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A review by thegeekybibliophile
It's Messy: On Boys, Boobs, and Badass Women by Amanda de Cadenet
3.0
Apparently, I've been living under a rock, because I'd never heard of Amanda de Cadenet until I read this book. (Or perhaps it's more accurate to say I've been living with my nose permanently stuck in one book after another.)
I made a decision earlier this year to broaden my reading horizons and read books I wouldn't ordinarily have read in the past. This is the sort of book that, in past years, I would have been curious about and maybe even skimmed over a few pages before putting it back on the shelf. As a general rule, I'm not one to read essay collections and I don't think I've ever read a book where one of the main topics is feminism, either. This book hit the spot twice over on broadening my reading horizons, so obviously I had to read it.
And I'm glad I did.
I really enjoyed the conversational feel of the book. It flowed as if I were reading a series of letters, rather than a collection of essays. (If I hadn't been reading two other books at the same time, I have no doubt that I could have read the entire book cover to cover in less than two days.) In the book, de Cadenet shares stories of her life—childhood, marriages, motherhood, and career—and as the title suggests, some of it is, indeed, messy. She also discusses lessons she's learned along the way, about the importance of friendship, standing up for what you believe in, and being true to yourself. One of the things that resonated most with me is when she talks about not listening to the negative voice inside your head when it tells you you're not "enough" in some way. (Ladies, you know the voice I'm talking about: The one that says you're not thin enough, pretty enough, smart enough... whatever.) That voice is a vicious bitch and hits on every insecurity a women has about herself. In speaking about body acceptance, Amanda says:
Those thirteen little words have a huge amount of truth in them, and it made me pause for a moment of reflection. How much time have I spent, every single day, feeling unhappy about the way I look? How many times have I let depression to wash over me in waves as I made endless lists of everything that wasn't "good enough" about me? Wasted time, all of it. Even more so when I think about how little time, in comparison, I've spent feeling content about any of those things.
Some essays are more difficult to read than others, due to the subject matter, but they all have important messages to get across. This is definitely a book that makes you think.
Now that I've broadened my reading horizons... won't you broaden yours, as well? :)
I received an advance review copy of this book courtesy of Harper Wave.
I made a decision earlier this year to broaden my reading horizons and read books I wouldn't ordinarily have read in the past. This is the sort of book that, in past years, I would have been curious about and maybe even skimmed over a few pages before putting it back on the shelf. As a general rule, I'm not one to read essay collections and I don't think I've ever read a book where one of the main topics is feminism, either. This book hit the spot twice over on broadening my reading horizons, so obviously I had to read it.
And I'm glad I did.
I really enjoyed the conversational feel of the book. It flowed as if I were reading a series of letters, rather than a collection of essays. (If I hadn't been reading two other books at the same time, I have no doubt that I could have read the entire book cover to cover in less than two days.) In the book, de Cadenet shares stories of her life—childhood, marriages, motherhood, and career—and as the title suggests, some of it is, indeed, messy. She also discusses lessons she's learned along the way, about the importance of friendship, standing up for what you believe in, and being true to yourself. One of the things that resonated most with me is when she talks about not listening to the negative voice inside your head when it tells you you're not "enough" in some way. (Ladies, you know the voice I'm talking about: The one that says you're not thin enough, pretty enough, smart enough... whatever.) That voice is a vicious bitch and hits on every insecurity a women has about herself. In speaking about body acceptance, Amanda says:
It's better to accept yourself and your body than to beat yourself up.
Those thirteen little words have a huge amount of truth in them, and it made me pause for a moment of reflection. How much time have I spent, every single day, feeling unhappy about the way I look? How many times have I let depression to wash over me in waves as I made endless lists of everything that wasn't "good enough" about me? Wasted time, all of it. Even more so when I think about how little time, in comparison, I've spent feeling content about any of those things.
Some essays are more difficult to read than others, due to the subject matter, but they all have important messages to get across. This is definitely a book that makes you think.
Now that I've broadened my reading horizons... won't you broaden yours, as well? :)
I received an advance review copy of this book courtesy of Harper Wave.