Brilliant Storytelling

I cannot believe I failed to pre-order this book. I follow Ms. Wilson on Twitter and knew the book was coming out this week. I’ve been very excited to read it because I know she is a great storyteller and writer. I figured it would be insightful and entertaining, and even though my to-be-read pile is absurd at the moment, I bought this yesterday and started reading it immediately.

It did not disappoint.

Ms. Wilson is an extraordinarily talented storyteller. In this collection of essays, she shares many deeply personal stories about her time not just as a child actor (which is how many people likely know about her) but as an adolescent and young adult. Her stories are relatable even to people who haven’t experienced the exact same challenges she has – such as losing her mother as a young girl, or going through puberty after being a well-known child actor.

I found myself giggling quite a bit, and also tearing up a few times. I also got very excited about the essays that talked about show choir, because choir factored very heavily in my high school days. But I think what is sticking with me most is how sincere and kind the writing is. Ms. Wilson doesn’t use sarcasm at all. As someone who is overly sarcastic and intentionally (and unintentionally) snarky, it’s lovely to read such engaging writing that doesn’t need to rely on any of that.

I could write more, but honestly I’d rather just enjoy what I got out of each of these essays, and simply say that I hope you’ll read this book and experience the joy of it for yourself, in your own way.