Publishing Date: March 7, 2017
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 240
Audiobook Version: 3 hrs and 31 mins
Teens Memoir / Life & Relationships
The Premise from the Publisher: "In this groundbreaking debut essay collection, featuring never-before-seen photos, actress Lily Collins, is opening a poignant, honest conversation about the things young women struggle with: body image, self-confidence, relationships, family, dating, and so much more. For the first time ever, Lily shares her life and her own deepest secrets, underlining that every single one of us experiences pain and heartbreak. We all understand what it’s like to live in the light and in the dark. For Lily, it’s about making it through to the other side, where you love what you see in the mirror and where you embrace yourself just as you are. She's learned that all it takes is one person standing up and saying something for everyone else to realize they’re not alone. By turns hilarious and heartbreaking, Lily’s honest voice will inspire you to be who you are and say what you feel. It’s time to claim your voice! It’s time to live your life unfiltered" (HC).
My overall thoughts and review: I've been a fan of Lily Collins for quite some time now. I was over the moon when I found out she was cast as Clary Fray for The Mortal Instruments movie. I even got to meet her when they were filming in Toronto. She is such an incredibly sweet individual and I got to see just how hard she worked. She would take time in between takes to say hi to her fans which was so nice. I was also devastated when the series moved to Netflix and they recast Clary. I thought Lily was absolutely perfect for the role, but since then, it's been nice to see her soar in other acting pursuits and also as the face of Lancome. I don't know much about Lily's personal life so when I heard that she was writing a book, I was definitely intrigued. I decided to go for the audiobook version because I always feel reading memoirs in audiobook versions is a lot better? You get to hear the author's voice which is a nice touch and it feels like they are directly telling you the story on a whole other level? The book is a series of essays and letters where Lily talks about her experience in love relationships, family, her eating disorder, and coming to terms with accepting herself. I really found that the chapters about love relationships struck a chord with me. Lily mentions at one point that she always felt that a bad relationship was meant to teach her a lesson or prepare her for what's to come next, but she's broken free of that mold to let a relationship define her. This really got to me, because as a teenager, I truly believed that. Her thoughts on her relationships and especially when she speaks quite openly about her experiences in an abusive relationship, really made me reevaluate all my previous relationships in a new light. I also personally have always had a bit of a struggle and a strange relationship with food, so I definitely empathized with the sections where Lily spoke about her eating disorder. I found that she got it so right and I even felt like she was explaining my previous situations at times. I really liked how open Lily was and one thing that I really appreciated was that, not only did Lily speak about the difficult moments in her life, she also spoke about really good moments, like learning to cook and embrace the kitchen. Overall, I really loved this read. Lily speaks so honestly about everything and it is so clear why she is such a role model to many people. She doesn't skirt around the messy stuff, nor does she apologize for things. She encourages the reader to embrace yourself (in all capacities) and to truly love yourself. Even if you aren't a fan or even familiar with Lily Collins, this is definitely a book worth reading.
My rating of the book: ✮✮✮✮ (4/5 stars)
Available for purchase at:
Audible, Chapters/Indigo, Kobo Books, Amazon and Book Depository (Free Worldwide Shipping)
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