My bestie bought this for me on our Dublin trip last WE in a vintage bookshop cuz it kinda spoke to me - and I didn’t know it was even written by an Irish author so that was the perfect souvenir 🍀 Emilie Pines basically “just” gives us an insight into various formative phases of her life. However, being a woman, a human really, I related to so much, I shared worries and experiences, and for the ones I don’t, I was still touched by her honesty and thoughts. A piece that just depicts how complex life, family, social environments and - being a woman - is. I really liked it 🫀

my newfound love for memoirs (& seeing it on instagram) made me pick this up, and i loved it so much. it did everything i enjoy about reading memoirs: 1) the intimacy emilie pine's writing is so honest and from the heart. her clear language and direct way of explaining her feelings and putting them into context resonated with me a lot! she decided to share difficult moments from her life and to talk about experiences that people sometimes don't even share with their friends. because of that, i felt so close to her while reading, and i loved getting to know her. 2) the relatability well, my life has been very different from emilie pine's. i haven't experienced most of what she describes. still, i was able to relate to her so much, i could understand her thoughts and feelings and felt less alone for some reason. 3) the courage ...because we need women* like her to share their stories to create change!!

Emilie Pine's writing style is concise, straight-forward and incredibly raw. In this collection of essays she reflects on her experience growing up, the miscarriage she had to endure, her relationship with her body and womanhood in general. To me, the collection hit very close to home and I could relate to many of the stories she told, insights she gave and feelings she felt. I read a few reviews of people saying they felt Pine was being narcissistic and self-centered in the narration of her story. But to me, this is her personal story, her trajectory of healing and her coping with the events that shaped her - and how is that not supposed to be selfish, after all. Self-reflection and healing always are. And you could beautifully see her growth in this collection of essays reflected in the way she told her own story. I personally loved this and raced through it in one go, stopping only to take a breath, cry or distance myself from the feelings that came up. Trigger warning: eating disorder