Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis

 This is the follow-up to her other book. It's very similar as her first. Upbeat, lively, supposedly honest and open, and happy, happy, happy. I actually couldn't bear to finish it. Again, too superficial, too lacking in serious self-reflection, and too sugary and upbeat to be really real. 

And then--because she refers to her business so often, I thought I should just look online and see what that looks like. And lo and behold, she got divorced last summer! WHAT?! She's built this huge brand on her happy marriage and family life, and she's getting divorced? Poor girl--it must be pretty bad to go this route given how her business is built on this image she created. Yikes. Now I just feel sorry for her. 

When I get back to Rapid City, it will be interesting to get Rachel Hinkson's view of all of this. I know she wanted to read/discuss her other book, but does that mean she bought in to the whole milieu? What does she think now? That will be an interesting chat!

Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis

 This book was recommended as a Rapid City book club read by Rachel Hinkson. I was excited when I found a copy in the Little Library box down on the corner here in Bismarck. Actually, her next book was there too, which I will review momentarily.

It is a lively read. This young woman, Rachel Hollis, is an online phenomenon with a big following. She writes engagingly, though very informally. More like she's talking... It's laid out in chapters of "Lies." For example, "Something Else Will Make Me Happy," "I'm Not Good Enough," "I'm Not a Good Mom." She explains her experiences with these topics and then, at the end of each chapter, has a list of "Things That Helped Me," which are practical thoughts and actions that help overcome the lies.

I'm not in her target audience. I'm older and -- I hope! -- wiser! She's got a few good ideas and a ton of enthusiasm, but some of her thinking is very elementary. And she's awfully proud of her open and supposedly authentic honesty--and it is refreshing not to have her life sugar-coated, but it still didn't exactly ring true to me. 

As I read, I enjoyed learning about how she had a terrible childhood and growing up, how she grew her business and reputation, how she fell in love and started a family, etc., etc. It was interesting, although not especially rich or deep. I kept thinking she was very superficial in her approach to all aspects of life. Although her positive attitude and can-do attitude would be helpful and inspiring, probably to someone young and struggling. There are some good suggestions here...

But it's definitely not the quality of a book or thinker that I would want to pass on to anyone. So it's going back to the Little Library with my thanks.