The Opposite of Oppressed Book Review

Alicia Donovan’s The Opposite of Oppressed is a beautifully honest memoir that explores a life lived with courage, self-awareness and a refusal to settle for self-pity. Donovan doesn’t shy away from the hard lessons—she embraces them, showing readers that every experience, no matter how painful, has a role in shaping who we are.

Her writing is vivid and intimate. She writes, “In the forest, my senses sharpened and I felt—and still to this day, feel—invigorated. My soul is alive, the animals sense my presence but they don’t run away.” Moments like these allow readers to feel Donovan’s connection to the world and her ability to find life and beauty even in quiet solitude.

Donovan’s reflections on self-acceptance are equally powerful: “The girl in the mirror was gentle, loving, funny, and intelligent. She was someone worth getting to know better. So I focused on befriending her.” Her honesty about trauma is candid and relatable: “Like an overstuffed drawer, the trauma began to overflow and became intrusive to my life, so an amazing mental drawer organizer and I started to unload all those hard-to-get-rid-of pieces I had collected. I would highly recommend it.”

Through sharing her story, Donovan gives readers permission to see their own lives clearly and understand that they have the power to choose how they respond to challenges. There is no self-pity here—only wisdom, insight, and a model of resilience that feels both authentic and accessible.

The Opposite of Oppressed is a profound reminder that freedom is not just the absence of oppression but the active reclamation of one’s story, one lesson at a time.

Find The Opposite of Oppressed by Alicia Donovan here: https://a.co/d/7kEZcRA