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punkystarshine 's review for:
Never Have I Ever: My Life (So Far) Without a Date
by Katie Heaney
Never have I ever related so well to the narrator of a non-fiction book. And right now, this week of this month this year, from the very day I started it (okay like three days ago) to the day I finished it (three minutes ago) was the absolute perfect time for me to read it. Because I, who have also been more or less single for the now 27 years of my life, am usually very, VERY content with my relationship status (or lack thereof) and for some reason, last week, felt a little like I had termites in my otherwise strong foundation. Katie Heaney's book was exactly what I needed to exterminate those termites of self-doubt and frustration. Reading this book felt a lot like reading an (albeit long) email from a friend. Katie absolutely and definitely seems like the kind of person I would want to spend time with - smart, funny, insightful, fiercely loyal, and an extraordinary storyteller. (Also it's nice to know I'm not the only one who has no idea how to flirt or how to identify flirting or where on earth everyone else in the world seemed to learn.) I could spend all night writing about all the ways I related to this book, but instead I'm just going to recommend you read it. It's so...familiar isn't a positive enough word. In the beginning of the book, Katie writes that she hopes the book feels like you're hanging out with her, drinking, and she's telling you about her embarrassing adventures, and that's exactly what it feels like. Like the best one-sided conversation you'll ever have.
Side note: This is going to sound like a really trivial thing, but it felt more important than I can express. In a few parts of the book, Katie makes some generalizations about girls/dating, but always in a way that includes (or deliberately excludes) lesbians. For example, she wouldn't say "all girls are hoping she'll meet a guy..." etc. She would say "all girls who are inclined to the opposite sex" or "all girls with the exception of gay ones" (much more eloquently than the examples I just provided) and it sounds like such a small thing, but it really, really isn't. Far too often, I'm reading an article or a book or a post I relate to almost entirely, and then bam, just like that, in one measly sentence, I am entirely excluded. Erased, invisible, no longer able to play with the other girls. And it is not a fun feeling. So for that, I thank Katie, and I hope the future storytellers she will surely inspire will follow suit.
Side note: This is going to sound like a really trivial thing, but it felt more important than I can express. In a few parts of the book, Katie makes some generalizations about girls/dating, but always in a way that includes (or deliberately excludes) lesbians. For example, she wouldn't say "all girls are hoping she'll meet a guy..." etc. She would say "all girls who are inclined to the opposite sex" or "all girls with the exception of gay ones" (much more eloquently than the examples I just provided) and it sounds like such a small thing, but it really, really isn't. Far too often, I'm reading an article or a book or a post I relate to almost entirely, and then bam, just like that, in one measly sentence, I am entirely excluded. Erased, invisible, no longer able to play with the other girls. And it is not a fun feeling. So for that, I thank Katie, and I hope the future storytellers she will surely inspire will follow suit.