nor-mal: according with, constituting, or not deviating from a norm, rule or principle / conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern / of, relating to, or characterized by average intelligence or development
Normal? Who wants to be that?
When Kelly Cutrone’s first book, If You Have to Cry, Go Outside, was first published, young people flocked to this new voice—finally, someone was telling it like it is, in language they spoke. It quickly became a New York Times bestseller, and fashion publicist Kelly Cutrone became more than a personality, she became a beloved guru, mentor, and fairy godmother.
Now she’s back with another no-holds-barred book to awaken our souls and kick our asses into gear. With Normal Gets You Nowhere, she invites us to get our freak on. History is full of successful, world-changing people who did not fit in. Think Nelson Mandela, Joan of Arc, Eleanor Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart, John Lennon, and Rosa Parks. Instead of changing themselves to accommodate the status quo or what others thought they should be, these people hung a light on their differences—and changed humanity in the process.
“I know you don’t feel normal, so why are you trying to act it and prove to everyone you are?” Cutrone says. So much of what we say or don’t say, and what we do or don’t do, is dictated by what others have told us, or what people may think of us. This is not how we should be living, by measuring ourselves against the mundane.
An invitation to rethink who you are, what you value, and what you want from life, Normal Gets You Nowhere goes beyond how to reinvent yourself and create your own brand, and investigates what it means to live in this world as a tuned-in, caring individual with a passion for making a difference. There’s already an army of super talented uberfreaks changing the world–isn’t it time you joined them?
Kelly Cutrone is the founder of the fashion public relations, branding, and marketing firm People's Revolution, which has represented clients such as Longchamp, Vivienne Westwood, Valentino, Jeremy Scott, Paco Rabanne, Thierry Mugler, Bulgari, Christie's, and more. She stars in Kell on Earth on Bravo and has appeared on MTV's The Hills and The City. Prior to founding People's Revolution, Cutrone cofounded Cutrone & Weinberg and was the director of PR for Spin magazine. Cutrone lives in Manhattan with her daughter, Ava.
I'd give it even less of a star, not even a tip of a star, if I could. I almost didn't even review it because I was ashamed for anyone to know I had read some of it. Lucky for me, I never finished it! Being an outsider my whole life, I attempted to get through the terrible writing, the superiority and inconsistencies because maybe there was something I might take away from it. God, it was just awful. This woman is not in the position to give anyone advice on life, regardless of how many names she can drop or how "successful" this unintelligent hack claims to be. After an entire chapter devoted to showing compassion she contradicts herself in one flippant parenthesis, stating that she never attends the funerals of those who died by suicide. She doesn't explain this glib and profoundly hurtful statement, just sates it as an aside, as though it is somehow a noble stance to have. That was the moment I debated whether to burn the book or soak it in the toilet...because this book does not deserve to exist. Stop writing, Ms Cutrone, and stick to doing what you are good at –being an arrogant, opinionated fool.
This book came across my desk in the closing days of 2011, and although I had absolutely no idea who Kelly Cutrone is or why she is apparently famous enough to warrant not one, but two, advice-y books, I chanced to open it and read a paragraph or two. The author's voice was so unusual, so pro-feminine and pro-sex, and so downright close to my own worldview, I had to find out more.
At the close of the book, I found myself liking the author very much, despite her obvious eccentricities and outre' sensibility. She says she lives to serve two populations: young women and gay men, and I'd recommend this book to both groups.
Despite the barrage of personal and intimate details about her life, her family, her work and her court battles, I finished the book still unsure of just who Cutrone is, so I had to go to the intertubes to get the full picture. Seems she's been on a couple of MTV reality shows, and is set to judge another modeling show in 2012. She's a fashion publicist. She wears black exclusively (well, almost). She shuns makeup. She's middle-aged. She's unconventional. She's a follower of someone called The Mother.
Mostly, though, she just has good sense and a very New Milleneum outlook. I hope her message continues to resonate.
I have to admit - and I hate to admit it - but I thought this book was only ok. It read like a complete stream of consciousness, with an attempt to categorize each random thought by a quirky chapter title. The book gets two stars because I was able to glean a couple of good things and pieces of advice from a few of the chapters, but honestly, that is about it. I'm so disappointed because I LOVED Kelly's first book, "If You Have to Cry, Go Outside". But this book has a feeling of being written in a rushed state, with not much thought going into its overall flow. So I can't, in an attempt to be honest and forthright, recommend this book wholeheartedly.
LOVED, loved, LOVED. Things I never thought I'd do: Finish a book by Kelly Cutrone (who, prior to reading her books, I knew only as "the angry lady from 'The Hills') and be like, "Damn. This lady rules."
I love the way she sees the world; I love the way she explains, lives and promotes her spirituality, why she lives the way she does, and why she feels the way she feels; I kept finding myself wanting to underline paragraphs (I read a library copy) so future readers wouldn't miss the parts that sparkled above the rest.
I picked this up because I liked the cover. The author's name with the subscript "with Meredith Bryan" failed to register, as I usually stay away from ghostwritten books. It was vaguely interesting till Cutrone decided to share her spiritual visions (which involve a guru and Eleanor Roosevelt and Wonder Woman). This is the point where I detrained, though I did keep reading till the end. I think Cutrone is probably a lot of fun to know, but she's not so much fun to read.
Such a god awful book Somebody really needed to smack her whenever she went off track. This book needed direction and some kind of format, it should have been called The many ramblings of Kelly Cutrone that you'll find hard to relate to unless you smoke weed whilst reading.
Last year, just before I graduated from college, I read and devoured IF YOU HAVE TO CRY, GO OUTSIDE by Kelly Cutrone. I quickly fell in love with her tough love advice, strong personality and larger than life attitude. As I prepared to begin my own career in PR, I took Cutrone’s words to heart.
When I heard that she was releasing a second book, NORMAL GETS YOU NOWHERE, it was a given that I’d pick it up. I absolutely loved the title and anxiously picked up a copy from my library and brought it down the shore for a long weekend. I knew it would be a quick but memorable read.
While I definitely did enjoy this book, I have to admit upfront, it just didn’t grab me as much as her first book did. Perhaps it was the subject matter and where I am at this point in my life. Last year, IF YOU HAVE TO CRY GO OUTSIDE practically fell into my lap at a time when I needed it most. I loved the career advice Cutrone offered, and I enjoyed hearing stories of how she starred her own PR agency. I hoped for more of this in her sophomore book, but NORMAL GETS YOU NOWHERE took a different approach.
Cutrone’s sophomore book delves into her spiritual side. We learn her views on religion, holidays, the media, politics, life and death. While this book is certainly deep, it wasn’t quite what I expected when I picked it up.Even though I found the book a bit tiring to get through, I was able to find many nuggets of wisdom to take away with me when I finished the book.
One thing I did enjoy about this book was how much we got to know Cutrone. We did get to know her in her first book, but this book truly dives into her personality and her spirit. I enjoyed hearing more of her personal stories- her relationship with her daughter Ava, her grandfather and then her father’s death. Cutrone definitely bared her soul in this book.
While I didn’t absolutely love this book, I remain inspired by Kelly Cutrone and can’t wait to see what she does next.
I love Kelly's straight-talking, funny, honest, modern, brash voice. I really do. I haven't read her first book (If You Have to Cry, Go Outside), but I will now. There were quite a few things that resonated with me in this book, particularly her views on fur and the fact that fashion can be compassionate and a source of good and healing energy. Love to have a sit-down with this woman. She had a few tangents and things I would have loved to know more about, but I loved that she works in the industry she does (fashion PR) but doesn't seem to tolerate the industry BS. Score one for empowering female advice.
Definitely not as hard hitting for me as her first novel, but I continue to find Kelly to be an inspiration to all young, strong women trying to find their way today. It got a little out there for me as she talked a lot about her spiritual exploration, and although I'm very open to that, I found it got tiresome. Definitely worth a read if you're a fan, but don't expect the same pow of if you have to cry go outside
As always Cutrone gives sensible and spiritual advice in a no nonsense tone. This is a great book for young women who feel they need some sort of awakening in life or direction. I wish I had read this book in my 20s. But nonetheless it is still entertaining read for any woman. Love the little Curtone antidotes of real life versus her philosophy.
I highly enjoyed the randomness! I have to admit, I found myself googling quite a few things. From Leonard Cohen, to Anna Jarvis, a refresher on US currency faces and Eleanor's backstory to name a few. Luckily the author provided a copy of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights... which I too had not read before.
I want more stories from her sloppy twenties. I want more fashion gossip. I want more randomness!
I made no secret of the fact that I loved Kelly’s first book If You Have To Cry Go Outside. I thought the advice was sound and it was interesting learning more tidbits about her personal life and work. It was a fast, worthwhile read and I still recommend it to people.
You can imagine how excited I was to read her second book, Normal Gets You Nowhere, and I know some of you were looking forward to it as well. I had high expectations, even though I didn’t expect it would be a same song, second verse situation. I knew she wouldn’t do a lazy remix of the first book, so I was wondering what direction she’d take it in.
This book is a short (shorter than the first) take on all sorts of things Kelly has opinions on: religion, friendship, sex, holidays…to name a few. There’s also a chapter devoted to Eleanor Roosevelt, an inspirational figure to Kelly (“a feminine ideal”) and one about a breakthrough she had in connecting with her feminine, God-like self.
So, it’s uneven. Very uneven. It bounces around a bit, feels a little thrown together and, while containing important nuggets of advice like her first, has a distinct tone of spirituality throughout that was only briefly touched on in her first book. For some readers, this could really throw you…or turn you off. She alternates between the hard-as-nails personality we’ve all seen on TV and this super-compassionate, super-spiritual woman. The result is a book that I can’t really wrap my head around. I’m not sure what kind of book she set out to write. In the forward, she mentions that her editor wanted her to do “Kelly’s take” on the 10 Commandments and she refused, wanting to write her own thing. Well, this is her own thing—that much is evident. But it’s also wildly bizarre one minute and becomes coherent the next.
Anyway, it’s a short book (I read it in one hour) and does have some valuable advice, but ultimately, I found it more confusing than anything else. Unlike the satisfaction I had when I finished reading the first, I came away from this book with a, “Did I miss something?” reaction.
I LOVE a strong woman in business and Kelly (Cut throat) Cutrone is one strong... lady.
Its funny how I stubbled upon this book, Ms Cutrone was simi-haunting me to be read her. I first discovered her fist book "If You Have to Cry, Go Outside" at Kinkos (of all places) while doing some business work. I then fell upon it again at Barnes and Noble while browsing the music section (at the time the Fashion section I guess was spilling into the Music), but I never was able to come around to reading it due to my yearly challenges not matching up to me buying or reading any new material by this powerhouse. THEN this holiday season I was home bound on maternity leave and decided to start watching a bunch of trashy TV and of course became re-addicted to America's Next Top Model, especially with is newest, NO holds barred judge, fashion PR maven Ms. Kelly Cutrone. So of course, come 2014 with no restraints on my literature for my annual challenge, I take my lil booty to the library and track down Ms Cutrones book. However, "If You Have to Cry" does not exist in their catalog. SERIOUSLY!?! So naturally I settle for her second attempt that made it to my local shelf.
Now with that story out of the was... ON to the Book Review: I wasn't really sure how I felt about this book. I was looking forward to something self-help/ work related to take into my everyday life and career, and I just found it more of a personal memoir with no real clear structure. Overall I see the point Cutrone was trying to get out there, and some sections of the book does have a strong sense of purpose and a call for more compassion to your surroundings, but it was just not what I was looking for. And at times I had to force myself to keep going.
I completely respect Kelly Cutrone as a leader and find her beyond interesting in the business world, but I think her debut book is more what I want and need.
Was hard to listen to. I'm sure Kelly Cutrone is a great person, seriously. I'm sure she is a loving mom and is incredibly resourceful and intelligent. I personally like authors and "self-help" books that make me think, "I could be friends with this person" like Brene Brown. Compassionate folk. I LOVE straight talkers but straight talkers are not awful to people. They can say it how it is without pulling out someone's spine (ok maybe a bit dramatic but whatever). I could just picture the event where her friend showed up with 2 young 20 something pretty woman and how Kelly was annoyed they were at her table so she asked the one claiming to have modeled, "And what kind of modeling did you do?" all arrogant and straight up bitch. And it made me instantly greatly dislike her. Telling strangers to "fuck off" constantly for trying to be nice or helpful was annoying. Making fun of an employee who was under mental distress and had to be hospitalized and went on on how it "totally screwed her over" with him taking a mental leave...was beyond compassion. Maybe this is how people are in the New York fashion industry but i would never want to know any of them nor would I ever look up to them. Oh! But she does constantly feed the homeless and when she's around her god or whatever, she cries out of compassion but when she's around other human beings, she rips them a new one. Give me a break. Self-serving piece of work.
Normal Gets You Nowhere was good (but not great). I can relate with Kelly's opinions on a lot of topics she spoke about and that was why I enjoyed reading this book. Her writing reads like you're hanging out with a friend, having drinks and just talking about the world. I think she has good insight on a lot of topics. I'm also a little motivated to look into the powerful women she's talked about in her book.
When she starts going on and on about her guru though, I got bored! There was even a part that weirded me out a little bit. It was unexpected and out of place.
Not the greatest book in the world, but I think it's a fun read.
I've always respected Kelly's ability to hold on to her punk rock roots in the fashion world, and this book definitely reflects her attitude about life and work. I'm glad I read it, but I doubt I'd pick it up again.
Really surprised by how insightful I found this book....that sounds really bad, I know, but its true. I picked this up hoping to read this and to just be entertained by her no bullshit attitude (& I was!) but to not really find anything new or noteworthy (sometimes you just feel like rereading some of the same ol' lessons for the sake of reading (at least I do...)).
In this book, Kelly talks about love, death, human rights, compassion and redefining success and reasons for being. I loved it!
I found the layout of the book lacking in many ways. Wish there would have been some images of Kelly, her family, and the places mentioned. These would have really added to the book. Also wish that the bold sentences, which I assume were included to be memorable, would have been displayed in a different way (I.e. a la style #Girlboss). These just seemed passive as they are noted. Set aside all my little criticisms, because they are ultimately secondary, the content is really refreshing and just plain lovely.
At first, I thought this could be a fun/easy read. I was prepared to not have to finish it if it didn't keep my interest in the beginning. But once I started reading this, I just could not put it down. Kelly Cutrone's writing was easy to read (a bit vulgar at a time - but I wasn't expecting this to be some literary master piece), relevant, and EXTREMELY entertaining. Her stories and outlook on life are so real, and I felt like I could totally relate. She sounds like the girlfriend you want to have who will tell you the truth and no B.S., yet has enough life experience to give you guidance and know what's really important in life. It was especially nice that it's coming from a female point of view. The last chapter of the book was very emotional, I seriously made me cry (on the bus) and I had never thought this would be a book that could put me in tears.
If you have caught Kelly Cutrone on TV, you already know that she's got that emo look that was popular with the kids in the past few years (or is it still popular?) that goes along with her tough personality. She knows what she looks like and how she comes across but as she puts it, her hard work allows her this luxury that you nor I could probably get away with if we were in the fashion industry. So how does that relate to this book? Well, she wants you know to that just because the masses does things one way, doesn't mean you have to do the same. This thinking applies to show compassion to those less fortunate, dealing with death (have a party!) and being a No Matter What friend. Good ideas, but she gets into a bit of an angry rage every now and then. And a little preachy.
To sum it up: if you worship KC (and a lot of people do), pick it up. If you're looking for a good business or how-to-better-your-life book, this might not be it.
The title - 'Normal Gets You Nowhere' grabbed mmy attention. I've never heard of Kelly Curtone until I saw this book. I read the entire book in a span of two days - so easy read. I found her ranting and raving writing-style commical to a certain extent. Mmy thought is that a good mmajority of wommen mmay think a long her line of thinking in one formm or another, especially the younger ones. I'mm almmost 50 and I've never really been normmal! I actually speed-read through the book in somme chapters because of her writing style - (perhaps the almmost run-on non-stop ranting in those would have been better suited in audio book!?) I'd like to listen to one of her programs. There was really only one chapter that I didn't particularly care for at all - to mme it read like continual 'blah,blah,blah' in mmy eyes. So I reluctantly give this a 3-star rating as I did like it and somme of the quotes through out. isabelydancer00
I bought this book after hearing Cutrone on the radio. Her tough-as-nails (as they say) demeanor is something I respect, especially when it comes to business. I think more women should embrace this in themselves so to eliminate the feelings of many that assertive women are "bitches." OK, that being said, this book started out being everything I hoped. And then...quickly became everything I didn't want. I didn't care for her lengthy tributes to The Mother (a.k.a. The Divine Mother) and other spiritual leaders. Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike these wonderful people, but I didn't buy this book to read about them. I was, instead, hoping Cutrone would rip me a new one (if you catch my drift) for no other reason than that's what she does best.
I hear her previous book was a little better. I'll probably give it a read.
I was blessed to meet Kelly herself on Thursday (7th July 2011) at a book signing in London and she was the most gracious woman ever.
She hugged each 'fan', took a photograph with them and signed our books. She donated all the money made from the books to the charity; S.O.P.H.I.E. It was money well spent.
After reading mixed reviews about this books, with many saying it was disappointing compared to her first one, I feared slightly the reviews may be correct. I was wrong. It was just as good, if not better than the first book with many heavy and often taboo subjects addressed and discussed.
My respect for Kelly as a person has increased dramatically (if possible) after reading in this book she cared for her sick grandfather, grandmother and father.
I definitely recommend this book to all young girls or woman seeking inspiration.
Kelly Cutrone was such a cast-iron bitch on ANTM that I was intrigued enough to pick up her audiobook. I can't say I enjoyed it immensely - some of the stuff is so random such as throwing death parties and how to deal with litigious bitches - but it did have some snippets of good advice in there. Despite her ranting, I did enjoy her social consciousness, her repeated use of profanity (who doesn't like a good 'motherfucker' thrown in every now and again to get a point across!), and her advice on being a 'No Matter What' friend. It's solid advice...what can I say?
There's a soft side to Ms. Cutrone that I never expected to see - or like, and she has a rich voice so it was nice to have her read this book to me. I recommend it on audiobook so you can accomplish other things (like walking the dog) while 'reading' it, then you won't feel as though you've wasted any time when it's done!
The divine Kelly Cutrone continues to impress me with her realness, her humor, and her spiritual intelligence.
I love her take on life, love, professionalism and the things that do and should motivate us in our daily lives. She can get a bit hippy dippy at times, but with one foot grounded firmly in the frivolous land of fashion meets upstate New York girl born and bred-ness (to which I can relate), I can trust that her accounts of her spiritual awakenings are truly genuine, rough around the edges, and real!
I had already written it down as a new year's resolution, but reading this book this week has renewed my dedication to find a place to volunteer once a week. There's absolutely no excuse for not giving back.
I really liked listening to this audiobook. I've admired Kelly Cutrone and her no-nonsense attitude since watching her Bravo show, Kell on Earth. Initially, I was more interested in picking up her first book If You Have to Cry, Go Outside, but it wasn't available on audio so I settled for her second book and I am very happy I did! It mostly centers around her personal spiritual outlook and how she applies it to various aspects of her life. I always come away from books like this refreshed, especially when I identify strongly with the message the author is sending. Kelly read the book herself which was a nice personal touch. She has a great reading voice, although she did read a little fast. I look forward to going back and listening to her first book in the near future!
This book was mostly stream of consciousness and deviated from Cutrone's previous book in that she was more prone to display emotion than just be a cut-throat bitch (and I mean "bitch" in a good way). Her spirituality is a bit of an enigma and I'm not exactly sure what she follows but it seems New Age and it works for her. Her feelings on her place in the world, relationships, family, love and death are so relatable. Although I'm not a high profile anything much less fashion promoter, I get her and I get a sense of her independence while having a professional support network around her. I appreciate Cutrone's for who she is, her evolution as a woman, and her chutzpah in putting it all out there.
I was rocked by "If You Have to Cry, Go Outside". Rocked. Period.
This book - although I greatly enjoyed it, it was a bit of an all over the place manifesto. I'd definitely recommend reading it, as Kelly - there's no other way to say it - kicks ass. But, this one reads like a series of blog entries put together in book form. I understand and was moved by everything - from Amma to her life challenges and even the death parties (which I agree with) along with finding your own true North. However, something just felt too - crammed into one.
Again, nice read. Ms. Cutrone rocks. But, get this book from the library rather than purchase.
I hate to say this, because I thought Kelly's first book -- If you Have to Cry, Go Outside -- was outstanding, but I found this book to be just tiring. It was basically an extended rant about all of the injustices in society today, and I jut got sick of reading it after a while.
I still love Kelly, but I wish there had been more positive messages in this book, instead of "this is why our world sucks" for chapter after chapter.
I don't recommend this book, unless you're really angry and discouraged and you want some company.