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meghankg 's review for:
Over the Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love
by Jonathan Van Ness
I hate reviewing memoirs and autobiographies, but I’ve committed to assigning ratings to each book I read, so here we are. For fans of JVN, this book will deliver a hilarious and heartbreaking memoir, with just a dash of self-care guidance, that only JVN could tell. Is this a straightforward personal history? Absolutely not, but that’s what makes this book so authentic. The writing-style is definitely not for everyone, but the choice to allow this book to read the way JVN speaks is perhaps the only way this story could have been told. Unlike some others, I never found the gymnastic and figure skating metaphors to be distracting; they are simply the easiest, and likely most comfortable, way for JVN to convey to readers the feeling of some of these experiences. With that being said, purely from the position of a reader, I think there were some instances in which the assistance of an emotionally disconnected party could have helped, as there were gaps in cause/effect of certain experiences that left me a bit confused on how they got from A to B, but given the delicate and in some cases traumatic nature of these experiences I fully understand the lack of detail. If all you know about JVN is their role on Queer Eye, I would caution you against jumping into this book before getting acquainted with their other projects and social media presence. Overall, I would recommend this book for anyone interested in hearing JVN’s story told as only they can tell it, with the warning that it deals with some traumatic events and heavy subject-matter.