After reading Cannonballer Niki’s review of this book earlier this month, it cemented my decision to NOT read it. I had been wavering until that point; it kept being recommended to me as a “life changing read, like, omg”, but something about it never really sat right with me. Then I read Niki’s review, and it articulated & confirmed my hesitations, and I removed it from my Amazon ‘Save for later’ list (where it had been living for months).
And then a bunch of women in my book club wanted to read it.
And then my sister-in-law gifted me with a copy.
So, I decided to muddle through it. Mainly because I never want to be someone who only ever reads things that I agree with, and who talks smack about books based on theoretical opinions of what i THINK it’s about, instead of actually reading it. If I’m gonna hate a book, and encourage others to NOT read it, I need to at least be able to back that up.
To sum up, as this post title already declared: MEH.
I found parts of her story engaging, and while her honesty and vulnerability always had an ulterior motive (used to drive home whatever point she was making in that chapter), I give her props for at least opening the dialogue for some of these topics. I might not agree with all of her conclusions about the issues she addresses, but any starting point for conversation is good. And yeah, I personally have found myself in a season of ‘blah’, and need a bit of an ass-kicking in order to make some life changes. Again, I don’t agree with all of her thoughts, but it was at least somewhat refreshing (for me) to read a book that took more of a ‘tough love’ slant on self-improvement. Many reviewers have commented negatively about the spiritual aspects of the book, which to me wasn’t an issue. I knew that she’d be dropping some comments about her faith in there, so it wasn’t a surprise to me. I didn’t feel blindsided by it, and coming from a similar faith background, it wasn’t anything that felt out of place for me.
As far as the negatives? Yeah, there were lots. If this book had been marketed as a memoir, I could have been on board a lot more, I think. Hollis has an interesting story, and I would have read it for the entertainment value. But when she starts using her life as an example to others, that’s where it fell off the rails for me.
“I’m a complete workaholic, and here are the dramatic health issues that came from that! ……But also, check out this $1000 LV purse I was able to buy once I worked hard enough building my empire! Next up is a vacation home in Hawaii!”
“Let me tell you about the most unhealthy romantic relationship I was in, how he treated me like garbage, about the lessons I learned, and the courage I had to end it. …..Oh, and then he showed up at my house in the middle of the night, apologized once, and now we’re married.”
“I recognize that being overweight can stem from so many reasons – physically, emotionally, psychologically. …. but those are all excuses, you need to run marathons like me!”
…..Etc, etc, etc.
I can appreciate the message of working past the lies you believe about yourself in order to move forward in life and realize some of your dreams. I just think that it’s hard to take that message seriously when it’s wrapped up in so much humble-bragging, upper-class privilege, and context that doesn’t relate to most of the population.