Shrill
Notes from a Loud Woman
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4.6 • 21 Ratings
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- $2.99
Publisher Description
Shrill is an uproarious memoir, a feminist rallying cry in a world that thinks gender politics are tedious and that women, especially feminists, can't be funny.
Coming of age in a culture that demands women be as small, quiet, and compliant as possible -- like a porcelain dove that will also have sex with you -- writer and humoristLindy West quickly discovered that she was anything but.
From a painfully shy childhood in which she tried, unsuccessfully, to hide her big body and even bigger opinions; to her public war with stand-up comedians over rape jokes; to her struggle to convince herself, and then the world, that fat people have value; to her accidental activism and never-ending battle royale with Internet trolls, Lindy narrates her life with a blend of humor and pathos that manages to make a trip to the abortion clinic funny and wring tears out of a story about diarrhea.
With inimitable good humor, vulnerability, and boundless charm, Lindy boldly shares how to survive in a world where not all stories are created equal and not all bodies are treated with equal respect, and how to weather hatred, loneliness, harassment, and loss, and walk away laughing. Shrill provocatively dissects what it means to become self-aware the hard way, to go from wanting to be silent and invisible to earning a living defending the silenced in all caps.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Can a book double as a flotation device? Yes, if that book is Shrill and the water you’re flailing in is this thing called life. Lindy West’s fierce and laugh-out-loud funny memoir is timely: a karate chop against misogyny and a sisterly hug for any woman who’s been made to feel less-than or way-too-much. We will be giving this book to all our girlfriends and all our guy friends who are interested in hearing a brilliant, hilarious woman tell it like it is.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
West, a GQ culture writer and former staff writer for Jezebel, balances humor with a rare honesty and introspection in her debut. Over the course of the book, West details finding her voice as a writer and a feminist through stories about her family, her weight, having an abortion, and the emotional toil of being harassed online. West's chronicle of the series of highly personal online attacks and of how much Internet conversations have changed in the past decade marks this book as required reading. Always entertaining and relatable, West writes openly and with clear eyes about embarrassing moments and self-esteem issues, and has a remarkable ability to move among lightheartedness, heavy hitting topics, and what it means to be a good person. By reading about West's thought-provoking responses to online rape jokes, gender-specific attacks, and being trolled about a family tragedy, readers learn by example how to navigate the Internet's sometimes soul-sucking terrain with dignity and retain a sense of adventure.
Customer Reviews
Hilarious and insightful
I found this book by happenstance, and I am so happy I did. It's hilarious and insightful. How people can be so horrendous to others is beyond me, but I can honestly say she handled all her obstacles the way I would have. Lindy West is smart and funny and I would be honoured to meet her one day. I highly recommend this book to everyone and anyone! But, definitely to those who share similar views.
Shrill
Brilliant! Lindy West gives me hope that my teenage daughters have a chance of living in world that treats women with respect and acceptance.