Pages: 180
Published: April 26th 2011 by HarperCollins Publishers
Genre: Non/Fiction/ Memoir, Autobiography
Format: Hardback
Date Finished: 9th February 2012
Synopsis:
An invitation to rethink who you are, what you value, and what you want from life, Normal Gets You Nowhere goes beyond how to reinvent yourself and create your own brand, and investigates what it means to live in this world as a tuned-in, caring individual with a passion for making a difference. There’s already an army of super talented uberfreaks changing the world–isn’t it time you joined it time you joined them.
Review:
My only knowledge of Kelly Cutrone was from watching her on numerous episodes of Dr.Phil over the past few years. My overall thoughts about her was that she was a no shit kinda lady who told it like it is, but at the same time to me seemed to take it a little bit too far. But when I read about her book If You Have to Cry Go Outside I became intrigued to learn more about the way she perceived the world and her business. I am yet to read that book, but when I was working at my local library I came across Normal Gets You No Where I decided to give it a try.
For the most part this book was inspirational. I took the parts that were relevant to me through reading the entire book and appreciated her honest opinions on subjects like consumerism, sex, spirituality and finding our true essence. A few years ago I would have been the type of woman to live with the ideal that a man would take care of my needs and be the breadwinner, but over the past two years I have changed and grown and I loved to read about women who have made a career and a life for themselves through hard work and without a man. These parts were empowering in many ways.
However the book did go on tangents, and while I am one to enjoy such tangents it became a little confusing in places and when it came to rights it did make me ask a lot of questions. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, of course because like all self help books and memoirs you do want to take something and learn but I lost track between the message of not being normal and the times when what Kelly was saying was more like a contradiction.
Her main message is to think for yourself, and from what I have seen and read she is clear about who she is and what she wants to experience. And while I am one who is adamant about being myself, isn’t it a bit hard to take in the whole thinking for yourself process when she makes choices driven by her professional life at the end of the day? We are all consumerist in one way or another and impressions are hard to deal with. While reading this book I aimed to be clear minded and yet a lot of the messages Kelly was trying to convey came across to me as different ways of thinking and being and in some ways conforming.
What I did take from this book was that message that you need to live the life that you want it to be and not to conform to what everyone else’s ideal is for you and your future. That we need to find the things that make us freaks, creative and wonderful and use them to live a healthy and productive life. Also to remember and be grateful for the fresh air and the fact that we have this experience called life, because amidst the need to be someone that everyone will love, we also forget that we are sacred and unique and deserve to be our true self.
For the most part I did take a lot from Kelly, and part of me wishes that there were more women out there fighting for the truth and making it known that there are ways in which we can help the world, and it can be as simple as offering someone a hug. I think it is important to give back the community and to start thinking about what relationships do mean to us besides meeting up for coffee once a month or getting lost in the technology that the world has provided for us.
Controversial, raw and full of honesty I do think if you aren’t one to be too easy offended then pick this book up for sure. I would love to hear any feedback from those who have read this book or Kelly’s other book and if you know of Kelly what are your thoughts?
★★★
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