“By starving myself into society’s beauty ideal, I had compromised my success, my independence, and my quality of life. Being overweight was really no different. It was just the “f— you” response to the same pressure. I was still responding to the pressure to comply to the fashion industry’s standards of beauty, just in the negative sense. I was still answering to their demands when really I shouldn’t have been listening to them at all. The images of stick-thin prepubescent girls never should have had power over me. I should’ve had my sights set on successful businesswomen and successful female artists, authors, and politicians to emulate. Instead I stupidly and pointlessly just wanted to be considered pretty. I squandered my brain and my talent to squeeze into a size 2 dress while my male counterparts went to work on making money, making policy, making a difference.”
― Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain
― Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain
“Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.”
― The Fault in Our Stars
― The Fault in Our Stars
“Recovery feels like shit. It didn't feel like I was doing something good; it felt like I was giving up. It feels like having to learn how to walk all over again.”
― Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain
― Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain
“There's a fine line between being private and being ashamed.”
― Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain
― Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain
“And I somehow always felt less lonely when I was completely alone.”
― Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain
― Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain
Hadley’s 2024 Year in Books
Take a look at Hadley’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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