As a woman who has defied convention and lived life by her own rules, there is much to take away from this book. Mostly, I felt affirmed and a few times I’ve felt enlightened. At times it felt verbose and redundant, I think much of what it offers could’ve been told in 3/4 of the time it took me to read it. There is a lot of heteronormativity in this book and in that regard it’s a little dated but much of it is used metaphorically and not literally.

I’d recommend for anyone struggling to be their authentic selves, especially women who are too often told to shrink themselves in order to be valued.