Book Review: break your glass slippers by Amanda Lovelace (you are your own fairy tale #1)

I first “met” Amanda Lovelace in book form. This book was the first time I heard her voice – and it made a powerful read even more so for me… I think the decision to have her read her own work was an inspired one. There is no way a voice actor, regardless of how talented, could ring true quite the way she does. She reads like she’s telling you a story, and it resonates.

I actually read the second in this series before listening to this one (you don’t have to read them in order), so was familiar with the flow of the pieces and the different presentation formats (the call-and-response type “XX says” in response to a “citation” from a specified point of view, the storybook narrative component, the confessional bits). I think that helped me feel the coherency of the entire thing in a different way than if I’d listened alone. Not to say that you have to read it/see it first, just that – for me – this visualization helped me keep things organized in my head while I listened in a way that I liked.

The pieces themselves are moving and powerful and lovely. She has a magical way of capturing even the darkest moments and making their painful truth ring with a lyrical tenor that I find incredible. If you aren’t familiar with her work, you really should try it. I’m not normally one for confessional pieces or pain-riddled memoirs, but there’s something moving about her use of language that I really respond to.

I’m a long-time fan of Amanda Lovelace. Her ability to relate complex, difficult, emotional issues through prose is phenomenal. I love the truth and depth of her voice and am always impressed at the way she manages to turn horrible experiences into moving lessons with positive messages of hope…

This was another wonderful collection – although I found it to feel a bit more disjointed between parts than her previous works. This one felt like two books put together in one binding, whereas the others (the other in this series and her “Women are Some Kind of Magic” and “Things that H(a)unt” series) felt a little more cohesive to me. I still enjoyed her writings and thoughts immensely, so it didn’t matter. But it did feel a little less like a narrative told through prose and more like a series of pieces that moved in complementary directions…

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my obligation-free review copy.