Life is not supposed to overwhelm you at all times. Life isn’t meant to be merely survived—it’s meant to be lived.” I was anxious but cautious when starting this book, as I've heard a lot about it. My opinion is probably pretty unpopular, but I could hardly wait to be done with it. Our society makes plenty of room for complacency or laziness; we’re rarely surrounded by accountability.” Rachel's truth is poignant, it is devastating, and it is healing. Her honesty is admirable. And she reminds us that we are the captains of our own ship. What we do and where we go is our choice. It's up to us. Why do we feel we need permission, even if that permission is from someone we don't know? Because of LIES. Lies we've been told and lives we've told ourselves.

What if life isn’t happening to you? What if the hard stuff, the amazing stuff, the love, the joy, the hope, the fear, the weird stuff, the funny stuff, the stuff that takes you so low you’re lying on the floor crying and thinking, How did I get here? . . . What if none of it is happening to you? What if all of it is happening for you? It’s all about perception, you guys. Perception means we don’t see things as they are; we see things as we are. Take a burning house. To a fireman, a burning house is a job to do—maybe even his life’s work or mission. For an arsonist? A burning house is something exciting and good. What if it’s your house? What if it’s your family who’s standing outside watching every earthly possession you own burning up? That burning house becomes something else entirely. You don’t see things as they are; you see things through the lens of what you think and feel and believe. Perception is reality, and I’m here to tell you that your reality is colored much more by your past experiences than by what is actually happening to you. If your past tells you that nothing ever works out, that life is against you, and that you’ll never succeed, then how likely are you to keep fighting for something you want? Or, on the flip side, if you quit accepting no as the end of the conversation whenever you run up against opposition, you can shift your perception and fundamentally reshape your entire life.” This book is for privileged white women with no real problems but the ones they make up for themselves. I was told this book was “inspiring”. But let’s be real, it’s easy for a rich lady to tell me (or anyone) that I’m “in control of my own life”. Any woman with a husband who makes enough money that you find yourself on the red carpet can say that. I found this book to be very unrelatable and full of humble brags. It was like social media in book form. This is the deepest and most pervasive lie that coils its way around the book like a python choking its prey. Girl, get ahold of your life. Stop medicating, stop hiding out, stop being afraid, stop giving away pieces of yourself, stop saying you can’t do it. Stop the negative self-talk, stop abusing your body, stop putting it off for tomorrow or Monday or next year. Stop crying about what happened and take control of what happens next. Get up, right now. Rise up from where you’ve been, scrub away the tears and the pain of yesterday, and start again . . . Girl, wash your face!” Ok, maybe I’m the wrong audience for this. Or maybe I shouldn’t have chosen the audiobook narrated by the author. But I just couldn’t finish this

Girl, Wash Your Face is a refreshing, enlightening read about women power, stripped bare with layers of lies, clothed anew with life's sunshine. Recognizing the lies we've come to accept about ourselves is the key to growing into a better version of ourselves.❞ Two reads completed, several passages highlighted, and a whole new perspective on life and the pursuit of happiness. :) You are in charge of your own life, sister, and there’s not one thing in it that you’re not allowing to be there,” Hollis writes. But Hollis’s glibness makes clear that her “sisters” are only such if they look like her, share her padded bank account (and her priorities), and don’t venture too far into the real and wrenching difficulties of life.

Someone can hold to false premises and still land on truth from time to time. Should we take care of our bodies and our hearts? Should we set goals and work hard to accomplish them? Of course. But as Christians, the why and the how are crucial. Jesus never called us to chase after power, money, and fame; he calls us to follow him. “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matt. 10:39). ​Lie 3: Religious Pluralism Is TrueWow. In all my years, I've never read such an atrocity before.. What exactly was the hype about!? A whiny woman who contradicts herself over and over again??? Someone else’s opinion of you is none of your business.” Let me say that again for the people in the cheap seats.” Rachel gives many more of these "Feeling unhappy? Just stop!" types of platitudes throughout the chapters, and they build up frustratingly.