3.5 Stars, which I will round up to 4 stars.
I will start this by saying I am not a person who follows supermodel careers. It just never held any interest for me. I actually barely knew who Elle was until I saw an interview with her on 60 Minutes Australia (youtube) about this book. After the interview, I added this book to my wishlist, thinking I would give it a try.
First off, what I liked. This book is more like essays in a way. Each chapter is titled as a lesson Elle has learned and it sharing with you. Each title relates to a story about how she learned such lesson. For example, without giving too much away, one chapter details how Elle, as a young model, learned how not to be a Diva when her behavior meant she had no place to live when she returned from a photoshoot. That is pretty much this book. Here is the title, here is the story in my life how I learned it, and how it is relevant still to my life. The titles are in order so you get the progression of Elle's life in order through each lesson. I liked that. Elle does not spend time going "this is what happened when I was nine; this is what happened when I was ten". I can't stand books like that. Give me the highlights, not everything that has ever happened to you.
I also feel like this book focused more on Elle as an adult, and as an model. There is some information about her childhood and family but it is more adult when she started modeling, which I also appreciated it. Elle knew the reader wanted to know how she became a supermodel, not what grade she got in grade five math.
Next, what I did not like. I did feel, at times, that this book dragged a bit for me. I did skip some pages in sections because i found it repetitive. I also felt that some chapters were lacking detail. I really wanted to understand Elle's wellness journey, especially when it came to her cancer. I felt like there was not enough information to really understand what happened. One year she is getting a biopsy for a small lump, which was not cancerous. Then, a few chapters (and several years) later, suddenly she is getting the news of her cancer and needs to go right into surgery. I was left asking how she found the new lump? How was she feeling? She talks about being tired at the time but the cancer was not really progressed enough (I don't think) for her to experience cancer symptoms. Then she talks about her options and, again, the information is not there. One thing that makes me crazy about people with money when dealing with a health issue is the options. They talk about flying here for a consult, then here for another one. I get it, you have money to do that but, most people do not. I felt like if someone was wanting to read Elle's book for some information about cancer, it is not there. And, what is there is not accessible to them in their own journey.
Overall, I really liked this book in many spots, and then was bored in others. 4 stars because I liked more than I disliked.