alltheradreads's Reviews (1.9k)

This book is such a sweet and encouraging look at friendship throughout our lives, as told in heartfelt and hilarious stories from Shankle's life. It’s a fun read, a light read, and it will make you want to call your girlfriends. Everybody needs a lifelong friend like Gulley!

Overall, this was an interesting story, but it felt SO slow and a little too drawn out for me. I didn’t particularly engage with any characters and found some parts to be too far fetched, but the story was engaging and held my interest! Not the best I’ve read by her, but a solid read nonetheless!

Did you know Wendell Berry is the living person I would most want to have dinner with? He’s a brilliant man with a heart for the world that I connect with so much, and he’s a masterful storyteller. This collection wasn’t my most favorite fiction from him (that’s Hannah Coulter so far) but the short stories of this country couple were well-written and charming and just felt like days in the real life of a slow-paced small town.

This tiny book was such an interesting fictionalized look at what Amelia Earhart’s story might have been leading up to, during, and after her big attempt to fly around the world. The writing style and point of view are unique in this one and I didn’t always enjoy it (trying to be omniscient but sometimes being from one of the characters, trying to be poetic but sometimes was too much) but it was a super quick read about a fascinating woman!

I am such a huge fan of Nish (one of the best people I follow on Twitter— do the same if you aren’t already!) and can’t believe I’ve waited so long to read her book. I’m such a fan of sharing stories and being brave with my own, and loved her thoughts in this one about how our stories can change the world, truly. The inclusion of snippets of so many women’s stories as they had been shared on the site she runs was awesome, and I especially loved seeing some of the comments that had been left on those posts originally. Such a good reminder that our transparency and vulnerability are gifts to those around us and to ourselves.