Title: Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies about Who You Are So You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be
Author: Rachel Hollis
Audiobook read by: Rachel Hollis
Audiobook publisher: Thomas Nelson
Audiobook duration: 07:04:37
Rating: ★★★☆☆ (Just OK)
Review:
Wow, what a long title! But do not let that be the reason you pass on this book. After all, the title accurately describes the set-up of the book. Each chapter is structured around a lie that Rachel used to believe and how she overcame it. While this book is published as a self-help book, I like to think of it more as an autobiography since I do not relate to some of the issues she faced as a rich, white, and religious woman. However, I did enjoy learning about her background and her perspectives on juggling four children and a successful event planning business.
There are two main reasons why I did not like this book as much as I would have liked to: the Christian references and her relationship with her husband. Rachel was upfront that this book was published by a Christian publisher. While she did not excessively repeat bible verses, she did make outlandish comments such as how porn and premarital sex are bad. I also thought the timing of some of her religious phrases seemed out of place, as if she sprinkled them in for quota purposes. While I found the religious references annoying and ingenuine, her story about her husband made me pause the audiobook for days.
Spoiler alert - do not continue reading if you hate spoilers!
She described the emotional abuse her husband, then boyfriend, put her through. He would invite her to bars so she could watch him flirt with other women. He got upset at her when she told people at a party that he was her boyfriend. She gave up her virginity to him in hope that he would not break up with her, but he still did. The list of abuses just goes on. She finally gathered up the courage and self-respect to tell him to stop contacting her, and he shows up at her doorstep the next day begging her to take him back. And guess what… she did! Ugh, come on!
She knew readers would be upset because she made the disclaimer that most relationships like the one she described would never work. While I am happy that she was able to smooth things over with her husband, I do find it unbelievable that a person can change his mentality and behavior so drastically overnight.
Despite the aforementioned negative aspects of the book, I still thought it was interesting and funny enough to finish. Rachel narrates the audiobook, and she has a slight lisp that is not noticeable if you listen to your audiobook at 1.5x speed or faster. I would definitely recommend the audiobook because she did a great job making the listeners feel like she is their BFF, sharing stories and giving advice.
Notable Quotes:
- “Someone else’s opinion of you is none of your business.”
- “Have you ever made fun of someone else? Have you ever pointed your finger in their direction and ignored the three other fingers on your hand pointing back at you?”
- “Friends, it’s not about the goal or the dream you have. It’s about who you become on your way to that goal.”
- “Life is not supposed to overwhelm you at all times. Life isn’t meant to be merely survived—it’s meant to be lived.”
- “Comparison is the death of joy, and the only person you need to be better than is the one you were yesterday.”
- “You must choose to be happy, grateful, and fulfilled. If you make that choice every single day, regardless of where you are or what’s happening, you will be happy.”
- “I cannot continue to live as half of myself simply because it’s hard for others to handle all of me.”
- “You, and only you, are ultimately responsible for who you become and how happy you are.”