Get ready for an enriching story of a young woman and a history lesson about Eleanor Roosevelt.
I have to admit, I had this book for a while, and I never got around to read it because always something else got in the way. Luckily, I have read it to the exact right time and it resonated so much with me that it gets a place on my blog.
The book is a memoir of Noelle Hancock, who writes in the first person about a year where she attempted to conquer all her fears following a little crisis - initially inspired by the quote "Do one thing every day that scares you". It's also the year before she turns 30 (just like me!).
The book is beautifully written, she interweaves details about Eleanor Roosevelt's biography with the storyline and actively puts Eleanor's advice into action. She also listens to herself and rediscovers herself, her values and her goals. Especially the topic of overcoming worries and fears resonated a lot with me and inspired myself to be a little more courageous. Mixed with humour and hilarious occurrences of her life in New York, it was a very enjoyable book. Sometimes superficial glimpses of a "New-York-Manhattan-gossip-gloss-magazine-world" come to light which I personally cannot identify with, however, her honest portrayal of her experiences of her year made up for this.
In the course of a year Noelle swims with sharks, sings karaoke, jumps out of a plane, performs stand-up comedy, meets her exes, tries tap dance, runs down hallways naked and even climbs Mount Kilimanjaro - basically a wild mix of very scary things. She overcomes her fears and finds that she actually enjoys her life and all the things it bears, turning fear into excitement of what's to come next.
It is also a tribute to Eleanor Roosevelt's wisdom and advice, how she still influences us today and how timeless her words are. Noelle Hancock carries this forth with her own experiences.
Some people might find it too much of a "do this for a year and write a book thing" but I recommend reading it. It was enjoyable, enriching (who'd knew you could do so many scary things in a year!) and hilarious.
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