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lit_laugh_luv's review
3.0
I'm in two minds about this one - on one hand, I enjoyed hearing Shraya's personal experiences and their perspective on the world. She has a lot of interesting viewpoints related to change and conformity as someone who exists at the intersection of several highly politicized identities. I almost wish this included more of her personal experiences - for example, her discussions about her gender identity were by far the most interesting to me. It's a stifling trade-off of being expected to represent a certain standard of trans womanhood, as deviations from this can be weaponized to imply confusion or uncertainty. Yet she aptly refutes this by simply stating: "I'm not confused. I am certain - that I want to keep changing".
This lost me a bit because the pop culture analysis felt a bit rudimentary. I don't think the intent here was to make an overtly critical or scholarly exploration into change, but a lot of the analysis felt overly reliant on Madonna as an example and was all fairly straightforward. It is definitely accessible if you're new to these ideas, though!
I also appreciated the brief overview of the negative aspects of change and evolution, but wish these were further explored. Especially within the queer community, it is hard to disentangle assimilation and conformity from true evolution, and so I felt like this glorified change a bit too much at times. Not all change is personally motivated and so much of it is rooted in safety and assimilating to what is necessary for survival.
This lost me a bit because the pop culture analysis felt a bit rudimentary. I don't think the intent here was to make an overtly critical or scholarly exploration into change, but a lot of the analysis felt overly reliant on Madonna as an example and was all fairly straightforward. It is definitely accessible if you're new to these ideas, though!
I also appreciated the brief overview of the negative aspects of change and evolution, but wish these were further explored. Especially within the queer community, it is hard to disentangle assimilation and conformity from true evolution, and so I felt like this glorified change a bit too much at times. Not all change is personally motivated and so much of it is rooted in safety and assimilating to what is necessary for survival.
leeuhhhh's review
4.0
loved! this honestly did give me a whole new outlook on change. i love how shraya tells stories and gets her points across. i’ll definitely be reading more by this author. highly recommend <3
sandiet's review against another edition
4.0
A short book (112 pages, less than 2 hours audio) about all the different ways in which people change. Something as simple as applying makeup, getting a haircut, changing professions are all ways we reinvent/change ourselves. The author is a trans-gender artist and assistant professor in creative writing and the outlook she has on life is very eye-opening. Interesting quick listen/read. I recommend.
thebookofmomlife's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
I enjoyed the Author’s writing style very much. Very optimistic and inspiring! A great story of evolving and loving yourself in each part of your own story.