J-emine's reflexionando

Book # 10 – Know My Name by Chanel Miller. A heartfelt memoir by Chanel Miller or otherwise known as Emily Doe, when her victim statement impact letter was released to the world. I took close to a month to complete this book – it was hard to digest, arresting and worked against an uneven flow of Miller’s pain, humiliation and her state of mind as she shares with the world of how it feels to wake up one day knowing someone has taken advantage of your unconscious body. Millers’s words is poetic and gripping – and in some ways her depiction left a dark cast, hence the unwillingness to read an extra page/chapter at a go. Nonetheless, I finally completed the book few days shy of a month with few thoughts in mind:

1. I am glad that I know your name Chanel Miller.
2. Everyone has the right of a voice – find, fight or help someone with it.
3. Broken trust in institutions (i.e. campus violence) should no longer be tolerated, ignored or cast aside. In Miller’s words “Brock was not one bad apple, he just threatened to expose the greater, underlying issues of sexual violence on campus”.
4. Society’s failure to recognise or have a system in place to allow victim’s feel there’s a light at the tunnel – probable chance of achieving justice, restoration as oppose to being publicly shamed and life on a standstill akin to being on a flipped rollercoaster hanging in mid-air.

I may not have enjoyed the book fully, but I commend and applaud the limitless potentials and the role we can all play for our sisters of the world; very aptly – the events that unfold following or during similar timeline #metoo, Harvey Weinstein and Bill Crosby’s conviction and Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony fortified Miller’s voice, notwithstanding the power of social media.

Here’s the statement that was read by millions within 4 day and translated into various languages :https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/katiejmbaker/heres-the-powerful-letter-the-stanford-victim-read-to-her-ra

Book # 11 – All Adults Here by Emma Straub. The first chapter opens up with the matriarch/protagonist of the family witnessing a fatal bus accident and wallows her into a cyclone of repressed memories of her family life, parenting style and decisions-made that may/may not impacted her adult children’s’ life. Throw in a concoction of societal and political issues ranging from gender identity, lgbt, bullying, online paedophile etc – all of which being experience by various members of the Strick family entwined with their familial relationships (with each other). I like the portrait of each characters, their flaws and unconventional streak; what could have been a lovely read was likely smeared with the outpouring themes. However, one theme did ride out to the end – dysfunctional or not – family sticks together and learns to ride it out (together). I gather the only thing I can agree with from this book – Adulting is hard.

Book # 12 – One to Watch by Kate Stayman- London. No, I am not a purveyor of The Bachelor, of other trashy shows – maybe. A fan of the former would most probably like this feel-good rom-com novel. The protagonist- Bea, is a plus-sized fashion blogger who finds herself on a reality TV show to find true love. A repetitive theme found within the book, which I enjoyed tremendously is the struggle with self-image and body dysmorphia. Stayman was able to cleverly showcase how society still perceives and vocalise on ‘fat bodies’ through Bea’s inner dialogue, and through such, we are again reminded that body positivity, self -love is and will always be a lifelong journey.