peoples and the consequences stemming from colonialism. Heavy prices continue to be paid, even by the most vulnerable.

CuriousG This completely gutted me to read. So very far for us to go yet. 4d

49 likes1 comment

Nikolavidovic

In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction | Gabor Mate, M.D.

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This book was an eye-opening read which laid out a framework for how to think about the origins of addiction, as well as describing a humane approach to people suffering from addiction. Highly recommend this title.

Chelsea.Poole

Long Island Compromise: A Novel | Taffy Brodesser-Akner

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Where‘s my dysfunctional family fans?? This is our type of read!
In this messy, wealthy Jewish family in Queens, three siblings and their parents live under the shadow cast by the defining event of their lives: matriarch, Carl was kidnapped when the children were young (one not yet born). Explores how religion and wealth create family dynamics but most of all how trauma presents itself in many different ways. I loved it! #ToB25 longlist

Cortg Nice review. I put it on my TBR last week. Looking forward to it! 2w

Lesliereadsalot This is so my type! Great review! 2w

BarbaraBB Great review! I‘ll definitely read it! 2w

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AmyG I‘m here! ✋🏻 Dysfunctional and Jewish? Hahahaha….my people. 🤣 2w

Suet624 Yes ma‘am. 2w

Cathythoughts Stacking 👍🏻 2w

69 likes6 stack adds6 comments

Bookwomble

Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome, Revised Edition: America's Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing | Joy a Degruy

"Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome [PTSS] is a condition that exists when a population has experienced multigenerational trauma resulting from centuries of slavery and continues to experience oppression and institutionalised racism today."

I'm aware of the concept of intergenerational trauma, but I've not previously come across this specific formulation of it, which sounds interesting.

Bookwomble I'm not reading Dr. DeGruy's book, but it's referenced in the one I am, Transforming Race Conversations.

Transforming Race Conversations: A Healing Guide for Us All

GingerAntics This sounds legit to me, honestly. I just feel like there is no way all of that trauma isn‘t still reverberating through families still today… especially when the oppression still continues. 3w

Bookwomble @GingerAntics Both your points are key to Eugene Ellis's view of the ongoing trauma caused by the race construct, both for the oppressed and the oppressor. For the latter, white slave owners and those benefiting from chattel slavery had to repress their inherent human capacity for empathy and compassion, project that distress onto the other, and develop anti-social coping mechanisms and systems that persist to the present, perpetuating harm. 3w

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GingerAntics @Bookwomble I hadn‘t thought of enslavers having to suppress their humanity. That is 100% still happening and it explains a whole lot in former slave states. 3w

Bookwomble @GingerAntics It's a thought provoking perspective, for sure. 3w

GingerAntics @Bookwomble it‘s truly unfortunate that the people most in need of these discussions - former slave states - are the least likely to actually have them. In fact, they are actively trying NOT to have them. Again, actively suppressing their humanity. 2w

Bookwomble @GingerAntics There does seem to be a lot of defensive cognitive somersaults required to maintain a sense historic virtue in the face of all the evidence. We get it here in the UK, too, given our country's major role in the slave trade, and that British Empire thing we did! Sorry, world 😒🗺️ 2w

GingerAntics @Bookwomble yeah, there are definitely people still defending that gem. It‘s weird to see how people cling to the obviously harmful past because it means they can think of their ancestors as heroes that should be on a pedestal instead of thinking of them as people. 🤦🏼‍♀️ 2w

36 likes8 comments

JudeCC

Watch Over Me | Nina LaCour

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@PuddleJumper
Watch Over Me 5⭐️
This book is a contemporary gothic story with a touch of magical realism. It‘s all about grief, mental health & learning to face your demons—literal & figurative. Nina LaCour is the queen of crafting stories that are as heartbreaking as they are healing. She nails it here again. 👇
#queerbc #watchoverme
#challenge #reads #book #readerscommunity #ninalacour #bestbook2024

JudeCC The writing is gorgeous, pulling you into the remote, foggy setting of the farm. Everything felt so vivid. The characters feel so real, and their struggles are written in a way that makes you feel everything right along with them. That‘s exactly what I look for in any story I pick up from LaCour. 4w

JudeCC Mila‘s journey, especially as she confronts her own ghosts, was incredibly powerful and kept me glued to the pages.

It‘s not a horror story, so it didn‘t scare me, but it did have a subtle mystery that kept me hooked. The ending was so worth it—everything came together beautifully. 4w

JudeCC If you‘re into gothic vibes, emotional depth, and stories about resilience, this is a must-read. Nina LaCour is one of my favorite authors, and I can‘t wait to pick up more of her work. She never fails to deliver.
#ninalacour #watchoverme 4w

PuddleJumper 🎉🎉 4w

41 likes4 comments

megnews

A Mind Spread Out on the Ground | Alicia Elliott

Oof.

AmyG 😢 1mo

Jari-chan True🥺 1mo

Deblovestoread Blech! So very true. 1mo

38 likes3 comments

LeaKell

My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies | Resmaa Menakem

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This book was an assignment in my Master‘s program, and I‘m grateful for it. May everyone who reads it have the opportunity to discuss and mull it over with trusted peers. This book has been in my heart and brain, now is the time to heal.

3 likes