I wanted to be able to choose just. one. essay. from Pandora Sykes’ “How Do We Know We’re Doing It Right” — one of my favorite or the one reason you should absolutely buy and read this book. As I read, I realized I couldn’t choose one. Sure, there are a few that REALLY resonated more with me or one or two that I didn’t like as much…but that would be splitting hairs.
“Am I doing this right?” is a question I always ask myself.
“What do you mean by ‘this’?” you might ask (if we were in conversation and you weren’t just reading a social media post).
“This,” I’d answer and probably wave my hands all around. “This day, this recipe, this yoga pose, this eating plan and workout regimen, this app, this infuriating Wordle game, this LIFE!”
This book had me nodding along, talking to Pandora (mostly in agreement, sometimes with follow-up questions…and no, I don’t know her), and adding books to my BOOKS wish list on Amazon and bookmarking articles on the internet as she referenced them. I also messaged photos of the book with a recommendation to read (plus an Amazon link) to several (female) friends that the book made me think of as I read (but DO NOT ASSUME I’m saying this book is only for women!).
As I said, I wanted to be able to choose just. one. essay. but I couldn’t. But since you asked (I know you didn’t), I had to go back and reread a few and then count the number of pages I’d dog-eared (yes, I do that) for the most popular one(s). I’ve settled on:
‘Work to Get Happy’
‘Relentless Pleasure’
‘The Authentic Lie’
‘The Raw Nerve’
WAIT. I take it back. Upon further reflection, ‘The Raw Nerve,’ the final essay in the book, is my favorite. I just read it again to be sure. Buy the book for ‘The Raw Nerve’ — jump up and down, raise your hands and scream in agreement, and then simply enjoy every other chapter.
And now, I’ll save you the trouble of looking it up for yourself since I know you’ll be adding it to your own list — here you go, you can buy it here.
