I always find it hard to rate memoirs, especially ones as real and raw as this one. Tommy Dorfman did an incredible job at writing this memoir.

Something about this one is keeping me from connecting. The style is so succinct and the story so personal, it feels somewhat incongruous. The pacing is hectic and the narrative jumps through time without transition, so it's hard to follow the action. My last read gave me a real hangover, also, so that could be part of it.

DNF @ p33

Thank you to the author Tommy Dorfman, Hanover Square Press, and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of MAYBE THIS WILL SAVE ME. I found an accessible digital copy on Libby. All views are mine.

This is an incredible memoir of addiction, life, transitioning, and coming of age. I truly loved it and think the Tommy Dorfman did a great job of tell her story. Totally recommend this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

This is an extremely raw and emotional memoir of the author's upbringing, the challenges she faced, and the addictions that consumed her for so many years. I loved the sheer rawness of her facing her truth as she made the transition into her true self. This was a very eye opening, poignant read.

I'm a big fan of Tommy's and was thrilled to get the chance to read her memoir. Rather than following a sequential timeline, it's organized thematically in relation to nine tarot cards she pulled in the early days of her transition. I love the idea of this, but I'm not sure if the delivery paid off over a genealogical approach - there were times when I felt lost in the timeline, and other times felt like unnecessary repetition. The separate chapters felt like they were written (and likely were) at very different times in Tommy's life; some careful editing here could have made for a more streamlined reading experience.

In terms of content, I can't judge nor can I fault. It's certainly one of the more sensational memoirs I've read in a while. Tommy's candour is refreshing and occasionally abrupt, but hey, that's life and she's a self-proclaomed dramatic bitch so let her live!

Maybe This Will Save Me: A Memoir of Art, Addiction and Transformation by Tommy Dorfman
medium-paced
4.5

This is an interesting and heartfelt story. Some of the timelines are a bit hard to follow as it jumps around/not chronologically, but overall I enjoyed it.

I was drawn to Maybe This Will Save Me for its unique structure and Tommy Dorfman's candid exploration of identity, addiction, and healing. The tarot card framework was an interesting approach, offering a reflective lens on her journey. However, I found the narrative's introspective nature a bit challenging at times, making it harder to stay fully engaged. While the book offers valuable insights and vulnerability, it didn't resonate with me as deeply as I had hoped.

This broke my heart for baby Tommy 💔

Proud of her for sharing her story.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC.

"Maybe This Will Save Me" is actress Tommy Dorfman's memoir about her journey through addiction and transition and her work as an actress, on TV and on Broadway. I was intrigued by this book because Tommy and I have a number of mutual friends from growing up in Atlanta and I have followed her journey over the last eight years since she broke onto the scene in "13 Reasons Why". But I didn't make it too far into the book before I realized it was too graphic for me (her depictions of her sex life, starting with losing her virginity as a young teenager to a much older man). I also found the timelines hard to keep track of as the story jumps around quite a bit, using her passion for Tarot and a particular reading she gave herself to root and center the story.

I would still recommend queer readers and recovering addicts to check out this book, as long as they have the stomach for some pretty sad and triggering material, as the story will probably resonate more with them.

I really liked this book, especially because memoirs written by people who are transioning or more specifically people who are focused on discovering who they really are appear to always be checked out at our library. We try to add honest stories to our collection,

I believe that life can be hard and I cannot imagine what it may be like to live in a wrong body. This book helped me to understand it a little better. The honesty and the challenges are obvious, but I am also kind of impressed.

A great read and the author does a great job of describing what is happening in both the head and the heart.

Extremely raw memoir of her upbringing, challenges, and addictions she faced while transitioning into her new self. Honest & open about the difficulties including drugs, sensual trendances, alcohol, and abuse. Eye opening & can be triggering / hard to read for some imo.

Tommy's story was a very unique one that I didn't know fully before reading. I applaud her honesty in every page.

DNF @ 35%

I love that Tommy has found the freedom to write about her story. It's messy and raw in a way I'm sure will resonate with many people. Personally, I'm just not in the right head space for detailed depictions of CSA at this current moment so I decided to put it down. I really wish that the ARC had come with trigger warnings because this book deals with heavy topics and readers deserve to go in knowing how graphic it will be.

Thank you to NetGalley for an early read of this amazing memoir. I typically give all memoirs five stars because I cannot tell someone how they lived their life. But, this book was absolutely amazing. I hope other queer people read this book and find themselves in at least one thing mentioned in the book.

MAYBE THIS WILL SAVE ME by Tommy Dorfman is bold in its lack of self-consciousness. Given the content of Dorfman's memoir, it would be understandable if the events were presented in a sheepish or apologetic way. Instead, Dorfman is direct and frank in recounting her life, the choices she's made, and what she's gleaned from those choices. The use of the tarot reading does help connect the non-linear memoir; however, at times the tarot spread as structure felt like a bit of a push to do something "different." Still, Dorfman's writing at the line level is strong, both in terms of humor and beautiful phrasing.

This is an inspiring and beautifully written book. I found Tommy's writing relatable, fun, approachable, and easy going, even while covering heavy topics.

A vulnerable, messy, raw reflection about growing up and growing into yourself. Using a tarot reading as a guide, Tommy Dorfman tells her story of growing up queer, dealing with addiction and fame, transitioning, and learning to love and accept herself. The story is chaotic and harsh and deeply introspective. I don't love non-linear timelines because they're usually hard to follow, but the tarot narrative gave the book some structure that (mostly) made sense.

Thanks to NetGalley and Hanover Square Press for the advance review copy.

CW: graphic sexual content, SA, drug/alcohol use and addiction, homophobia, transphobia

This is one of the best books Ive ever read and I have never felt more seen in my life. 10/10 recommend! Tommy Dorfman is so truthful in everything she has gone through. The contents of this book play over and over again in my head rent free.

This is a very raw, real story that is undoubtably hard to read at times. Tommy Dorfman is an excellent writer, cutting hard moments with humor and gorgeous turns of phrase.

I really loved the inclusion about how her parents met and Uncle Tommy, these stories were such great reads and so heartfelt.

It was deeply moving reading about Tommy’s journey into becoming the person she was meant to be and how it didn’t look like what she really expected it to be.

At times it was hard to tell the linear-ness of the story which made it sort of hard to tell where the reader was in the timeline of events. But at the same time I love how the story is told through a tarot card pull and the stories each card illicit.

awesome memoir that i'd definitely recommend. very interesting and well-written about identity and learning about yourself. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.