bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Be Awesome: Modern Life for Modern Ladies 
by Hadley Freeman
Fourth Estate
Hadley Freeman's book seems designed to bolster younger women: to reveal where life's pitfalls and pratfalls may lie, to point out how sexism holds them back and to reassure that every one of us makes mistakes and that's all right.
Freeman is a successful columnist, and this shows in Be Awesome, which is less of a story than a series of articles, some written in parody style - such as a women's magazine celebrity interview - and others in list form.
Most of the lists are at the end of the book and contain suggestions for books to read and films to watch (and avoid). There's also a selection of admirable women.
Freeman's target audience is busy women, and a book designed as a dip-in can be an asset. Sometimes, though, Be Awesome's scattershot approach can make you feel as though you're reading a notebook rather than a book-book. She is a charming companion, a warm writer with clever attitudes who understands that comedy is often the best way to make a serious point. Occasionally, however, I wanted more depth, less sparkle.
Freeman doesn't want to go too close to home either: she refuses to reveal too many details about her life. In a chapter on eating disorders, where she talks briefly about her own difficulties with anorexia, she writes: "I don't believe personal experience imbues one with expertise … I try to avoid talking about it altogether, mainly because I hope that I have something more to offer than my history."
This is a political point as well as a personal one: women are often encouraged to write about their own lives, especially their love lives, as though they can't have an opinion on anything unless they've been through it themselves.
Be Awesome is a delight to read, but if I were her agent, I would tell Freeman to write a novel. After all, the easiest way to rid yourself of any inhibitions over revealing your personal life is to disguise it as somebody else's.
Guardian News & Media


Book review: Be Awesome: Modern Life for Modern Ladies, by Hadley Freeman

Lifestyle

Culture

Books

Hadley Freeman's book seems designed to bolster younger women: to reveal where life's pitfalls and pratfalls may lie, to point out how sexism holds them back and to reassure that every one of us makes mistakes and that's all right.
