Wow. Rose's prose is so raw and intimate, this memoir often feels like a long overdue phone call to your best friend. It's also a Nanette style stand up routine, a slam poetry piece, a Black Mirror episode, and a lecture on 9/11 and the philosophy of violence. Rose's experimental style can take you off guard, and I beg you to let it. I've never read a memoir like this before, and I too hope there aren't many more written. I expect to see great things in Rose's future.

This was absolutely 5 stars. I love nothing more than a chaotic queer memoir!!!!! This is full of sexual exploration in the aftermath of Jesse’s life forever changing (check TW) dark humor (check TW) trauma (again check TW!!!!) love, loss and transformation.
Jesse’s writing style is so all over the place and i absolutely loved it. It felt like my adhd ridden brain going 927372 miles a minute.
Honestly, am I wrong to say this book was sexy!?! but also traumatizing!?! and bc it was traumatizing I felt guilty at times that I was thinking it was sexy!?!?!!?!! but I truly think that’s the whole point. The duality of living & healing is the highs and lows, the pleasure & the pain. The sex & the tears that follow. Life and death and the whole road in between. I laughed and I cried and I was turned on, all while being incredibly heartbroken for Jesse and everything she went through. And finally my last thought (finnegan count your days don’t let me catch you in the STREETS) can’t wait to buy this when it comes out!

3 ⭐️ Thank you to Abram’s Press and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Have you ever just wanted to step into someone’s brain and see and feel what they feel?! This author did exactly that, almost to the extreme. They did not hold back which left me speechless, moved, and with so many emotions.

I think if you’re going to write a memoir it should feel authentic and true. Thank you so much for being vulnerable and willing to share on such a sensitive topic. Your words will help so many people!

I look forward to what this author has in store for the future!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book.

Where do I start? The rawness of this memoir took my breath away. I will admit the format was somewhat hard to follow in the beginning but once I got past that and started to get into the actual book the more hooked I became. It had me laughing and crying throughout. A genuinely good read.

I do not know how to review this. Jesse James Rose wrote an incredibly raw and powerful memoir.
This memoir was emotional
Funny
Heartbreaking
Honest
Rose has an absolute incredible voice and is incredibly talented. She writes with a strong voice that you can’t look away from.
This memoir follows so many parts of the authors life and she frequently intertwines them in a way that makes them even more impactful to read. Whether its about their grandfather’s Alzheimer’s, her ex boyfriend, their molestation or their rape, Rose keeps the readers engaged. This memoir was not what I expected, but it was what I needed. I do not think this should have to be said as it should be common sense, but listen to trans voices, listen to rape victims, but most of all, listen to the people around you. Jesse James Rose’s memoir was written incredibly well
And her story is so important. Thank you for sharing your vulnerability with the world.
I recommend this novel to anyone. However there are very dark things that are mentioned like rape, misgendering, transphobia, molestation and more. Read with caution.

This was such an incredible book. I was a little nervous when I started reading and was met with an unconventional, not-quite-prose narrative style, but I'm glad I stuck it out. Not only does the book end up being largely prose (along with text messages, screenplay excerpts, and a variety of other styles), but it’s beautifully written, darkly hilarious, and incredibly poignant. Rose does an excellent job exploring their experiences with heart, humor, and raw honesty.

Definitely check trigger warnings before reading. I look forward to seeing more work by this author in the future.

I vaguely knew Jesse James Rose from TikTok, having seen various videos she's made and really appreciated her nuanced perspective and ability to take feedback. I asked for an arc of this book because I thought the title was clever and the cover was cool, and went into it pretty blind. I thought this was a fantastic book, and it made me cry at several points. I am deeply moved by Rose's experience, the way she uses humor to bring joy into a very intense and dark set of experiences. The experimental nature of this book made me so happy, and I thought it was a really cool type of memoir. I hope she keeps writing, and I am excited for the release of this book, and whatever she writes in the future. Thank you for your wisdom Jesse.

I will admit that at first, it was hard to follow the format of this book, but the more I read, the more I was able to follow along. And I’m sorry if my understanding is far from what the author wants the readers to take away—but hey, I’m being really honest here, I promise!

Reading this book feels like diving straight into someone’s stream of consciousness, and honestly, I relate to it a lot. That feeling of the voices in your head speaking too loudly—at each other, to each other, or even against each other—it can get overwhelming. And I could feel that through this book.

Some parts hit me so hard I had to stop and take a moment to breathe, fighting back tears, because if I let myself cry mid-chapter, I knew I’d struggle to keep going. I’m sorry, guys, I’m such a crybaby sometimes.

Anyway, the content was tough—not because I’m squeamish or anything like that, but because the delivery was so raw and honest. It tugged at something deep in me, and as someone who's still kind of new to dealing with emotions this heavy, I found myself wincing once or twice.

However, I think that’s also what made it so powerful. It didn’t sugarcoat anything. It didn’t try to package pain into something pretty or easy to digest. It just laid it all out, unfiltered. And while that made it challenging to read, it also made it feel real. Like someone was saying, “Here, this is what it’s like,” and trusting me enough to handle it.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for granting me this ARC. As I said before, here’s my honest review.