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A review by chrysfey
You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero
4.0
I enjoyed this book, but I do want to point out the ableism in it in regards to people with depression.
Jen Sincero believes depression is just something you can decide to let go, just like that.
“Focus on the good and do the things you love to do—make an effort instead of collapsing into the familiar feeling of being depressed.” With that, it became clear that she’s never experienced true depression and is not a safe person for someone experiencing depression to talk to.
Her advice: “Behave the way a person who isn’t depressed behaves. Dress how they dress, hang out with the kinds of people they hang out with, speak the way they speak, do the things they do.” That made me laugh for how ignorant it is. And how completely unhelpful.
That section made me feel gross and did not sit right with me, which is opposite of what she intended with her book…which is making us feel like we’re badasses. A pretty big misstep there.
As I said, though, I did enjoy her book. I got several exercises out of it that helped me to dig deeper to find gratitudes (outcomes) for situations that I had not been grateful for, to rewrite my stories, and to question my “ugly,” aka negative traits I may not realize I have or am avoiding.
Jen Sincero believes depression is just something you can decide to let go, just like that.
“Focus on the good and do the things you love to do—make an effort instead of collapsing into the familiar feeling of being depressed.” With that, it became clear that she’s never experienced true depression and is not a safe person for someone experiencing depression to talk to.
Her advice: “Behave the way a person who isn’t depressed behaves. Dress how they dress, hang out with the kinds of people they hang out with, speak the way they speak, do the things they do.” That made me laugh for how ignorant it is. And how completely unhelpful.
That section made me feel gross and did not sit right with me, which is opposite of what she intended with her book…which is making us feel like we’re badasses. A pretty big misstep there.
As I said, though, I did enjoy her book. I got several exercises out of it that helped me to dig deeper to find gratitudes (outcomes) for situations that I had not been grateful for, to rewrite my stories, and to question my “ugly,” aka negative traits I may not realize I have or am avoiding.