Friday Book Club: J-Dub’s Review of Well, This Is Exhausting: Essays by Sophia Benoit ~ 11/5/21

Since this is a memoir, I’ll stick with my nondescript recommendation. I gave 4 stars since to review, I have to rate first. What follows is my Goodreads review.

Relatable essays from one cis privileged white female to another. Though I’m at least a decade older, I found much in common with the author. Reviewing memoirs is hard. Like who I’m I to judge someone else’s experience? Nobody! I’m nobody. All I can say is thanks for reinforcing we are not alone in our idiosyncrasies. I walked away feeling validated.

The last time I called myself privileged, I was verbally attacked. It was on FB so no shocker. I’m like bite me biatch. My prerogative to acknowledge what I see for myself as being privileged. You do you. I wasn’t attacking what she may or may not have done to “earn” all her accomplishments. I for one can’t walk past the special treatment I’ve received for no other reason than being born. Yep I’m a princess. Queen, drama. Tata for now. Until next time.

As always more to come.

11/11/21 P.S. Here are the quotes from my commonplace book:

• … do I think movie characters have shaped me as a human? No, not entirely … But I do think that what we see on screen shows us possibilities.
• Maybe I self-policed myself too much as a teenager
• Sure there’s light at the end of the tunnel. But there’s also light everywhere if you get out of the damn tunnel.
• What I know now is that brains are extraordinarily good at normalizing mistreatment
• While I’m not fun per se, I can be fun adjacent
• It should not have taken years of others people’s pain for me to catch on; no one should have had to be harmed ever to begin with
• One time I got really concerned that I had pancreatic cancer because there are usually no symptoms for pancreatic cancer & I was experiencing no symptoms. (Crazy as it sounds that is medical anxiety or the almost hypochondriac in me)
• I have a pretty high tolerance for pain; I have no patience for chronic discomfort. (also me)

I could go on but will save some goodness for later. I really think Sophia is my spirit animal. You are not alone can be true despite how it might feel sometimes.