Girl, Wash Your Face

Okay look, I feel bad giving this 1 star, but according to Goodreads, that means “I didn't like it” and that's very true. While I do agree with some of her pieces of advice, she goes way too far with the whole “pull up your bootstraps” schtick.

I really don't understand why this book has been so insanely popular. It was released in February 2018 and has stayed in the top 10 best-selling books in the USA for seven months, holding the No. 1 spot for at least 12 of those weeks. I don't get it.

I agree that we all struggle with believing lies about ourselves and we need to stop comparing ourselves to other people. But this whole “you choose your happiness” ? “you are in control of your own life”? really? because I don't think so. Maybe a little, but not that much. If you are a white, middle-class/comfortable financially woman, maybe this book is perfectly fine for you. Maybe the advice in here is all you need. But if you don't have that much privilege or money, or you've struggled with mental illness, or if you've had any number of other awful things happen in your life that you had no control over, her advice sounds hollow and useless at best.

Other problems:
- There's more than a hint of the ideas of the “prosperity gospel” nonsense.
- The way she talks about weight is problematic (fat-shaming kind of garbage).
- Her tone is very preachy and judgemental.
- Feels more like a book-long humble brag most of the time.

TLDR: I'm glad I borrowed this from the library instead of spending money on it. Read Brené Brown, Anne Lamott, and Barbara Brown Taylor instead.