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Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'
Stay Sexy & Don't Get Murdered: The Definitive How-To Guide by Georgia Hardstark, Karen Kilgariff
26 reviews
honeyhistory103's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
4.0
If you're a fan of My Favorite Murder, then you'll love their book for likely the same reasons you enjoy the podcast - Karen and Georgia's distinctive voices ring through the written word with the same energy that they bring to your MFM feed every Thursday. This book is an intimate look into their lives, expanding on stories that get briefly touched on in the front half of every episode, and give listeners/readers the chance to truly understand how those moments shaped them into the people they are today.
The narrative and messages throughout the book remind me greatly of Brené Brown's dogmas (which makes a lot of sense, given that they reference Daring Greatly multiple times). Their stories of their own hurts, anxieties, and fuck-ups are told with what feels like a singular purpose: to help the reader in some way, be it by advising them against making decisions like their own, or by helping nudge someone that had fallen down the paths they too had stumbled down.
Though the book is definitely not a how-to on how to un-fuck your life, it is comforting to hear their experiences. Most notably, it is their success (as Georgia says in the conclusion, not just the hitting #1 on the podcast chart kind of success) and growth as individuals that instills in the book a note of hope, that life will get better if you can focus on making yourself the best person on the inside that you can be.
The narrative and messages throughout the book remind me greatly of Brené Brown's dogmas (which makes a lot of sense, given that they reference Daring Greatly multiple times). Their stories of their own hurts, anxieties, and fuck-ups are told with what feels like a singular purpose: to help the reader in some way, be it by advising them against making decisions like their own, or by helping nudge someone that had fallen down the paths they too had stumbled down.
Though the book is definitely not a how-to on how to un-fuck your life, it is comforting to hear their experiences. Most notably, it is their success (as Georgia says in the conclusion, not just the hitting #1 on the podcast chart kind of success) and growth as individuals that instills in the book a note of hope, that life will get better if you can focus on making yourself the best person on the inside that you can be.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Eating disorder
novellythicc's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Eating disorder, and Addiction
cadydreger's review against another edition
dark
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
3.0
I'm a big fan of the podcast; however, the book just seemed like an extended version of the introductory discussion that happens before each episode. Though there is nothing necessarily wrong with that, it left me waiting for the real content to start...which never happened.
Love these ladies, love the podcast, and this book was a relatively quick read. With that said, I wish I would have just waited for it to become available at my local library instead of shelling out the money to purchase my own copy.
Love these ladies, love the podcast, and this book was a relatively quick read. With that said, I wish I would have just waited for it to become available at my local library instead of shelling out the money to purchase my own copy.
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual violence
mithilareads's review against another edition
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
oinseach's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
I devoured this book, in a night with tears in my eyes the entire time, and then immediately had to read it again. Beautifully hilarious and deeply touching.
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, and Eating disorder
sophieduncan's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Panic attacks/disorders
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