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Radically Content: Being Satisfied in an Endlessly Dissatisfied World
Blending memoir, sharp social insights, and unique practical tools, author Jamie Varon is your guide to radical contentment—a satisfied life outside the bounds of societal expectations.
Too many of us are waiting for our lives to begin, putting our happiness on layaway for some future version where it all lines up, when we’ve accomplished it all, when we have the perfect career, bodies, partners, and when our lives finally feel “good enough.” But what is good enough? Who gets to decide? And when do we ever reach it?
Jamie takes a sharp, incisive look at the industries that are constantly telling us to do more, be more, and keep striving, pushing, and hustling—and shows you how to radically opt out of societal conditioning.
We’ve learned to be terrified of contentment, thinking it will lead us to complacency. Yet, being content in a world that profits off our dissatisfaction is not complacency. It’s revolutionary.
Radically Content makes the case for a new framework of living. Exploring themes like guilt, I’ll be happy when…, anxiety, settling, control, healing, shame, self-trust, and being our own worst enemies—not only will you unlearn the dogma of that discontent, but learn practical tools to create a more satisfied life for yourself, including:
Cultivating real self-trust
Defining your own version of “success”
Living with intention
Rewriting your personal narrative
Creating consistent and healing rituals
Packed with revelatory insights, Radically Content is an exhale. A respite from the chaos of our current world. A calm place to land when you’ve had enough with trying to be enough.
Too many of us are waiting for our lives to begin, putting our happiness on layaway for some future version where it all lines up, when we’ve accomplished it all, when we have the perfect career, bodies, partners, and when our lives finally feel “good enough.” But what is good enough? Who gets to decide? And when do we ever reach it?
Jamie takes a sharp, incisive look at the industries that are constantly telling us to do more, be more, and keep striving, pushing, and hustling—and shows you how to radically opt out of societal conditioning.
We’ve learned to be terrified of contentment, thinking it will lead us to complacency. Yet, being content in a world that profits off our dissatisfaction is not complacency. It’s revolutionary.
Radically Content makes the case for a new framework of living. Exploring themes like guilt, I’ll be happy when…, anxiety, settling, control, healing, shame, self-trust, and being our own worst enemies—not only will you unlearn the dogma of that discontent, but learn practical tools to create a more satisfied life for yourself, including:
Cultivating real self-trust
Defining your own version of “success”
Living with intention
Rewriting your personal narrative
Creating consistent and healing rituals
Packed with revelatory insights, Radically Content is an exhale. A respite from the chaos of our current world. A calm place to land when you’ve had enough with trying to be enough.
211 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 12, 2022
428 people are currently reading
4495 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 189 reviews
September 14, 2022
a book so stupid it made me wish I’d never learned to read. I don’t remember where I initially came across it, but I was intrigued by the premise—I don’t think you need a big life to have a good one, and given that I am genuinely very interested in the idea of getting to a place of accepting and celebrating contentment I was looking for, you know, a set of practical steps to take to work toward that. I was looking for a practical guide to being a little more happy in a quiet, manageable sort of way during the frenetic hell of end-stage capitalism. this was not none of those things; more fool I for trusting a white woman influencer using the word radical in her title.
“Maybe you want a day job that pays the bills because you derive little satisfaction from work,” varon writes, almost having an actual thought, and I nod along eagerly, hoping to be shown how—but nothing follows. things magically happen in her life without her ever showing us the real work of how she got from point A to point W in her muddled, mixed-messaging saga (at times it’s almost like she’s trying to anti-The Secret us. when you don’t care about ambition anymore all of your wildest most ambitious dreams will be realized…….ok. but then also Think Good Thoughts and Say Daily Affirmations and you will Manifest things like a book deal!).
nothing signifies anything; everything is fluff; the prose is mind-numbing and meaningless. (I can’t even find a good passage to exemplify how shockingly bad it is because it’s just, like, The Whole Book. the exemplar passage would have to be The Whole Book, and I want desperately for no one to ever have to endure what I’ve endured.) to call it juvenile would be an insult to the very clever and insightful teenagers I teach and whose writing has surpassed this utter nothingness infinite times over. varon subscribes to the school of ‘why use one word to say nothing when you could use fifty,’ and this book is 200+ pages of padding—without anything to pad.
there’s a line in the copyright section that reads “This book provides general information on various widely known and widely accepted self-help concepts that tend to evoke feelings of strength and confidence” before going on to talk about how like if you’re depressed this book won’t cure me or whatever and I nearly screamed when I got to it because. this caveat is just too funny. believe me, book, I Know.
varon for sure has some body issues left to unpack, which like, I get, because the world sucks. I think the book she really wanted to write was probably the body is not an apology, but unfortunately for her sonya renee taylor got there first and also varon would have tripped over her own incompetence before setting down the first word.
her husband seems to love her a lot, which is genuinely sweet. good for them. she writes that he didn’t speak a word of english when they first met; I pray for his sake that he cries off reading this book by saying that this length of text in a second language would be too onerous. I shudder to think of a man who is to all appearances very loving and supportive having to pretend to have enjoyed this drivel in order to better hype up his beloved wife.
goodreads user x, whom I cannot currently tag as I am on mobile, joked that the writing is simply varon practicing what she preaches and daring to publish a book when mediocrity lapped her writing skills three times and laughed in their face. it’s true. I can die now. I wasted precious minutes of my ONE FINITE HUMAN LIFE on this. I should have DNFd this shit. mourn me as you make your way along your journey and—most important of all—save yourselves, my friends. follow not my foolhardy path.
“Maybe you want a day job that pays the bills because you derive little satisfaction from work,” varon writes, almost having an actual thought, and I nod along eagerly, hoping to be shown how—but nothing follows. things magically happen in her life without her ever showing us the real work of how she got from point A to point W in her muddled, mixed-messaging saga (at times it’s almost like she’s trying to anti-The Secret us. when you don’t care about ambition anymore all of your wildest most ambitious dreams will be realized…….ok. but then also Think Good Thoughts and Say Daily Affirmations and you will Manifest things like a book deal!).
nothing signifies anything; everything is fluff; the prose is mind-numbing and meaningless. (I can’t even find a good passage to exemplify how shockingly bad it is because it’s just, like, The Whole Book. the exemplar passage would have to be The Whole Book, and I want desperately for no one to ever have to endure what I’ve endured.) to call it juvenile would be an insult to the very clever and insightful teenagers I teach and whose writing has surpassed this utter nothingness infinite times over. varon subscribes to the school of ‘why use one word to say nothing when you could use fifty,’ and this book is 200+ pages of padding—without anything to pad.
there’s a line in the copyright section that reads “This book provides general information on various widely known and widely accepted self-help concepts that tend to evoke feelings of strength and confidence” before going on to talk about how like if you’re depressed this book won’t cure me or whatever and I nearly screamed when I got to it because. this caveat is just too funny. believe me, book, I Know.
varon for sure has some body issues left to unpack, which like, I get, because the world sucks. I think the book she really wanted to write was probably the body is not an apology, but unfortunately for her sonya renee taylor got there first and also varon would have tripped over her own incompetence before setting down the first word.
her husband seems to love her a lot, which is genuinely sweet. good for them. she writes that he didn’t speak a word of english when they first met; I pray for his sake that he cries off reading this book by saying that this length of text in a second language would be too onerous. I shudder to think of a man who is to all appearances very loving and supportive having to pretend to have enjoyed this drivel in order to better hype up his beloved wife.
goodreads user x, whom I cannot currently tag as I am on mobile, joked that the writing is simply varon practicing what she preaches and daring to publish a book when mediocrity lapped her writing skills three times and laughed in their face. it’s true. I can die now. I wasted precious minutes of my ONE FINITE HUMAN LIFE on this. I should have DNFd this shit. mourn me as you make your way along your journey and—most important of all—save yourselves, my friends. follow not my foolhardy path.
May 31, 2022
I follow this author on Instagram and I love her posts. The book was a fleshed out version of some of the thoughts she’s posted on IG.
I liked the book and what she had to say about contentment, social media and generally just focusing on living a life that feels good and not just looks good on social media. She encourages you to consider what goals you’re chasing and WHY. I liked all of that.
However, my only gripe is the selfish undertone of it all.
Life isn’t all about us, our happiness, our contentment, what we want and desire. Sure we shouldn’t sacrifice ourselves 24/7, but sometimes it’s important to de-center ourselves for the good of someone else.
Going out of your way to deliberately do something selfless for someone else will likely have a far better effect on your mental health than journaling and a gratitude list ever could.
The hyper focus on SELF is just not healthy and I honestly think it’s at the root of our collective and common attitude of discontent.
We have a crisis of selfishness in America and I wish that more inspirational and motivational books like this one acknowledged that problem.
I liked the book and what she had to say about contentment, social media and generally just focusing on living a life that feels good and not just looks good on social media. She encourages you to consider what goals you’re chasing and WHY. I liked all of that.
However, my only gripe is the selfish undertone of it all.
Life isn’t all about us, our happiness, our contentment, what we want and desire. Sure we shouldn’t sacrifice ourselves 24/7, but sometimes it’s important to de-center ourselves for the good of someone else.
Going out of your way to deliberately do something selfless for someone else will likely have a far better effect on your mental health than journaling and a gratitude list ever could.
The hyper focus on SELF is just not healthy and I honestly think it’s at the root of our collective and common attitude of discontent.
We have a crisis of selfishness in America and I wish that more inspirational and motivational books like this one acknowledged that problem.
May 23, 2022
DNF at halfway through. Skimmed the 2nd half.
I picked up this book due to liking the writing on Jamie's Instagram that I'd been following for a while. Let me just say that this book is not eloquent like her short Instagram posts at all. In fact, it doesn't even feel like the same style of writing. She uses phrases like "what I'm trying to say is" which lacked eloquence altogether and sounded very basic.
I really wanted to like this, but this didn't work for me at all. This reads like a memoir but there's entirely too much explanation. She very quickly brings up that her breakthrough started with up and leaving to spend 4 months in France. Okay. Cool. Very priveledged and impractical for most people.
She talks a lot about being overweight and body image. She said "I will not let society tell me what my value is. I don't care." But if she truly didn't care, there wouldn't be pages upon pages about how she felt less than based on others judgements. She never really gets to how she supposedly went from being so unhappy and striving all the time to" radically content." She just did.
She uses the word healing on almost every page. And yet did not describe what healed her other than going to France and very vague explanations.
There's a chapter titled" Be intentional about your life." Really? Never would have thought. This is like self help 101. This book feels like it was written for an 18 year old high school graduate. Which is fine if it is! The fact that Jamie is 37 made me think this book was for me, a 33 year old.
I'm the end, her main advice to be content is using affirmations. There is nothing new here. I feel like the title of this book, like so many self help variety of books now, is click baity and not a good descriptor of what the book is really about.
The cover and entire book design also seems very juvenile.
I picked up this book due to liking the writing on Jamie's Instagram that I'd been following for a while. Let me just say that this book is not eloquent like her short Instagram posts at all. In fact, it doesn't even feel like the same style of writing. She uses phrases like "what I'm trying to say is" which lacked eloquence altogether and sounded very basic.
I really wanted to like this, but this didn't work for me at all. This reads like a memoir but there's entirely too much explanation. She very quickly brings up that her breakthrough started with up and leaving to spend 4 months in France. Okay. Cool. Very priveledged and impractical for most people.
She talks a lot about being overweight and body image. She said "I will not let society tell me what my value is. I don't care." But if she truly didn't care, there wouldn't be pages upon pages about how she felt less than based on others judgements. She never really gets to how she supposedly went from being so unhappy and striving all the time to" radically content." She just did.
She uses the word healing on almost every page. And yet did not describe what healed her other than going to France and very vague explanations.
There's a chapter titled" Be intentional about your life." Really? Never would have thought. This is like self help 101. This book feels like it was written for an 18 year old high school graduate. Which is fine if it is! The fact that Jamie is 37 made me think this book was for me, a 33 year old.
I'm the end, her main advice to be content is using affirmations. There is nothing new here. I feel like the title of this book, like so many self help variety of books now, is click baity and not a good descriptor of what the book is really about.
The cover and entire book design also seems very juvenile.
June 13, 2022
Author Jamie Varon’s message as laid out in the introduction of this book was so close to my own that I had to do a double-take. She describes her method as “leading you deeper into yourself,” almost the exact framework I use as a change doula when I talk about “spiraling inward” rather than the capitalist model of “striving forward,” and encourages readers to reconsider dissatisfaction as a motivator. “[Contentment] makes you motivated by love, passion, enjoyment, genuine desire—and you aren’t striving for worthiness. Being satisfied in my life as it is right here, right now gives me open, fertile space to transform and grow.”
Sounds pretty great, huh? I love how this tide is building, and how Varon encourages those of us working from this mindset, or starting to, to form a movement of people radically opting out, living from our own value systems rather than pursuit of social capital. I also found parts of her personal story super relatable. I think many in our age cohort (Saturn in Scorpio what’s up?!) share a similar experience of learning to be cool, aloof, and dark as kids and teens in the 90s and then feeling disillusioned when we achieved some of our dreams in our 30s and weren’t actually any happier.
Varon dedicates her book to “the nonconformists, rebels, and sensitive souls,” phrasing that struck a chord with me as someone who moved across the country in 2020, “opted out” at the peak of a successful nonprofit career to go into healing work with neurodivergent folks and other overwhelmed outsiders, built my own whacky schedule based on natural rhythms and the phases of the moon, and went from productivity nerd to teaching folks how to heal from productivity culture. There’s a strong anti-capitalist healing message in her book, as she questions the expectations capitalist and white supremacist culture create around measurement. My stomach twisted empathetically when I read how she viewed her dissatisfaction as penance for not having achieved childhood dreams, and how her first thought when making decisions was always “what will I tell people?” Oof. So real.
On the other hand, Varon does benefit from the privilege of being white and middle class, and I would add that some of the specifics of her story read a little, well, bougie. Her messages about how we get caught up in social capital and productivity are universally valid, but the some of what she was able to achieve through focusing on contentment over meeting societal standards won’t be achievable for most readers. For example, while I don’t doubt that it was delightful to learn living on the French Riviera was cheaper than living in LA, not everyone can afford to live in LA (and not everywhere in LA is that expensive!) She is generally careful to be clear that her experience is her own, not representative, but it may not resonate for some readers.
Varon does frame poverty as a moral issue, and admits that her advice around not working as hard assumes you have a baseline living wage without that striving and pushing, but if that’s where you are the fact is that you’re unlikely to get much out of this book. Varon’s story and her guidance are going to be most applicable to those who are reasonably financially comfortable, and probably most relatable to those who haven’t personally lived with poverty or extreme hardship. The book is divided into a section on unlearning and a section on re-learning, and I suspect a fair number of the things Varon had to unlearn are worldviews most readers of color never had the privilege to hold in the first place.
Many of the most aligned readers will be white, professional women in their 30s and 40s who feel disillusioned and frustrated that a dream they believed was possible to achieve through working hard is either unattainable or not as satisfying as they’d hoped. Recovering people pleasers, those who’ve struggled with unrealistic body image and dating standards, and those who are ambitious and burnt out will likely relate to some of the specifics of Varon’s narrative. One simple test for whether this book will resonate might be to ask yourself whether you tend to want to be the best or do the most. If yes, Varon is speaking your language! If you’ve been around social justice or radical healing spaces for a while, a good bit of the things to unlearn and the themes to relearn won’t be new to you, but you still may enjoy it and find your experiences reflected.
The central message of the re-learning section is around enoughness and believing in your inherent value rather than losing yourself to competition and shame. Varon keeps coming back to motivation, and how shame and fear as motivators aren’t healthy or even necessarily effective. “Aspiration is not motivating,” she boldly declares, encouraging readers to act from a place of self-love and compassion as a baseline, putting down the goals and the to-do lists. Framing self-love as a natural state that racist capitalism has robbed us of (though her language is a little softer than mine), Varon asks us to return to that natural state as a baseline. As I do, she places self-trust at the center of this work. I found much of the re-learning section be super-aligned with what I’ve experienced and witnessed on my own journey and I’m glad to see it on the page.
Varon does also emphasize taking action and being consistent, which may not resonate with readers who have ADHD. There were places where I felt like I needed a bit more practical advice, and I was more encouraged by the themes of pursuing what lights you up and befriending your emotions than by the consistency piece. I love that she teases apart the difference between compassion and martyrdom, and that she encourages the reader to avoid the temptation to turn freedom into another “perpetual self-improvement project.”
Though readers might benefit from a little more context beyond Varon’s personal story to understand how these cultural and societal dynamics work and how this advice might apply in specific situations, I can definitely see this being an ideal read for those stuck in hustle culture and needing to get out. Even if Varon’s lens wasn’t always for me, the core messages are. I was personally encouraged just to witness another writer’s journey to almost exactly the same place where I’ve arrived: putting self-trust at the center of both healing and justice, with discernment as a key tool for living with both happiness and integrity. We’ve also identified a lot of the same ingredients to getting there: getting honest about where you’re people-pleasing, living intentionally through identifying the “why” behind all your possible priorities, moving with your own rhythms and cycles, and releasing the control that sneakily lives inside expectations for the future.
I can tell you that these techniques work because they’re what I practice. I’ve been in an evolving and deepening journey towards self-trust especially over the last five years, and I’ve found that there are many layers to heal when it comes to that striving tendency. But ultimately, it’s quite beautiful to trust yourself more and rely on approval less. I also find that every time I think I’m done with this work, there’s more to do! So even if you think of these challenges as part of “past you,” you may find resonance here.
Rather than locating calm and contentment beyond some future goalpoast, Varon encourages the reader not to miss out on what’s meant for us by pursuing the dream someone else sees as right for you. “If it’s not a hell yes, then it’s a no” is a phrase my own teacher frequently uses that I loved seeing in this book. While our brains can trick us into “well maaaaybe” this could work, our intuitive selves know where our passions lie and are excellent compasses towards our own center. Varon frames meeting one’s own needs as the most powerful form of self-care, and I can’t agree more. Self-punishment isn’t working as a strategy, and it’s time to try something else.
(ARC provided through Edelweiss.)
Sounds pretty great, huh? I love how this tide is building, and how Varon encourages those of us working from this mindset, or starting to, to form a movement of people radically opting out, living from our own value systems rather than pursuit of social capital. I also found parts of her personal story super relatable. I think many in our age cohort (Saturn in Scorpio what’s up?!) share a similar experience of learning to be cool, aloof, and dark as kids and teens in the 90s and then feeling disillusioned when we achieved some of our dreams in our 30s and weren’t actually any happier.
Varon dedicates her book to “the nonconformists, rebels, and sensitive souls,” phrasing that struck a chord with me as someone who moved across the country in 2020, “opted out” at the peak of a successful nonprofit career to go into healing work with neurodivergent folks and other overwhelmed outsiders, built my own whacky schedule based on natural rhythms and the phases of the moon, and went from productivity nerd to teaching folks how to heal from productivity culture. There’s a strong anti-capitalist healing message in her book, as she questions the expectations capitalist and white supremacist culture create around measurement. My stomach twisted empathetically when I read how she viewed her dissatisfaction as penance for not having achieved childhood dreams, and how her first thought when making decisions was always “what will I tell people?” Oof. So real.
On the other hand, Varon does benefit from the privilege of being white and middle class, and I would add that some of the specifics of her story read a little, well, bougie. Her messages about how we get caught up in social capital and productivity are universally valid, but the some of what she was able to achieve through focusing on contentment over meeting societal standards won’t be achievable for most readers. For example, while I don’t doubt that it was delightful to learn living on the French Riviera was cheaper than living in LA, not everyone can afford to live in LA (and not everywhere in LA is that expensive!) She is generally careful to be clear that her experience is her own, not representative, but it may not resonate for some readers.
Varon does frame poverty as a moral issue, and admits that her advice around not working as hard assumes you have a baseline living wage without that striving and pushing, but if that’s where you are the fact is that you’re unlikely to get much out of this book. Varon’s story and her guidance are going to be most applicable to those who are reasonably financially comfortable, and probably most relatable to those who haven’t personally lived with poverty or extreme hardship. The book is divided into a section on unlearning and a section on re-learning, and I suspect a fair number of the things Varon had to unlearn are worldviews most readers of color never had the privilege to hold in the first place.
Many of the most aligned readers will be white, professional women in their 30s and 40s who feel disillusioned and frustrated that a dream they believed was possible to achieve through working hard is either unattainable or not as satisfying as they’d hoped. Recovering people pleasers, those who’ve struggled with unrealistic body image and dating standards, and those who are ambitious and burnt out will likely relate to some of the specifics of Varon’s narrative. One simple test for whether this book will resonate might be to ask yourself whether you tend to want to be the best or do the most. If yes, Varon is speaking your language! If you’ve been around social justice or radical healing spaces for a while, a good bit of the things to unlearn and the themes to relearn won’t be new to you, but you still may enjoy it and find your experiences reflected.
The central message of the re-learning section is around enoughness and believing in your inherent value rather than losing yourself to competition and shame. Varon keeps coming back to motivation, and how shame and fear as motivators aren’t healthy or even necessarily effective. “Aspiration is not motivating,” she boldly declares, encouraging readers to act from a place of self-love and compassion as a baseline, putting down the goals and the to-do lists. Framing self-love as a natural state that racist capitalism has robbed us of (though her language is a little softer than mine), Varon asks us to return to that natural state as a baseline. As I do, she places self-trust at the center of this work. I found much of the re-learning section be super-aligned with what I’ve experienced and witnessed on my own journey and I’m glad to see it on the page.
Varon does also emphasize taking action and being consistent, which may not resonate with readers who have ADHD. There were places where I felt like I needed a bit more practical advice, and I was more encouraged by the themes of pursuing what lights you up and befriending your emotions than by the consistency piece. I love that she teases apart the difference between compassion and martyrdom, and that she encourages the reader to avoid the temptation to turn freedom into another “perpetual self-improvement project.”
Though readers might benefit from a little more context beyond Varon’s personal story to understand how these cultural and societal dynamics work and how this advice might apply in specific situations, I can definitely see this being an ideal read for those stuck in hustle culture and needing to get out. Even if Varon’s lens wasn’t always for me, the core messages are. I was personally encouraged just to witness another writer’s journey to almost exactly the same place where I’ve arrived: putting self-trust at the center of both healing and justice, with discernment as a key tool for living with both happiness and integrity. We’ve also identified a lot of the same ingredients to getting there: getting honest about where you’re people-pleasing, living intentionally through identifying the “why” behind all your possible priorities, moving with your own rhythms and cycles, and releasing the control that sneakily lives inside expectations for the future.
I can tell you that these techniques work because they’re what I practice. I’ve been in an evolving and deepening journey towards self-trust especially over the last five years, and I’ve found that there are many layers to heal when it comes to that striving tendency. But ultimately, it’s quite beautiful to trust yourself more and rely on approval less. I also find that every time I think I’m done with this work, there’s more to do! So even if you think of these challenges as part of “past you,” you may find resonance here.
Rather than locating calm and contentment beyond some future goalpoast, Varon encourages the reader not to miss out on what’s meant for us by pursuing the dream someone else sees as right for you. “If it’s not a hell yes, then it’s a no” is a phrase my own teacher frequently uses that I loved seeing in this book. While our brains can trick us into “well maaaaybe” this could work, our intuitive selves know where our passions lie and are excellent compasses towards our own center. Varon frames meeting one’s own needs as the most powerful form of self-care, and I can’t agree more. Self-punishment isn’t working as a strategy, and it’s time to try something else.
(ARC provided through Edelweiss.)
February 5, 2023
I picked up this book because I thought it would be about, you know, radical contentment. A book about being satisfied with your current life with all its faults, embracing the sometimes mediocre reality, rather than another book about self-development and chasing dreams.
But it's not about that. This is a halfway memoir, halfway self-help book. It's about rejecting society's view of success, and chasing your own dreams instead. Mostly, it reads as a (clichéd) pep talk that the author needed herself.
I would probably have liked it a little more had I found it more relatable. Many of the author's issues were ones I don't have, like feeling the need to dominate an industry. Is that really a common problem people have? Or the belief that life is over after 30?
So no, it's not really about contentment. It broaches things like to stop striving, but then also says "the antidote to waiting to be good enough is to stack up the days, put in the progress". I would expect from a book with that title to suggest that maybe, just maybe, it's okay to not be good enough.
But it's not about that. This is a halfway memoir, halfway self-help book. It's about rejecting society's view of success, and chasing your own dreams instead. Mostly, it reads as a (clichéd) pep talk that the author needed herself.
I would probably have liked it a little more had I found it more relatable. Many of the author's issues were ones I don't have, like feeling the need to dominate an industry. Is that really a common problem people have? Or the belief that life is over after 30?
So no, it's not really about contentment. It broaches things like to stop striving, but then also says "the antidote to waiting to be good enough is to stack up the days, put in the progress". I would expect from a book with that title to suggest that maybe, just maybe, it's okay to not be good enough.
May 19, 2023
This book was disappointing. Each chapter feels like a blog post that doesn't say anything. (Un-ironically, she mentions that she got her start writing clickbait blogs posited toward teenagers.) It shows! This long-winded humblebrag is dull and shallow, stoked in clichès and borrowed thoughts (without giving credit where it's due) without substance. Giving two stars only because one star just feels too mean.
March 28, 2023
I heard the author on a podcast and thought the conversation was interesting, so I put this on hold at the library. Only late in the book did I learn that she apparently has a popular Instagram community. That makes sense, as this book has about all the substance of an Instagram caption. I felt like I was reading a transcript of a bunch of influencer TikTok voiceovers.
It’s ostensibly about how she came to be radically content. She frequently says she healed herself and put in the work, but there is very little reference to what that work was exactly. There is one mention of a therapist and a lot of of mention of journaling. She also shared very little of her own personal experiences in the reflection essay vein. One time she wasn’t liked in college. Another time she ate a baguette.
The second part is meant to be instructions on how you, too, can become radically content, with the never-before-heard tips of trust that things will work out and also journal.
I should have DNF-ed this.
It’s ostensibly about how she came to be radically content. She frequently says she healed herself and put in the work, but there is very little reference to what that work was exactly. There is one mention of a therapist and a lot of of mention of journaling. She also shared very little of her own personal experiences in the reflection essay vein. One time she wasn’t liked in college. Another time she ate a baguette.
The second part is meant to be instructions on how you, too, can become radically content, with the never-before-heard tips of trust that things will work out and also journal.
I should have DNF-ed this.
May 23, 2022
This book reads like a straight-up transcript of my journal while going through therapy. It's everything I needed to hear (and cheaper than therapy) an an easy-to-read, empowering format. (Bonus points: the hardback is gorgeous, with sky-colored chapter opening pages).
It's one of those "underline-every-line, dog-ear every page, stop at every chapter to text your friends they must read it" kind of books.
If you like:
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
The Way of Integrity by Martha Beck
...then buy this immediately!
It's one of those "underline-every-line, dog-ear every page, stop at every chapter to text your friends they must read it" kind of books.
If you like:
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
The Way of Integrity by Martha Beck
...then buy this immediately!
July 1, 2023
This beautiful cover drew me in, and the lighthearted and positive writing kept me going.
Varon shares some relatively simple concepts for living a life of contentment, including the most important focus on looking inward to determine your value system rather than what society is telling us we need to be “happy”. She draws on her personal journey, while acknowledging her privileged position in life, and overall makes the reader feel inspired and empowered.
I can’t wait to read her first fiction book that’s just come out!
Varon shares some relatively simple concepts for living a life of contentment, including the most important focus on looking inward to determine your value system rather than what society is telling us we need to be “happy”. She draws on her personal journey, while acknowledging her privileged position in life, and overall makes the reader feel inspired and empowered.
I can’t wait to read her first fiction book that’s just come out!
July 18, 2022
3.5 stars
My relationship with self-help book is complicated. Whereas I've thoroughly enjoyed them in the past, now often they fall flat and don't seem to inspire much in me. As such, I stopped reading them. But when I heard Jamie was coming out with her book I couldn't help but to pre-order. Jamie's beautiful instagram posts always manage to capture something so tangible, useful and actually inspiring - something I hoped to find in this book as well. And I did, sort of.
This book is really a combobulation of Jamie's instagram posts. I really enjoyed the split between what behaviours to unlearn and what to learn . I also loved how the book simultaneously described a mindset change and ways of achieving this mindset change (which self-help books suprisingly often lack). It just didn't feel very "new" to me. I have religiously followed Jamie's posts on instagram and declare here - without shame - that I even get a notification every single time she posts. But I am afraid that meant that the information in this book wasn't very new, it wasn't mindblowing, it was confirming all the beautiful things I've already picked up from her posts, but it was nothing new.
Maybe I was looking for the wrong things with this book but the reading experience (not the content of the book) was mediocre to me. I would highly recommend this book though to anybody who isn't familiar with her previous work because I absolutely love what Jamie preaches.
My relationship with self-help book is complicated. Whereas I've thoroughly enjoyed them in the past, now often they fall flat and don't seem to inspire much in me. As such, I stopped reading them. But when I heard Jamie was coming out with her book I couldn't help but to pre-order. Jamie's beautiful instagram posts always manage to capture something so tangible, useful and actually inspiring - something I hoped to find in this book as well. And I did, sort of.
This book is really a combobulation of Jamie's instagram posts. I really enjoyed the split between what behaviours to unlearn and what to learn . I also loved how the book simultaneously described a mindset change and ways of achieving this mindset change (which self-help books suprisingly often lack). It just didn't feel very "new" to me. I have religiously followed Jamie's posts on instagram and declare here - without shame - that I even get a notification every single time she posts. But I am afraid that meant that the information in this book wasn't very new, it wasn't mindblowing, it was confirming all the beautiful things I've already picked up from her posts, but it was nothing new.
Maybe I was looking for the wrong things with this book but the reading experience (not the content of the book) was mediocre to me. I would highly recommend this book though to anybody who isn't familiar with her previous work because I absolutely love what Jamie preaches.
April 21, 2022
3.5 stars. Thanks to the publisher via NetGalley for the eARC of this book.
Self-help is a tricky genre. I think it is likely to be helpful to go into this one expecting more of a pep talk than actionable advice. In Radically Content, Jamie Varon does a good job of identifying what it is about the world we live in that makes us chronically dissatisfied with our own lives, and the opportunities that can open up when we reject the little voice in our head that tells us that sad and unfulfilled is the way we should aspire to be. Whilst this doesn't go hugely in depth, I identified quite uncannily with a lot of Varon's experiences and the thought patterns she found were making her unhappy. What it doesn't quite get into is the practical steps one must take to unlearn these behaviours - which, in a way, is fine - Varon isn't a therapist. Whilst it wasn't necessarily entirely 'radical', I came away from this feeling motivated and empowered, which is what I think it set out to do!
Self-help is a tricky genre. I think it is likely to be helpful to go into this one expecting more of a pep talk than actionable advice. In Radically Content, Jamie Varon does a good job of identifying what it is about the world we live in that makes us chronically dissatisfied with our own lives, and the opportunities that can open up when we reject the little voice in our head that tells us that sad and unfulfilled is the way we should aspire to be. Whilst this doesn't go hugely in depth, I identified quite uncannily with a lot of Varon's experiences and the thought patterns she found were making her unhappy. What it doesn't quite get into is the practical steps one must take to unlearn these behaviours - which, in a way, is fine - Varon isn't a therapist. Whilst it wasn't necessarily entirely 'radical', I came away from this feeling motivated and empowered, which is what I think it set out to do!
July 18, 2024
I came upon this book while searching for something entirely different from the library, but it sounded interesting, so I placed a hold. The basic premise of Radically Content is one I agree with (your worth needs to come from within) but given the author's shallow writing style and what felt like endless repetition, I think that her ideas are better suited to Instagram. I was unaware of her content there, mainly because I already follow her advice to not let social media make me feel bad. I'm unclear if this book is meant to be a memoir, self-help, or some combination, but for me, it didn't accomplish either one very well. She writes about affirmations, healing, self-acceptance, body image, journaling, and how moving to Paris can help - a lot of buzz words but no depth or substance. The biggest help I can offer if you are looking for contentment and satisfaction is not to waste your time reading this book. 1.5 stars rounded down.
April 8, 2022
#RadicallyContent #NetGalley
From the gorgeous cover to the words of wisdom in its pages, Jamie Varon presents concepts such as healing and self-trust as viable ways to create a more content life. This book is like having a hot cup of tea with a friend who encourages you. I loved it! Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
From the gorgeous cover to the words of wisdom in its pages, Jamie Varon presents concepts such as healing and self-trust as viable ways to create a more content life. This book is like having a hot cup of tea with a friend who encourages you. I loved it! Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
June 4, 2024
This book was entirely worthwhile and actually made me cry at the end. While I did feel like this was surface-level and focused more on the author's own journey than making the book reader-focused, I got a lot of great things to think about and to incorporate into my everyday life. The ideas about dreams and questioning whether you really want them was extraordinarily helpful.
November 1, 2023
More of a personal memoir of how everything worked out for this one particular woman. Also I’m not sure she knows what “radical” means. Mildly inspirational, or aspirational, but I don’t know how to actually think in this way for myself.
Want to read
March 31, 2022Wow! I'm pretty selective with my "Self-Help" reads as I think it's a genre that can easily be overdone, but this book was absolutely the right book at the right time. I've been thinking a lot about our culture's focus on striving for bigger and better lately, while also contemplating ways I can work on changing that in my own life.
My word for 2022 is "enough". And the more we get back to "normal" the harder this feels to do. In our fast paced world and with the constant ability to be available via technology, there is this constant pressure to do more...with work, activities, and even fun projects and opportunities.
The "hustle culture" is talked about for a reason, it's a real thing. But it's also something we can push against. It’s okay to work hard and it's also important to take a break. It's vital to stay connected with one another but it's also okay if messages aren't answered immediately. And we all can find our definition of "enough" in multiple areas of our lives.
This book gave me so many ideas and I definitely plan to revisit it and read it again. I also think it would make a great choice for a book club! I know I could certainly use a group discussion around this one.
Thank you to Rock Point for my gifted review copy.
My word for 2022 is "enough". And the more we get back to "normal" the harder this feels to do. In our fast paced world and with the constant ability to be available via technology, there is this constant pressure to do more...with work, activities, and even fun projects and opportunities.
The "hustle culture" is talked about for a reason, it's a real thing. But it's also something we can push against. It’s okay to work hard and it's also important to take a break. It's vital to stay connected with one another but it's also okay if messages aren't answered immediately. And we all can find our definition of "enough" in multiple areas of our lives.
This book gave me so many ideas and I definitely plan to revisit it and read it again. I also think it would make a great choice for a book club! I know I could certainly use a group discussion around this one.
Thank you to Rock Point for my gifted review copy.
January 15, 2024
This is a harsh review but it is honest. I only publish about one negative review per year, but this is warranted.
I love the cover! That's about where the positives stop.
This felt like half of a book in more ways than one. I chose to read it after hearing the author on a podcast over a year ago. It was one of the first books I marked "to read" when I joined GoodReads. Based on the podcast interview and the title, I assumed this was a guide of some sort. Maybe along the lines of "it's okay to not strive for the newest car or designer bag as long as you find fulfillment. Here are some ways to reframe your thinking." It was more of a memoir and not a very interesting one. Maybe that was my misinterpretation.
This had the potential to be a practical guide for people to find peace within themselves. I wish the author had partnered with a psychologist and interspersed some theory in between the retelling of her life. With some solid evidence and editing, I think that this could have been an excellent book. In its current form, it comes up short.
Even considering that this was never intended to be a self-help book, "Radically Content" is still lacking. The author spends a lot of time talking about healing and not so much time explaining what she is healing from. There is a brief mention of SA (not graphic, which I count as a pro) and a reference to being in therapy. I have the deepest sympathy for her and all victims of SA and I don't expect her to publish the details of that experience. But maybe if you don't want to talk about how you overcame your trauma and cognitive distortions, don't write a book about it?
A much larger focus of the book is her body image issues and a feeling that everyone is looking at her and judging her, especially in Paris. I am sure the author received some looks in Paris that weren't kind but that happens in every major city that requires public transportation. It's an immature perspective for someone who was in her late 20s/early 30s at the time. This is common in adolescence. Body image issues also tend to peak in adolescence. If her SA occurred around this time, it makes sense why she maintained this mindset longer than average. Again, this would have been a great segue into psychology. (For what it's worth, I have a Master's degree in psychology.)
She talks about how the popular kids in high school were nice to her in class but never invited her to socialize with them beyond that. Okay...and? Some of this is just part of life.
The premise of this book dances on a fine line between finding peace and being apathetic. There's a level to which we torture ourselves by comparison. But finding meaning is a crucial part of the human experience.
Few things irritate me more than a writer who has decided that they are an expert in something because they enjoy writing about it. The cardinal sin in this book is the author's complete unwillingness to cite sources. Varon stealthily posits a fact that has already been well-established in psychology (or in some cases spirituality) without citing a source and without outright saying "I invented this!" I listened to this on Audible but another reviewer stated that she put a disclaimer in the print version that this book contains general self-help advice. But I thought this was a memoir? So we, the readers, are expected to believe that throughout her life experience, she became enlightened with common self-help advice through...journaling? Here are some concrete examples of this:
-Varon talks about how we often feel like we "should" be doing more and that we "should" be x,y, or z rather than having some form of acceptance. This is summarized nicely in a theory by psychologist Karen Horney known as "The Tyranny of the Shoulds." Similarly, Albert Ellis (one of the most influential figures in psychology) described the "musts" in our lives. I guess Varon happened to arrive at the same conclusions as one of the greatest minds of the 20th century entirely on her own!
- Varon also talks about journaling and writing down her affirmations. This can be a great practice. It was probably one of the more tangible aspects of the book. However, she immediately says after "I've taught so many people how to do this!" as though she invented affirmations. No, she does not SAY she invented them. Yes, there's the disclaimer in the book, and after all, it's just a memoir so it's not self-help, right?
Particularly slimy is the book's marketing as finding contentment when the author reminds the audience that she has achieved financial freedom (as though such a thing exists. Stability, yes. Flexibility, sure. But come on, unless you're .001%, that's not a real thing. One US hospital visit can change that in a heartbeat, sadly). She mentions that she did this by selling a digital course. RED FLAG! Had I known this going in, I probably would have never read the book. I don't know what course she sold at the time of writing the book but she still has a course available. Of course, she does.
This course is all about how to be radically content! You, too, could pay $444 to listen to her regurgitate pop-psych advice and maybe even find financial freedom through her exclusive method of writing down affirmations!
Or, maybe just find a therapist and pay a co-pay.
I love the cover! That's about where the positives stop.
This felt like half of a book in more ways than one. I chose to read it after hearing the author on a podcast over a year ago. It was one of the first books I marked "to read" when I joined GoodReads. Based on the podcast interview and the title, I assumed this was a guide of some sort. Maybe along the lines of "it's okay to not strive for the newest car or designer bag as long as you find fulfillment. Here are some ways to reframe your thinking." It was more of a memoir and not a very interesting one. Maybe that was my misinterpretation.
This had the potential to be a practical guide for people to find peace within themselves. I wish the author had partnered with a psychologist and interspersed some theory in between the retelling of her life. With some solid evidence and editing, I think that this could have been an excellent book. In its current form, it comes up short.
Even considering that this was never intended to be a self-help book, "Radically Content" is still lacking. The author spends a lot of time talking about healing and not so much time explaining what she is healing from. There is a brief mention of SA (not graphic, which I count as a pro) and a reference to being in therapy. I have the deepest sympathy for her and all victims of SA and I don't expect her to publish the details of that experience. But maybe if you don't want to talk about how you overcame your trauma and cognitive distortions, don't write a book about it?
A much larger focus of the book is her body image issues and a feeling that everyone is looking at her and judging her, especially in Paris. I am sure the author received some looks in Paris that weren't kind but that happens in every major city that requires public transportation. It's an immature perspective for someone who was in her late 20s/early 30s at the time. This is common in adolescence. Body image issues also tend to peak in adolescence. If her SA occurred around this time, it makes sense why she maintained this mindset longer than average. Again, this would have been a great segue into psychology. (For what it's worth, I have a Master's degree in psychology.)
She talks about how the popular kids in high school were nice to her in class but never invited her to socialize with them beyond that. Okay...and? Some of this is just part of life.
The premise of this book dances on a fine line between finding peace and being apathetic. There's a level to which we torture ourselves by comparison. But finding meaning is a crucial part of the human experience.
Few things irritate me more than a writer who has decided that they are an expert in something because they enjoy writing about it. The cardinal sin in this book is the author's complete unwillingness to cite sources. Varon stealthily posits a fact that has already been well-established in psychology (or in some cases spirituality) without citing a source and without outright saying "I invented this!" I listened to this on Audible but another reviewer stated that she put a disclaimer in the print version that this book contains general self-help advice. But I thought this was a memoir? So we, the readers, are expected to believe that throughout her life experience, she became enlightened with common self-help advice through...journaling? Here are some concrete examples of this:
-Varon talks about how we often feel like we "should" be doing more and that we "should" be x,y, or z rather than having some form of acceptance. This is summarized nicely in a theory by psychologist Karen Horney known as "The Tyranny of the Shoulds." Similarly, Albert Ellis (one of the most influential figures in psychology) described the "musts" in our lives. I guess Varon happened to arrive at the same conclusions as one of the greatest minds of the 20th century entirely on her own!
- Varon also talks about journaling and writing down her affirmations. This can be a great practice. It was probably one of the more tangible aspects of the book. However, she immediately says after "I've taught so many people how to do this!" as though she invented affirmations. No, she does not SAY she invented them. Yes, there's the disclaimer in the book, and after all, it's just a memoir so it's not self-help, right?
Particularly slimy is the book's marketing as finding contentment when the author reminds the audience that she has achieved financial freedom (as though such a thing exists. Stability, yes. Flexibility, sure. But come on, unless you're .001%, that's not a real thing. One US hospital visit can change that in a heartbeat, sadly). She mentions that she did this by selling a digital course. RED FLAG! Had I known this going in, I probably would have never read the book. I don't know what course she sold at the time of writing the book but she still has a course available. Of course, she does.
This course is all about how to be radically content! You, too, could pay $444 to listen to her regurgitate pop-psych advice and maybe even find financial freedom through her exclusive method of writing down affirmations!
Or, maybe just find a therapist and pay a co-pay.
August 29, 2023
Wish I could give this 10 stars! Such an impactful and positive message. I will be recommending this book to all my friends and family and revisiting so many passages as I keep creating my authentic and aligned life full of joy!
August 24, 2025
Definitely has a simplistic, Instagram-feed turned book vibe. Very short sentences and basic language. Still a good concept and a supportive, nurturing read with some sections to mark and some ideas to come back to. Pretty in structure, cover, and format.
May 16, 2022
I've had a lot going on in my life lately and I've read a fair amount of self-help-esque books over the last couple years. This one had some serious punch to the gut thoughts that made me dig deeper into how I'm treating myself. Not all of it resonates, I'm significantly older than the author but, the parts that do, really hit.
Plus, look at that beautiful cover, I love having it on my shelf as a reminder to remember who I am.
Plus, look at that beautiful cover, I love having it on my shelf as a reminder to remember who I am.
May 19, 2022
I typically avoid "self-help" books because I'm leery of one-size-fits-all life advice. I pre-ordered Radically Content by Jamie Varon only because I've been following Jamie on Instagram for over a year and her posts always struck an emotional chord; I think I have dozens of screenshots saved to my phone of quotes she's shared on her Instagram feed.
Like most books of this genre, there were some chapters that moved and inspired me more than others. The first half of Radically Content (Part One, which focuses on things she thinks we as a society need to "unlearn") did not disappoint. I found most of the first half thought-provoking and deeply convicting. Loved her insights on rejecting culture's obsession with chasing the Instagram-worthy life. One quote in particular, from page 43, really resonated with me: "What if your happiest life wasn’t going to be very impressive by societal standards? Would you still want it?"
The second half the book (Part Two, Things to Learn) impressed me less. I didn't find the content as original as the first half and the chapter on writing down positive affirmations was decisively NOT for me. Overall though - a good book. It's less of a "how to" and more of a "have you ever considered ..." kind of read. 3.5 stars
Like most books of this genre, there were some chapters that moved and inspired me more than others. The first half of Radically Content (Part One, which focuses on things she thinks we as a society need to "unlearn") did not disappoint. I found most of the first half thought-provoking and deeply convicting. Loved her insights on rejecting culture's obsession with chasing the Instagram-worthy life. One quote in particular, from page 43, really resonated with me: "What if your happiest life wasn’t going to be very impressive by societal standards? Would you still want it?"
The second half the book (Part Two, Things to Learn) impressed me less. I didn't find the content as original as the first half and the chapter on writing down positive affirmations was decisively NOT for me. Overall though - a good book. It's less of a "how to" and more of a "have you ever considered ..." kind of read. 3.5 stars
May 5, 2022
This book was the perfect mental reset I needed. Jamie breaks down the myths about finding happiness that society conditions us to believe and provides actionable steps on how to opt out of hustle culture and into our own joy. I could not put it down!
August 19, 2022
This book came recommended on tiktok after I read Glennon Doyle's Untamed. If you're like me in that you enjoy reading reflective self-help / wellness / non fiction, you'll enjoy this read. I find reading books like these don't teach me much, but instead make me feel like I'm having a conversation with someone who gets my world view (or parts of it). I did find Varon's writing style a bit choppy. She uses a lot of short sentences for emphasis. I was skeptical as to whether i'd enjoy the read when she lead with meeting her husband abroad, worried she'd have good much privilege to be relatable. It ended up being okay. I'm not sure I found this book to be as profound as people raved online, but I enjoyed it.
April 30, 2022
I adore Jamie soooo much. Her writing always leaves me with my heart feeling full & with the knowing that choosing to live life the way I want (instead of what society deems acceptable) is the way to go. Self-trust is the biggest discussion point of this book, but it’s also filled with discussion on healing & unlearning.
Jamie doesn’t want you to flip your life upside down to reach all these impossible self-help standards. She wants you to look inward, figure out what *you* want, and then live in the way that leads you there.
Jamie doesn’t want you to flip your life upside down to reach all these impossible self-help standards. She wants you to look inward, figure out what *you* want, and then live in the way that leads you there.
April 16, 2022
Jamie’s book is such a breath of fresh air in a world that typically rewards MORE, MORE, MORE. I love how she mixes in her personal anecdotes and learnings with gentle but firm reminders to find joy in the moment. More than anything, I love her writing — I’ve followed her through many iterations of her career, and her voice is getting stronger and more inspirational at every turn. A true testament that her radical contentment mantras and practices work! ❤️
June 7, 2022
2.5 stars. I really wanted to love this book after the beautiful cover and the many endorsements I heard on a few podcasts. The unlearning section didn’t do it for me - it didn’t feel tangible enough and mostly spoke to the author’s personal experience. I appreciated some of the nuggets from the learning section. There was a lot more value in the last third where the author gets a lot more specific and provides actionable advice. This has potential overall but really wasn’t for me.
September 20, 2022
This was … not for me. The first half of the introduction felt so solid but the rest of the book was just … not it. I was looking for nuance and some research or insight into how capitalism plays into everything but the book was basically a collection of general advice about accepting yourself. The author even had a note about privilege at the end of the intro and then proceeded to … not consider her privilege throughout the entire book!?!
April 20, 2022
Thank you to Net Galley for a free copy of this book to review.
I loved this book. It was inspiring, relatable, and often spoke straight to my soul. Jamie encourages us to love ourselves where we are now, instead of constantly striving to do more and be more.
So much wisdom in this book. Also, it's beautiful. I love the design and colors.
I loved this book. It was inspiring, relatable, and often spoke straight to my soul. Jamie encourages us to love ourselves where we are now, instead of constantly striving to do more and be more.
So much wisdom in this book. Also, it's beautiful. I love the design and colors.
Read
September 27, 2023Go girl give us nothing
April 13, 2024
Ok this book was good*. But having finished reading it and reflecting on the author's background gives me pause. A lot of this reads like a journal entry for a rich white lady sitting on the beach in Malibu texting herself on her notes app on her iPhone to give herself motivation - oh wait...that's literally how she wrote it. Which is fine but you have to consider that she lives in Calabasas, one of the richest zip codes in the USA. You have to take what she writes with a grain of salt. Some of the actions she writes about were repetitive and vague. Some of it was really deterministic, like whatever you deserve will come to you. And some of it was just not considerate of the working class at all. That's not really how life works. I was also disappointed that it didn't go into more detail or scientific review of how to be content, which makes me skeptical that I should just "laissez-faire". Reader beware.
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