I loved how it made me question things I'd never really questioned before. It wasn't just about beauty standards—it was about where those standards come from, and how much of what we believe is shaped by culture, media, and expectations. I found myself stopping every few pages just thinking, how many of these thoughts are actually mine?
I appreciated that it made me look at everyday things differently. Even when I didn't agree with everything, it made me stop and think instead of just accepting things the way they are.
I love books that leave me with more questions than answers, and this was one of them. It made me wonder how much of who we are comes from expectations we've been living with for so long that we don't even notice them anymore. Whether I agreed with every point wasn't really the point. The fact that I was still thinking about it after I finished the book is what made it memorable. Those are the books that stay with me.
The bestselling classic that redefined our view of the relationship between beauty and female identity .
Every day, women around the world are confronted with a dilemma - how to look. In a society embroiled in a cult of female beauty and youthfulness, pressure on women to conform physically is constant and all-pervading. In this iconic, gripping and frank expose, Naomi Wolf exposes the tyranny of the beauty myth through the ages and its oppressive function today, in the home and at work, in literature and the media, in relationships between men and women, between women and women. With pertinent…
I loved how Warsan Shire puts feelings into words that are usually hard to explain. The poems talk about carrying people, places, memories, and pieces of yourself wherever you go. They feel deeply personal, but somehow they also feel familiar, especially if you've ever felt like you belong to more than one version of yourself.
I also loved how honest the writing is. There's pain, vulnerability, strength, and softness all at once. The poems don't try to make difficult experiences sound poetic for the sake of it—they just tell the truth.
I've always been drawn to writers who can say so much with so few words, and Warsan Shire does that beautifully. This book made me think about identity, belonging, and the stories we inherit without even realizing it. Some books teach you something new. Others make you realize they've put words to something you've felt for a long time but could never quite explain. This was one of those books.
*SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2022 FELIX DENNIS PRIZE FOR BEST FIRST COLLECTION* ** AS HEARD ON BBC RADIO 4**
'Warsan Shire is an extraordinarily gifted poet whose profoundly moving poems so powerfully give voice to the unspoken' Bernardine Evaristo
'Vital, moving and courageous, this is a debut not to be missed' Guardian __________
Poems of migration, womanhood, trauma and resilience from the award-winning Somali British poet Warsan Shire, celebrated collaborator on Beyonce's Lemonade and Black Is King.
With her first full-length poetry collection, Warsan Shire introduces us to a girl who, in the absence of a nurturing guide, makes her own…
I loved how Marjane Satrapi tells such a complex story in such a simple, honest way. The illustrations pull you in, but it's the humanity of the story that stays with you. Even with everything the book explores, there are moments of humor that make it feel even more real.
What I appreciated most was how it explores identity. It made me think about how often people decide who we are before they really know us, and how confusing it can be trying to figure out your own voice while balancing culture, family, and expectations.
The book reminded me that identity is never just one thing. It's shaped by where we come from, the people around us, and the experiences we carry—but it's also something we're constantly questioning and redefining. I finished the book with a lot to think about, and those are usually the books that stay with me.
Wise, often funny, sometimes heart-breaking, Persepolis tells the story of Marjane Satrapi's life in Tehran from the ages of six to fourteen, growing up during the Iranian Revolution.
The intelligent and outspoken child of radical Marxists, and the great-grandaughter of Iran's last emperor, Satrapi bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country. Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran and of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life.
Amidst the tragedy, Marjane's child's eye view adds immediacy and humour, and her story of a childhood at once outrageous and ordinary,…
I Did Not Survive. I Just Refused To Stop. is a messy, honest, sometimes funny, and raw hybrid of memoir, essays, poetry, and visual art.
It explores identity, faith, belonging, grief, resilience, and the exhausting expectations that come with growing up between cultures. It is about questioning the beliefs we inherit, unlearning what no longer serves us, and figuring out who we are when everyone else already has an idea of who we should be.
This book doesn't pretend to have all the answers. It asks uncomfortable questions, laughs at some of life's absurdities, sits with grief, and makes space for the emotions we don't always know how to name. Because being yourself is rarely simple.
