Girl, Stop Apologizing

Author: Rachel Hollis
Pages: 240
Overall: 5/5
Takeaways: 4.5/5 
Cheers Factor: 5/5
Pairing: I Ain’t Sorry - I think of the Beyonce song Sorry and I think it has a very similar vibe that Hollis was getting at with Sorry Not Sorry by Demi Lovato. This is one of my favorite juice combinations that I actually drink regularly. I put mine into a Starbucks to go cup and take it with me even. Also this is an alcohol free drink which is a nice change in pace. Hollis talks about taking responsibility for being healthy and making good decisions. Now I’m not saying this doesn’t have a lot of sugar, but everyone knows I have an obsession with juices.
Ingredients
3 ounces Pineapple Juice
2 ounces Cranberry Juice
1.5 ounces sparkling water
Ice

---

Instructions
Step One: Measure out ingredients
Step Two: Mix ingredients into a glass and enjoy

Take a Shot: Rachel Hollis started out as a blogger that has built her media business into a multi-million dollar company. She’s now a New York Times Best-Selling Author and she’s a badass. She talks about topics from excuses we need to stop telling ourselves to skills to start helping yourself. This one is great for a wide range of ages which makes it super awesome. 

I felt particularly inspired reading this book seeing as I’m sort of embarking on a similar journey. I started Cheers&Chapters officially 2 months ago and I’m still coming up with ideas every day about how I can add to the site and make it that much better. Hollis writes about her blogging experience that “in the absence of experience or knowledge, determination makes the difference between where you are and where you want to be”. That feels very relevant to my experience with this blog. I didn’t know anything about building a website, producing regular content or even starting to advertise my site to gain traffic. However, what I did know was that I loved reading, I loved making fun drinks to enjoy with my friends and I also had a support system that would help me to do whatever I put my mind to. That has helped me to stay determined in my journey here and to make Cheers&Chapters everything that I know it can be. 
I feel like Hollis and I would be good friends as a self proclaimed book nerd and oversharer. I read her book in tandem with the audiobook that I listened to. It was a great way to hear her voice as well as have the book in front of me to see what was actually being said. I really loved doing that and I feel like I may try to tandem read like this in the future. 
Hollis writes in a way that is inclusive to those who are in every walk of life. She connects to women in college, mothers, entrepreneurs, working moms, stay at home moms and all the combinations in between. It’s nice to read a book that offers advice that caters to everyone while being specific enough that it’s situationally applicable. This way that she writes is likely how she came to write 3 books in this genre thus far and has continued to grow her audience. This is probably the biggest thing I took away from this book was the versatility of her voice and the way that I myself am not a mother, but truly connected with what she was saying about her experience as a mother. It’s helpful to envision myself in those shoes when she speaks to all of her points.
The open honesty Hollis writes with is poignant and very fitting with her personal beliefs. That kind of honesty is scary, but brave as hell. Most people wouldn’t openly write that much personal information with the kind of platform that she has. It’s intimidating and can be scary because the world can be cruel and as people we keep our secrets buttoned up close. She’s so open even to be truthful about her divorce from her husband of 16 years just this summer which is commendable given her considerable platform. It’s nice to feel like someone is your friend opening up to you to tell you all their dirty laundry and that friend happens to be a badass momma bear entrepreneur who’s a New York Times bestselling author. I feel inspired to start implementing her advice into my own life and start living for myself as opposed to trying to live for others happiness and opinions.

“Shame is a focus on self, guilt is a focus on behavior.” - Brené Brown