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Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'
Stay Sexy & Don't Get Murdered: The Definitive How-To Guide by Georgia Hardstark, Karen Kilgariff
12 reviews
mithilareads's review
emotional
funny
inspiring
relaxing
fast-paced
4.0
Before I begin with the review, I’d like to say that I was a total doodoohead for getting into the book without reading the fine print (in fact I’m reading the fine print now as I edit the graphics for my social media). I thought the book was gonna be somehow related to true crime. And about all the stories they cover on the podcast. But yes, the dual memoir aspect really came as a pleasant surprise to me and I don’t think I could possibly knock a star off the review just because I’m a doodoohead.
The book sticks to the “Definitive How-to Guide” aspect perfectly.
How to score a cigarette at the age of thirteen? Check.
How to fight for your right to laze on a La-Z-Boy? Check.
How to fix yourself a snack when your parents work all day and leave you to your own devices? Check.
How to fuck politeness (sic) when you see potential red flags? Check.
How to stop oversharing and build up a group of five friends (the clutch-five) to listen to you rant about everything? Check.
How to get out of a cult, and figure out why you fell for it in the first place? Check.
In short, Karen and Georgia have covered all the bases needed for living a successful life. Specially when all you could think of was how you were unfuckwithable or just-another-girl in LA.
Written in the form of essays, with titles of chapters being catchphrases from the podcast which particularly stuck to the community of Murderinos, Karen and Georgia share their secrets in explicit detail. For a listener like me who joined the MFM bandwagon pretty recently, and mostly tuned out the personal chatter at the beginning of the podcast (Karen and Georgia, if you’re reading this, I didn’t tune you guys out because you all were boring, I tuned you all out because the Excel spreadsheet I was working on was boring and had a deadline) and hence missed out on many of the personal stories of the hosts of the amazing podcast “My Favorite Murder”, reading these essays felt like reading a diary: honest, sophisticatedly colloquial and a 100% hilarious. While I remember hearing on the podcast about Karen’s sobriety and Georgia’s dabbling with meth, I didn’t fathom the depth of the iceberg of that past, as this true crime comedy podcast leaves you in splits more than it gives you time to reflect about trivial things like people’s pasts. Amirite?
If you’re an MFM listener too, you would know about Karen and Georgia’s constant support towards listeners who are currently not seeking help for mental health issues. Specially during this pandemic, it’s been heartening to listen to Georgia share details about what she discussed with her therapist lately, or any specific advice that her therapist gave her which the rest of us doodooheads could put to use. In the minisodes too, I have heard many listeners state that this constant positive reinforcement towards getting help has made a difference to their lives, and it just makes me feel so so happy. Happiness by proxy? Now that’s a crime I’d like to commit. (only a Murderino would get this pun hehe).
The point is, this book doesn’t shift from that mental health affirmative narrative. Karen and Georgia share their struggles with mental health issues: Georgia’s eating disorders and anxiety and the insomnia stemming from it. Karen’s alcoholism and the effect it had on her friendships and relationships. Karen and Georgia also give the reader feel-good and effective coping strategies (what better coping strategy than to listen to these two women talk about true crime?) and also make you feel less alone in this world. I straight up cried when I read this seemingly simple line in Georgia’s essay:
"The people who care about you won’t be the same without you."
Fans of Stephen King, Ray Bradbury and Brene Brown will also be in for a treat!
This book is an easy read, despite it being a memoir about two women who bonded over a mutual love and obsession for true crime. Now, there’s literally no excuse for you to not pick up this book and start listening to the podcast (the latter before the former, I’d recommend).
The book sticks to the “Definitive How-to Guide” aspect perfectly.
How to score a cigarette at the age of thirteen? Check.
How to fight for your right to laze on a La-Z-Boy? Check.
How to fix yourself a snack when your parents work all day and leave you to your own devices? Check.
How to fuck politeness (sic) when you see potential red flags? Check.
How to stop oversharing and build up a group of five friends (the clutch-five) to listen to you rant about everything? Check.
How to get out of a cult, and figure out why you fell for it in the first place? Check.
In short, Karen and Georgia have covered all the bases needed for living a successful life. Specially when all you could think of was how you were unfuckwithable or just-another-girl in LA.
Written in the form of essays, with titles of chapters being catchphrases from the podcast which particularly stuck to the community of Murderinos, Karen and Georgia share their secrets in explicit detail. For a listener like me who joined the MFM bandwagon pretty recently, and mostly tuned out the personal chatter at the beginning of the podcast (Karen and Georgia, if you’re reading this, I didn’t tune you guys out because you all were boring, I tuned you all out because the Excel spreadsheet I was working on was boring and had a deadline) and hence missed out on many of the personal stories of the hosts of the amazing podcast “My Favorite Murder”, reading these essays felt like reading a diary: honest, sophisticatedly colloquial and a 100% hilarious. While I remember hearing on the podcast about Karen’s sobriety and Georgia’s dabbling with meth, I didn’t fathom the depth of the iceberg of that past, as this true crime comedy podcast leaves you in splits more than it gives you time to reflect about trivial things like people’s pasts. Amirite?
If you’re an MFM listener too, you would know about Karen and Georgia’s constant support towards listeners who are currently not seeking help for mental health issues. Specially during this pandemic, it’s been heartening to listen to Georgia share details about what she discussed with her therapist lately, or any specific advice that her therapist gave her which the rest of us doodooheads could put to use. In the minisodes too, I have heard many listeners state that this constant positive reinforcement towards getting help has made a difference to their lives, and it just makes me feel so so happy. Happiness by proxy? Now that’s a crime I’d like to commit. (only a Murderino would get this pun hehe).
The point is, this book doesn’t shift from that mental health affirmative narrative. Karen and Georgia share their struggles with mental health issues: Georgia’s eating disorders and anxiety and the insomnia stemming from it. Karen’s alcoholism and the effect it had on her friendships and relationships. Karen and Georgia also give the reader feel-good and effective coping strategies (what better coping strategy than to listen to these two women talk about true crime?) and also make you feel less alone in this world. I straight up cried when I read this seemingly simple line in Georgia’s essay:
"The people who care about you won’t be the same without you."
Fans of Stephen King, Ray Bradbury and Brene Brown will also be in for a treat!
This book is an easy read, despite it being a memoir about two women who bonded over a mutual love and obsession for true crime. Now, there’s literally no excuse for you to not pick up this book and start listening to the podcast (the latter before the former, I’d recommend).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Drug use, and Mental illness
sophieduncan's review
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Panic attacks/disorders
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