One of the books I bought at Book Fair Australia last year. I have no idea what I was thinking when I bought it, but I’m so glad I did. It’s a memoir that’s a little off-beat by a person who’s been through the wringer and back. It’s not about eating, it’s about doing the things in life that give you pleasure, taking a chance and taking the path less travelled, going to places you’d not think about before. Make sure to have the experiences in your life while you can.
I loved this book, I know I say that a lot, but then I don’t write about the books I don’t love. And this book screams ‘read me’, and then ‘read me’ again to find the things I’ve missed. I’ve not the time for the next few months to reread this book, but I will, one day. There’s the ups and the downs, there’s the experiences Kitty has had that she’s written about so beautifully, some of the places she’s written about I’d love to visit, but I probably will never get there. I read about other’s lives and travels because I can’t do everything myself.
Some of these chapters are empowering to women. I won’t write about all of them because I’d end up with an essay length article. Just ‘Chapter 23 – I Used to Be a Real Tomboy’. It’s an essay that starts out telling us what Kitty used to be, how she used to dress and behave, the sort of crowd she was in. But now she dresses as she pleases, long hair, skirts and she feels comfortable with this. She ends the essay with empowering words to woman everywhere to do what you want, wear what you want and treasure your body as it is. This quote is the be-all-and-end-all for me ‘…pumping iron at dawn to feel better about your curves which are actually intended and beautiful.’ Essentially, stop looking at magazines and TV to find your body, just accept it as it is, do enough exercise to be healthy and not try to lose too much weight. This is a lesson not just for our time, but for all time. Be who you are and be proud of the body you have.
There’s one paragrah I need to reproduce completely, even to the full capitals.
YOU DO NOT OWE YOUR ABUSERS FORGIVENESS.
I know there are people who say giving forgiveness to your abusers is more about you than it is about them. And this paragraph tells us this in no uncertain words. Forgive your abusers or not, it’s not their choice, it’s yours.
There is so much heartache in this book, it doesn’t make it easy to read. Although the first time I cried was when she spoke about the loss of her dog, Yoshi. I can’t find the chapter to confirm my memory of the dog’s name. It was beautifully written, with foreshadowing early on in the chapter making me go ‘oh no’ and leading me on to a guess as to what it was about.
The last thing I want to mention is her Legacy List. Kitty thinks a Bucket List is aspirational and nice, but she feels writing a list of the things you’ve actually done is better. We’re then given three pages of her Legacy List with the encouragement to write our own. I’m not sure I want to write my own, but just reviewing it in my mind is overwhelming. I’ve done much more than I thought. I challenge to either write your Legacy List or review it in your mind, just look at what you’ve achieved, it might be more than you think. And then get this book.