The Trouble with Fairy Tales: A Memoir

by Plum Johnson

A new memoir by the award-winning and bestselling author of They Left Us Everything

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Canada

304 pages, Paperback

Published September 30, 2025

About the author

Plum Johnson is an award-winning author, artist and entrepreneur living in Toronto. She was the founder of KidsCanada Publishing Corp., publisher of KidsToronto, and co-founder of Help’s Here! resource magazine for seniors and caregivers.

Reviews

[Alan Chrisman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cdn. writer how fairy tales formed her view of romance and relationships. Always looking for "Prince Charming", she met a few, but often turned out a frog. Women read fairy tales, romance books, movies, etc. They say they know its just fiction, fantasy, but I think it often blurs over into reality. Despite social media, dating apps, for many younger women its easier retreating into book BFs than finding a strong men these days IRL. I think many women will relate to this story.

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd thoroughly enjoyed They Left Us Everything so I grabbed this when it came available. Plum Johnson grew up in a post-war, ultra traditional household - overbearing, occasionally violent father, intellligent, peace-making mother, and four younger brothers. I must say that if I'd met this author in our youth we'd never have had anything to do with each other - completely different economic backgrounds and opportunities, and wildly different personalities; but some of our lived experiences have turned out to be so very similar we could get together now and shmooze over them. Which I guess we just did while I was reading her book - she poured out everything, and I soaked it all up. I stuck with it all, albeit with a few eye rolls over the ghosts, telepathy and psychic stuff, and am giving it 4 stars.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved They Left us Everything, have read it a couple of times. I live in Oakville, not far from the house in the book, so felt kind of involved in the whole story. This book, not so much. I still found Plum's life interesting to read about but just didn't feel as connected as I did to the first book. Loved the cover though!

[Sarah Jensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Review: The Trouble with Fairy Tales: A Memoir by Plum Johnson
Rating: 4.5/5

Narrative Depth & Public Health Intersections
Plum Johnson’s The Trouble with Fairy Tales is a piercing deconstruction of gendered socialization, framed through her lived experiences as a daughter, wife, mother, and artist. While primarily a memoir, the book inadvertently critiques public health paradigms by exposing how patriarchal narratives (e.g., happily ever after) contribute to women’s mental health burdens—from self-silencing in relationships to delayed self-actualization. Johnson’s account of midlife reinvention mirrors resilience frameworks in women’s health literature, particularly her discussion of creative expression as trauma processing.

However, the book occasionally universalizes middle-class experiences, overlooking systemic barriers (e.g., economic precarity, racialized stereotypes) that compound fairy tale disillusionment for marginalized women. A deeper intersectional analysis would have strengthened its societal relevance.

Emotional Resonance & Craft
Reading Johnson’s memoir felt like dismantling my own childhood storybooks—equal parts liberating and unsettling. Her wry dissection of Prince Charming tropes (e.g., He rode in on a horse, but forgot the emotional saddlebags) triggered visceral nods, while passages on artistic rebirth (Painting myself back into my own canvas) brought tears. The chapter Bluebeard’s Closet, where Johnson confronts inherited relationship patterns, lingered with me for days as I reassessed familial scripts.

Yet the nonlinear structure, though intentionally reflective, sometimes disrupts narrative momentum. The abrupt pivot from humorous dating anecdotes (Chapter 3) to raw grief over lost opportunities (Chapter 4) risks tonal whiplash.

Constructive Criticism

Strengths:
-Cultural Critique: Exposes fairy tales as public health hazards—social determinants of women’s self-worth.
-Generational Bridge: Offers Gen X/ X/Boomer women a rare representation of unglamorous but triumphant aging.

Weaknesses:
-Scope Limitations: Toronto-centric settings and heteronormative framing narrow its applicability.
-Solution Gaps: While diagnosing fairy tale harms, it underdevelops actionable coping strategies.

How I would describe this book:
- A Silent Spring for romantic idealism—Johnson sprays pesticide on the toxic myths choking women’s growth.
- Eat Pray Love’s wiser, grittier Canadian cousin—no Bali sunsets, just hard-won selfhood.
- Memoir as mirror: If you’ve ever dated a ‘frog’ expecting a prince, this book is your intervention.

Gratitude & Final Thoughts
Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada and Edelweiss for the review copy. Johnson’s memoir transcends personal storytelling; it’s a case study in narrative therapy’s power. I’ll be recommending it to my public health mentees as a companion text to The Body Is Not an Apology for discussions on dismantling harmful social scripts.

Rating: 4.5/5 (Docked slightly for intersectional blind spots, but a vital contribution to feminist life-writing.)

[Elaine Cougler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Toronto author Plum Johnson's second book is somewhat like the first as it takes normal storylines and comes at them from a unique and surprising angle. The first book made me think of all the things collected in thousands of homes by aging parents with the hope that some offspring would be thrilled to have them. This book talks about the men in the author's life and how she worked her way through the feelings each elicited and her own reactions to these men. I found the title of this book quite a wise choice but I was less enthused about the story line. Perhaps others who have experienced Plum's life events might be more excited about this book.

[Sharon · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was a DNF for me, and I finish everything. I loved They Left Us Everything, and as an Oakville resident and friend-of-a-friend of the author I was really looking forward to this one. But to me, it read like a pretentious name dropping tale of someone who was so privileged that she was unaware of her privilege, and an almost Forest Gump tale of inserting herself as essential into history. I really wanted to love it, but I couldn’t.

[Tanya Rocha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to the audio version and so glad I did. Plum is an extraordinary storyteller who has led a remarkable life. I admire her for being so ahead of the times and for sharing her vulnerabilities. I've read and heard of other women ahead of their time but Plum's story hits close to home because of her connection to both Oakville and Toronto.

[Irene · Rating 3 out of 5]

They Left Us Everything is one of my favourite books. It could be because I grew up in Oakville and could visualize all the places she talked about. I enjoyed this book too, but couldn’t relate to it. There was some repetition in this book from her first one. I enjoyed reading about familiar places, but the carefree way she approached relationships was foreign to me.

[Enid Wray]

Sadly I am DNF’ing this one. It’s just not living up to my expectations after They Left Us Everything. Too much treading of similar territory - just framed differently.

Thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for granting me access to an early digital review copy.

DNF

[Brandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this memoir!! I’ve always felt similar to Plum, thinking love is a fairy tale and you’ll meet a Prince Charming and he might have to change a bit but hey, it’ll happen… right?

I thought the book was well-written and I really enjoyed the humor. If you’re a fan of Susan Orlean, I think you’ll like this one.

Thank you Viking and Net Galley for an advanced copy of this book.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

ALC courtesy of Libro.fm

I loved this book and I love Plum. She comes across as very real and it is very refreshing to read about her life.

[Tamara Willems · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little disappointed - as I loved They Left Us Everything the first book by Plum Johnson,
- this one just didn't capture my interest the same.

[Debora Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

did not finish