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caitlinreeves's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
carly23r's review against another edition
3.0
This was absolutely all over the place.
It’s weird, because I think I would still recommend it to people even though it’s got a ton of flaws - just because you can really tell that she put a bunch of effort into it, and that often there are kernels of really insightful stuff strewn about.
As so many other people have pointed out though, the editing is a goddamn nightmare. There are several pretty basic mistakes (it’s John Stuart Mill, not Mills) and infuriating blanket statements.
Wilson can often be a little bit self-aware but a lot of the time she really does not come across well in this book - some of her takes on medication were a little unbalanced and made me uncomfortable. She also comes across fairly self-aggrandising and unaware of how some of her advice is just unattainable for many people.
I can tell that sometimes she was opting for a “tough love” approach and attempting to use a different/refreshing voice but it often had the affect of making me feel anxious for not trying hard enough.
Also - this book is way too focused on what “successful people” (AKA rich celebrities) do, and some of her comments about how she hates having too much money made me roll my eyes really fucking hard.
Still, I wanted to finish it and I’m glad I did because there are some really sweet, useful bits that popped up, and because I still ended up liking her regardless just for putting herself out there so intensely.
It’s weird, because I think I would still recommend it to people even though it’s got a ton of flaws - just because you can really tell that she put a bunch of effort into it, and that often there are kernels of really insightful stuff strewn about.
As so many other people have pointed out though, the editing is a goddamn nightmare. There are several pretty basic mistakes (it’s John Stuart Mill, not Mills) and infuriating blanket statements.
Wilson can often be a little bit self-aware but a lot of the time she really does not come across well in this book - some of her takes on medication were a little unbalanced and made me uncomfortable. She also comes across fairly self-aggrandising and unaware of how some of her advice is just unattainable for many people.
I can tell that sometimes she was opting for a “tough love” approach and attempting to use a different/refreshing voice but it often had the affect of making me feel anxious for not trying hard enough.
Also - this book is way too focused on what “successful people” (AKA rich celebrities) do, and some of her comments about how she hates having too much money made me roll my eyes really fucking hard.
Still, I wanted to finish it and I’m glad I did because there are some really sweet, useful bits that popped up, and because I still ended up liking her regardless just for putting herself out there so intensely.
wanderingmole's review against another edition
5.0
Brave, confronting, thought-provoking, and comforting.
ovenbird_reads's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
3.0
I didn't quite finish this book. It had some really good parts, mostly the memoir focused parts. I was interested in the author's experience of anxiety but I'm deeply skeptical of the more science focused things that she presents--she recommends quitting sugar a number of times (and has a vested in doing so since she wrote a how-to book on quitting sugar and also sells an associated app), she recommends visiting naturopaths, and suggests that Ayurveda makes sense even through it is psedoscientific in nature and has very little to no scientific credibility. The number of questionable scientific claims eventually led me to lose trust in the author and I stopped reading. That being said there were a number of great passages that were more about the philosophical and personal experience of anxiety and the benefits of mindfulness and meditation practices. I appreciated those.
4 stars for the reflective passages
2 stars for the parts that strayed into psedoscientific territory.
4 stars for the reflective passages
2 stars for the parts that strayed into psedoscientific territory.
rhymeswithcarmen's review
reflective
medium-paced
1.0
I came to this expecting more research than memoir; that's on me. Still, the overall experience was like meeting a friend of a friend and feeling like you have loads in common only to have them earnestly tell you that chemtrails are making the frogs gay. There were many such record scratch moments throughout. And repeated citations of such dubious experts as David Brooks and Tim Ferriss. Plus a lot of label and name dropping, racial bias, and fatphobia. Oh the fatphobia. It is possible that this entire book was created to be content marketing for the author's diet program and books. Overall, yikes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Self harm, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Mental illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
lady_epoh's review against another edition
4.0
I’m not entirely sure why it took me so long to finish this book considering I liked it a whole lot. My assumption is I didn’t want it to end. I wanted to continue relating to and cracking up at Sarah Wilson’s remarks, and be serenaded by her sarcastic Aussie voice.
This book is beautifully articulate with words and feelings, it’s sad and hopeful and angry and delicately kind. It’s whole! I love Wilson’s emphasis on creating a “whole” life vs. a “happy” one. She accurately captures a lot of flaws in western culture.
I like how frequently Wilson references other prominent writers of both the past and present, including a few of my personal favorites, like Franz Kafka and Brené Brown.
I did have some qualms with this book, like her message of not “being true to oneself” when on medication. I actually find this to be dangerous, as quitting medication is often the reason those who are mentally ill relapse, and in severe cases psychosis occurs. There’s nothing wrong with being medicated, not everyone wants to raw dog reality smh Sarah.
This book is beautifully articulate with words and feelings, it’s sad and hopeful and angry and delicately kind. It’s whole! I love Wilson’s emphasis on creating a “whole” life vs. a “happy” one. She accurately captures a lot of flaws in western culture.
I like how frequently Wilson references other prominent writers of both the past and present, including a few of my personal favorites, like Franz Kafka and Brené Brown.
I did have some qualms with this book, like her message of not “being true to oneself” when on medication. I actually find this to be dangerous, as quitting medication is often the reason those who are mentally ill relapse, and in severe cases psychosis occurs. There’s nothing wrong with being medicated, not everyone wants to raw dog reality smh Sarah.