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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic friendship
reflective
slow-paced
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
funny
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Ok so I totally picked up this audiobook on a whim. I have never heard of Shameless or the of Zara and Michelle. They just have never fallen in my circle of interest. So began my journey of dabbling my toes in uncharted waters: self-help books. It wasn't really a self help book in that it was telling me how to better live my life, but more lessons learned by Zara and Michelle throughout their life and how they're coping in their 20s. And it got me thinking, hey, I just began my 20s. Lets give this a shot!
One major thing that kept me from truly immersing myself in the essays were that I live a COMPLETELY different lifestyle to these two lovely women and I often found it difficult to relate to it all. Nevertheless, there were some beautiful essays about Friendship, Family, Finding your voice, Anxiety and a wonderful segment called A letter to my Future Daughter, which was beautifully written.
And I loved the Audiobook format. Zara and Michelle themselves read it and it almost felt conversational at times which I enjoyed.
One major thing that kept me from truly immersing myself in the essays were that I live a COMPLETELY different lifestyle to these two lovely women and I often found it difficult to relate to it all. Nevertheless, there were some beautiful essays about Friendship, Family, Finding your voice, Anxiety and a wonderful segment called A letter to my Future Daughter, which was beautifully written.
And I loved the Audiobook format. Zara and Michelle themselves read it and it almost felt conversational at times which I enjoyed.
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Like most 20 something year old Australians, I listen to the Shameless podcast weekly. I look forward to the friendly and familiar voices of Michelle and Zara in my ears, while I catch up on all things pop culture.
Michelle and Zara have such a special way of making sure every voice is heard throughout their podcast episodes, and in conversation episodes. The ability to do this is rare, especially in the Australian media. This amazing talent of theirs was transferable to their debut book 'The Space Between'.
The Space Between is written about living through the confusion of your twenties. They explain it as the weird gap in your life where you are not quite sure what is going on while you are 'weirdly suspended between being a teenager and a Proper Adult'.
I was so excited about the release of this book, I pre-ordered a copy and then on release day had extreme FOMO of the people who already had the book, that I did an online order to my local bookshop who I knew would deliver it on the same day (Thank you local book shop, I love you always).
The book is written in four parts - Love, Ambition, Mind and Body, and Voice. Michelle and Zara write about heartbreak, friendship, being in love, careers, being lonely, not enjoying university, not making your bed, mental health, sex, shame, feminism and trauma.
There is not a moment in this book where I thought, "this does not apply to me", or "I never experienced that in my early twenties". Unlike their podcast which focuses on the latest in pop culture and the news cycle, the girls share a lot of their personal selves in this book. They are incredibly generous in their story telling, which makes the content so relatable.
The entirety of this book is witty and charming. I loved the use of playful lists, including '29 things we wish we could have told ourselves on the final day of university' and 'Am I still immature as fuck, or am I a boring adult now? A checklist'. In the chapters that speak of mental health and anxiety, I felt I was not alone and I know that this would have been a collective feeling across the board.
There are some incredibly deep and complex essays that speak of the shame felt when you are unable to have sex, and an essay that discusses a personal experience of sexual assault. These chapters were so personal and I felt so grateful that Michelle and Zara were able to trust their community in sharing this part of themselves. The way in which the girls write about these tough subjects were so articulate and shared with such fragility and empathy to people who may also share these experiences.
There were certainly standouts for me. My favourite part of the book was Part 4: Voice. 'A letter to my future daughter' had me in tears as I was reminded about how our parents can be such a big influence on how we hold and accept ourselves.
I loved being reminded of the dangers of Instagram and influencer culture, while being reminded that as long as I am growing and learning every day, who I am is enough. The whole book was flared with feminism, but the essays on influence, mind and body, and voice were what really made myself think about my own feminist practices and how I could do better. This quote really stood out to me:
"... social media flattens conversations. It removes nuance and detail, and encourages us to talk in absolutes. On Instagram, feminism has been diluted to mean 'women supporting women', when in reality, feminism doesn't mean blindly supporting women, particularly the ones inflicting harm on young girls"
This book came at the perfect time. It may not seem that releasing a book during a global pandemic was 'good timing', but reading The Space Between whilst stuck in Stage 4 lockdown made me feel comfort in such a confusing time. It reminded me that it is absolutely okay to not know what the hell you want to do.
Thank you Michelle and Zara for writing a book that I will return to time and time again.
Michelle and Zara have such a special way of making sure every voice is heard throughout their podcast episodes, and in conversation episodes. The ability to do this is rare, especially in the Australian media. This amazing talent of theirs was transferable to their debut book 'The Space Between'.
The Space Between is written about living through the confusion of your twenties. They explain it as the weird gap in your life where you are not quite sure what is going on while you are 'weirdly suspended between being a teenager and a Proper Adult'.
I was so excited about the release of this book, I pre-ordered a copy and then on release day had extreme FOMO of the people who already had the book, that I did an online order to my local bookshop who I knew would deliver it on the same day (Thank you local book shop, I love you always).
The book is written in four parts - Love, Ambition, Mind and Body, and Voice. Michelle and Zara write about heartbreak, friendship, being in love, careers, being lonely, not enjoying university, not making your bed, mental health, sex, shame, feminism and trauma.
There is not a moment in this book where I thought, "this does not apply to me", or "I never experienced that in my early twenties". Unlike their podcast which focuses on the latest in pop culture and the news cycle, the girls share a lot of their personal selves in this book. They are incredibly generous in their story telling, which makes the content so relatable.
The entirety of this book is witty and charming. I loved the use of playful lists, including '29 things we wish we could have told ourselves on the final day of university' and 'Am I still immature as fuck, or am I a boring adult now? A checklist'. In the chapters that speak of mental health and anxiety, I felt I was not alone and I know that this would have been a collective feeling across the board.
There are some incredibly deep and complex essays that speak of the shame felt when you are unable to have sex, and an essay that discusses a personal experience of sexual assault. These chapters were so personal and I felt so grateful that Michelle and Zara were able to trust their community in sharing this part of themselves. The way in which the girls write about these tough subjects were so articulate and shared with such fragility and empathy to people who may also share these experiences.
There were certainly standouts for me. My favourite part of the book was Part 4: Voice. 'A letter to my future daughter' had me in tears as I was reminded about how our parents can be such a big influence on how we hold and accept ourselves.
I loved being reminded of the dangers of Instagram and influencer culture, while being reminded that as long as I am growing and learning every day, who I am is enough. The whole book was flared with feminism, but the essays on influence, mind and body, and voice were what really made myself think about my own feminist practices and how I could do better. This quote really stood out to me:
"... social media flattens conversations. It removes nuance and detail, and encourages us to talk in absolutes. On Instagram, feminism has been diluted to mean 'women supporting women', when in reality, feminism doesn't mean blindly supporting women, particularly the ones inflicting harm on young girls"
This book came at the perfect time. It may not seem that releasing a book during a global pandemic was 'good timing', but reading The Space Between whilst stuck in Stage 4 lockdown made me feel comfort in such a confusing time. It reminded me that it is absolutely okay to not know what the hell you want to do.
Thank you Michelle and Zara for writing a book that I will return to time and time again.