I LOVED this book. LOVED IT. I would just copy and paste a bunch of quotes I liked but that’s not much of a review so I’m going to do that AND try to review it.
Abbi Jacobson, of Broad City (which I haven’t really watched because I’m terrible about watching TV but what I’ve seen I really like) decides to take a soul-searching road trip across the country. During this time, she makes lists (I loved the lists), stays in creepy bed-and-breakfasts and asks herself some big questions.
“That ultimately I’m admitting that I’m scared of being alone. But aren’t we all? Isn’t that… the main thing? Aren’t we all secretly terrified that we’re not understood, not seen, not loved, not wanted? Okay, great, cleared that up.”
Jacobsonhas a lot of thoughts on a lot of things, and you should really just read the book, but I particularly loved how she talked about being a woman. She’s a writer and a performer and has spent a lot of time in rooms being told by men how what she’s created isn’t correct or isn’t enough. And she’s sick of it.
“Mediocrity isn’t a part of the successful women’s handbook, but I’m sorry, boys, for you it is. Women have to push harder, jump farther, stay later, think better, shit faster, all while trying their best to maintain whatever society says today their body should look like, how they should parent, what they should wear, when they should find love, what’s inappropriate for them to do, say, be, feel, or fuck. The outward pressures are constant, but the inward congestion of doubts and insecurities are sometimes louder—women really can have it all!”
Jacobson is also very aware that while she has definitely been discriminated against for being female, that she also reaps a lot of benefits from being white and financially stable. Her point is that inequality has to be discussed by everyone.
“And I’m a white woman in a leadership position—I can only speak from my point of view. The challenges that women of color face in the workforce are even greater, the hurdles even higher, the pay gap even wider. The ingrained, unconscious bias is even stronger against them. It’s overwhelming to think about the amount of restructuring and realigning we have to do, mentally and physically, to create equality, but it starts with acknowledging the difference, the problem, over and over.”
She also talks a lot about a relationship that broke her heart, and her musings on this subject are much more laid back and introspective. It never feels like self-indulgence though. This whole book feels like taking a trip with a close friend — being silly in the car and talking deep thoughts at night in the motel.