I wanted so badly to like this book. I follow a lot of "mommy bloggers" on social media (Tiffany Jenkins, Brooke Wilkerson, CA Miljavac, Bunmi Laditan, just to name a few). I also love a good motivational story about women finding themselves and following their dreams (ex: Jeanette Walls, Elizabeth Gilbert, and Queen Dolly Parton) I started seeing this book recommended in some of these online circles and assumed it would be right up my alley, even though I'd never heard of Rachel Hollis. I purchased the book on Audible because who has time to actually sit and read books, amIright? Within the first few chapters I was so disappointed.Rachel Briefly touched on her humble beginnings, and good for her that she made it out and set off to create a better life for herself in Los Angeles. Seriously, that's awesome. She preaches over, and over that YOU are responsible for fulfilling your own dreams and while she's correct, she seems to gloss over the fact that she comes from a place of serious privilege. Rachel Hollis doesn't HAVE to work. She married young to a wealthy entertainment executive. She's privileged enough to have a safety net to where if she follows her dreams and fails miserably she won't end up at a food pantry.Overall, she makes a few good points throughout the book, but it's mostly full of humble brags and ways to better yourself if you've got a fat wallet and a lifestyle with some risk appetite. She preaches throughout the book to stay off of Pinterest and embrace who you are, but if you actually visit her website, it's full of the exact stuff that makes a lot of moms feel like failures. Pictures of her jogging as a size 4 with a flat stomach after three kids and amazing hair, a wardrobe full of items that cost more than my mortgage payment, food and drinks that look like they should be on a magazine cover. The target audience for this book is definitely upper-middle class white women... or those who live beyond their means and pretend to be wealthy.Overall, for me, this book was just a miss.

This book was very meh. She has some good stories, and some “How was that relevant?” ones. I found that the times I did like it were soon followed with, Brené Brown said it better.

Like many other reviewers, I REALLY, really wanted to love this book. But I can't even finish it. I made it through 12.5 chapters before I had to stop. Things I really don't like:- she does a lot of rambling, which bored me. I feel like each chapter is filled with repetitive, sometimes even contradictory, filler just to get her to the end where she lays out her "what helped me" points- those "what helped me" points are all you could read each chapter and probably get all you need - they're akin to "this chapter for dummies"- I do realize this is a "Christian" book (but what that is supposed to mean, I don't know as I'm not very religious and therefore don't know what to expect), however, I feel like she's very naive concerning men, sex, etc. It's good she seems to have found a healthy approach to working through her marital issues surrounding these topics, but I can't help thinking "but you have no basis for comparison..."- generally speaking, I just can't relate to Rachel Hollis. I am not rich. I didn't marry rich. I will never be rich, or have nannies, or gardeners, or throw enormous parties that I might stress over. That's not her fault, and I think I should have done some research on her before reading her book.Clearly, many people don't feel this way, but I just feel like this book is such a let-down I had to put in my two cents.

I really wanted to love this book!*some spoilers*And I did from chapters 1-8 and then chapter 20.Everything in the middle seemed a bit repetitive and at times even contradictory. I recognize that while the audience for this book (white, upper middle class, women between 24-40) is not exactly me (black, middle class, early 30s), I could relate to some of the action points at the end of each chapter; but all I could think of is how completely unhelpful it would be for women with access to less resources (spoiler- a lot of moms don't pick their kids up from school, neither do baby sitters--- they ride the bus. Or mental health counseling, conferences and retreats, while an investment in self, are things that many people can not afford). I find this ironic considering the poor, rural background the author comes from.Also, I was put off (maybe sickened a bit) as she shared the her family's story of adoption/foster care. I'm sure it's not the case, but there seemed to be so much judgment for the children's first families and outright disdain for those parent's attempts at preserving their families (despite there being an entire chapter on not judging.) What really threw me for a loop was the author calling one of the mothers of the children an "addict" in the exact same paragraph where she chronicles her own struggles with alcohol abuse.Finally, while I appreciate her attempts at describing how to live a life filled with diverse people it's a bit trite to use the "one of my best friends is black" line. Also, suggesting that people ask people of color to explain racism to them is pretty problematic. There are many, many resources available for people to try to educate themselves first before asking poc to help them unpack their bias. I really do appreciate her effort here, though! (We need more mainstream writers to wade into these waters!)To conclude, the book has some high points and strong themes of encouragement and resilience (I even shared the chapter on "No" with my husband). I applaud Ms. Hollis for keeping it real and fun in those areas and providing some common sense, sound advice for moving forward in life and lighting a fire under your tush. In other areas I would suggest she do a bit more work unpack her privilege (not just racially, but socioeconomically as well) and flush out some of her thoughts a bit more. She so wants her readers to not hold back in life, but why did I finish this book feeling like she did in writing it?- I would recommend to some friends.- I would read another book by this author granted she continues to hone her work and work through more of her own issues.

I got Catfished by this book. Based on the reviews and description, I was expecting it to be entertaing, well written, and motivational. It was not.The examples Rachel used In the book to make her points are terrible, rambling, and often off topic. Her life is #blessd beyond belief but she writes as if she has, and still is, overcoming extreme odds. She tries to be relatable, but just comes off as very out of touch.I would have loved to hear more about how she built her business or overcame tough family situations, but instead leaned about the time she made fun of a girl for having toe hair.My book club of 6 women, some single some married, ages 25-30 all hated this book.