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29th out of 57 books
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Love Sick: One Woman's Journey Through Sexual Addiction
by
Sue William Silverman (Goodreads Author)
In this powerful memoir, a woman learns to value herself as a whole person rather than as a sexual object. Sue William Silverman tells of her roller-coaster life of sex and self-destructive behavior. Finally, addicted to danger itself, she seeks the help of a trusted therapist to discover what love really means.
Paperback, 303 pages
Published
February 25th 2008
by W. W. Norton & Company
(first published 2001)
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This was a hard book to read and I'm torn on whether I liked it that much or not. I liked it in that it was well-written and I came to care about her struggles but didn't like it in that it made me think and see myself. I know that sounds crazy and I'm not sure if I'm explaining how this book made me feel. It honestly scared me because I think I learned some truths about myself while reading it and that's hard for me to handle. This is an in-depth look at overcoming an addiction that really hit ...more
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What is sexual addiction? How does one recover from this addiction? Sue William Silverman answers these questions in her heartbreaking and heartwarming autobiography. Even if a reader does not experience an addiction of any kind, no time is wasted while reading the book because the prose is so expertly crafted.
As with any addiction, sexual addiction is a narrow one-dimensional drive serving only to feed itself. Sue was starved for real love as a child, so she uses unhealthy behaviors...more
As with any addiction, sexual addiction is a narrow one-dimensional drive serving only to feed itself. Sue was starved for real love as a child, so she uses unhealthy behaviors...more
I saw Sue William Silverman interviewed on a TV documentary and picked up this book and also her first memoir...am so glad I did on both counts. Since "Love Sick" is framed by Silverman's stint in rehab, it is very different from the first book, both in structure and feel--"Because I Remember Terror..." has a much more removed tone looking back at childhood horrors with a keen observational eye; "Love Sick" also possesses the keen eye but feels much more immediate ...more
Awful. Just awful.
I love reading memoirs; they are a guilty pleasure. I've read many, many types of memoiro; drug addiction, alcoholism, food addiction, sex addiction...you get the idea. Of all of the addictions, it seems that sex addicts as a whole lack the ability to have any level of introspection or accountability for their actions. There are plenty of explanations, ranging from parental neglect to childhood sexual abuse. And while of course these things are terrible and dif...more
I love reading memoirs; they are a guilty pleasure. I've read many, many types of memoiro; drug addiction, alcoholism, food addiction, sex addiction...you get the idea. Of all of the addictions, it seems that sex addicts as a whole lack the ability to have any level of introspection or accountability for their actions. There are plenty of explanations, ranging from parental neglect to childhood sexual abuse. And while of course these things are terrible and dif...more
Love Sick is a powerful book. The author writes about her time in a rehab facility. It is the book about those 28 days she spent in a rehab as a sex-addict. I actually saw the movie on LMN and then read the book which is generally the other way for me. The book shows her struggle to get out of her habit, portrays great picture of all other women in rehab and their struggle with their respective addictions. Author goes between her past and her present and provides an emotional yet very strong pic...more
I found this book oddly compelling. Usually with non-fiction books I can only read so much a day as it is a little dry and slightly boring, not so with this one. I would read a small chunk then pick up another book and having a hard time getting into it because I wanted to keep reading this one. Finally half way through I gave in and just kept reading this one.
Sue's struggle with her sex addiction was fascinating. You know why she started, how she acted, and her struggle in treat...more
Sue's struggle with her sex addiction was fascinating. You know why she started, how she acted, and her struggle in treat...more
The book was recomended to me by a friend when I was having some personal and relationship issues. It was helpful in that in provided me with an objective view on a situation that was similar to my own. I was able to take some things away from it and it helped to push me along in seeking the help I needed to cope with my own issues. For the average reader, unless they've been through something similar I don't think they would find this stimulating at all, but to someone like me who found a lot t...more
Contrary to what one might think, this memoir is not a self-indulgent examination of the author's sexual proclivities. It focuses on her inpatient treatment for sexual addiction while utilizing a few (literally) examples of these issues played out in her life. Many women, I suspect, will recognize some of these themes in themselves in much less severe, but still thought-provoking way. Like life, she leaves her ultimate fate unknown, but crafts an intruiging enough work that the reader is tempted...more
In Love Sick, Sue William Silverman discloses details about her abusive past, her addiction with men and how she formed her views and beliefs of sex and what it means to love and be loved.
During Sue's therapy and in-patient treatment, she discovers that all addicts are similar in many ways.
In Sue's words:
"Sex addiction isn't about sex. It's about power and control. It's about numbing feelings. Just like alcoholism isn't about alcohol and eating disorders aren'...more
During Sue's therapy and in-patient treatment, she discovers that all addicts are similar in many ways.
In Sue's words:
"Sex addiction isn't about sex. It's about power and control. It's about numbing feelings. Just like alcoholism isn't about alcohol and eating disorders aren'...more
Messed up memoirs tend to be a guilty pleasure...when done in the vein of Augusten Burroughs, James Frey, or Dave Eggers...but for some reason Silverman's just wore me out. There was nothing likable about her, and while her story is certainly sad, it just didn't gain any inkling of sympathy from me. Love sick is hailed as "lyrical" novel, but there was nothing special about her writing-and to think she has her MFA. It was a boring, blah book that had the potential to be a lot bette...more
Hmmmm didn't like this book so much. It's about a woman struggling with sex addiction. She was abused by her father as a child, and writes this memoir as she's going through treatment for her addiction to sex.
Hit too close to home Nikki? NO! Duh. I wasn't sexually abused, and I think I'm more addicted to alcohol than sex. Maybe. Possibly. Anywaaaaaay... too thick on the metaphors, too much processing. Kinda boring.
Hit too close to home Nikki? NO! Duh. I wasn't sexually abused, and I think I'm more addicted to alcohol than sex. Maybe. Possibly. Anywaaaaaay... too thick on the metaphors, too much processing. Kinda boring.
I normally don't say this, but I though the book was quite boring. It was difficult to get through to the middle and eventually the end/conclusion. It wasn't the subject matter, but I think the accounts of what happened in the author's life was a bit drawn out. Its her life and her story so I can't judge, but it wasn't my cup of tea.
This book was an interesting look into 'sex rehab' and definitely a relatable story (lets just say it caused me to question whether I may have had issues with sexual addiction). I was not impressed by the writing, though. I think the same story could have been told in a more descriptive way and gotten a higher rating from me.
Told in 28 days of rehab, this is the story of Silverman's wins and losses against recovery from sexual addiction after growing up with a molesting father. The story doesn't focus on blaming her father. Instead, it's about freeing herself through understanding. She turns battling addiction into sad yet hopeful poetry.
The author somehow found a way to make her interesting experiences boring. I felt like I was sitting in on the therapy session of someone who hasn't much insight. My guess is that Silverman still hasn't dealt with her eating disorder and it is blocking her from experiencing her life with more depth and clarity.
I really enjoyed this book. The author puts herself out there in this book, and does an awesome job of making her illness understandable. I think there is a little bit of love addiction in all of us.
I liked this book. SWS does a good job of giving us enough to hold onto as readers without falling into an emotional mess. I was reading this book at night before bed, and I had very strange abstract dreams filled with color.
I expected more. I expected to be riveted and bruised, to feel a sense of desperation, to think about the subject matter long after I read it. I wasn't and didn't. It's titillating on one level. A bit horrifying on another. And immature on yet another. It was a quick read but satisfying like the ice cream in an ice cream sandwich. It's ice cream so it's good but it's also an eerily sanitary version of vanilla and I like the heavy cream, the vanilla bean.
I want to read it again...more
I want to read it again...more
This book raises larger questions about how we find intimacy and love in our lives and how and why we seek those connections out.
i am currtly reading this book love sick i think that this book is nothing but bad news about this young girl
There's a stigma that comes with sexual addiction - it's in other various reviews on this website - that people need to take responsibility and not be whores, but Silverman demonstrates that it's not that simple.
Did I enjoy the book? No. It's not exactly a book you enjoy. I imagine it's a book that I will reflect on when I least expect it, but I was not overly captivated by her story. I found the conclusion lacking. Am I to believe that she is recovered because the book is published...more
Did I enjoy the book? No. It's not exactly a book you enjoy. I imagine it's a book that I will reflect on when I least expect it, but I was not overly captivated by her story. I found the conclusion lacking. Am I to believe that she is recovered because the book is published...more
This was very well written. I read it for work and gained a lot of insight into addiction.
Amazing writing, great for any addition or anyone who's loved the wrong men
"Keeping up appearances", and trying to think that your father always taught you how to love instead of being raped by him, and even pretend that it never happened, is incredible!
Is kind of sick to know that her father "taught her how to love" and because of that, she has a necessity of having sex with any man, specially with the one she thinks that "perhaps" loves her...
I don't remember when the last time a book I read moved me and impacted ...more
Is kind of sick to know that her father "taught her how to love" and because of that, she has a necessity of having sex with any man, specially with the one she thinks that "perhaps" loves her...
I don't remember when the last time a book I read moved me and impacted ...more
A very interesting and poignant tale of sex addiction. It chronicles Sue's 28 days in rehab. Well written and extremely honest. It forces the reader to reflect on their own insecurities and maybe even their own dangerous sexual behaviour. A good read!!!
Sue Silverman masters the use of present tense to describe past events and interweaving introspection/Voice of experience with the plot driving experiences which lead to or deepen the introspection.
A poretty good account of a female sex addict. She gets a little wordy, but overall an interesting perspective.
Heard about this on Oprah, so I'm guessing it's not as salacious as it sounds.....
Self-indulgent and not all that compelling. I'm wondering if she used all her good stories in her first book (which actually sounds quite interesting).
Self-indulgent and not all that compelling. I'm wondering if she used all her good stories in her first book (which actually sounds quite interesting).
This is an amazing book on a survivors struggle with an addiction to sex that stems from her being sexually abused as a child.
This is a great read.
This is a great read.
Savannah
marked it as to-read
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Sue William Silverman's new book, Fearless Confessions: A Writer's Guide to Memoir, is now available (University of Georgia Press). She is also the author of Love Sick: One Woman's Journey Through Sexual Addiction (W.W. Norton), which aired as a Lifetime Television original movie. Her first memoir, Because I Remember Terror, Father, I Remember You (University of Georgia Press) won the AWP award in...more
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“I am not your victim because you are not a predator any more than a bottle of scotch stalks an alcoholic.”
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