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A raw, messy, fascinating look behind the influencer curtain.

I followed LeeFromAmerica during peak wellness Instagram, during the matcha, the Outdoor Voices sets, the adaptogens, and I remember all of it. The breakup. The bowl cut. The backlash. I picked up this book partly out of nostalgia, partly out of curiosity... and wow, I was not expecting how dark and deeply personal it got.

Lee’s memoir isn’t just about influencing, but it’s also about identity, disordered eating, trauma, addiction, and the high cost of constant self-performance. She pulls back the curated veil on a life that, at one point, looked aspirational to me. What I thought was just clean eating and #selfcare turned out to be deeply toxic. Not just for her, but for the community watching and mimicking it.

As an avid social media user, I view this as a thoughtful cautionary tale about how easily your self-worth can get tangled up in likes and validation. Social media can be creative and connective, but this book is proof of what happens when it becomes your entire identity.

That said, the book itself is uneven. At times it tells more than it shows, and some of the deeper issues are dropped in quickly, then abandoned. I wish a stronger editor had helped shape the narrative. Still, I read it in a few hours because it’s compulsively scrollable, just like her feed used to be.

Whether you followed Lee back in the day or are simply interested in influencer culture and the cost of digital fame, this is a compelling, sometimes uncomfortable read that raises essential questions, especially for anyone raising kids in a world where being an influencer is now a career goal.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lee Tilghman, and Simon & Schuster for the eARC of this book.