Check out my review of The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer!
I don’t care who knows it – I love Amy Schumer. Beyond the fact that she’s talented, beautiful and hilarious, she’s also inspirational in the fact that she actively chooses to be authentically herself. She’s learned to laugh at herself, laugh at the media and stay grounded while acquiring fame. I love the movie Trainwreck and can relate to bits and pieces of her character. When I learned that she was writing a novel, to say that I was excited about it would be an understatement. I put it on hold on my library’s app ASAP and listened to Amy read the audio book in just one day.
She had me hooked at the introduction of her book, The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo, because her words sounded similar to what I would say if I were to ever write a book about myself. It was something along the lines of – “I appreciate you buying my book, but I apologize in advance for not really offering any sound advice. Here’s a bunch of random stories about my life.” She’s never anything but honest, and the short and sweet intro reflects that. Then she hit me with the title of the first chapter: An Open Letter to My Vagina. I knew I was going to love it.
The first part of the book was about sex in general, which I loved because she touched on the image that people have created of her and her sex life. I think when you get to a certain age, it’s common to adopt a IDGAF attitude, and I’m getting to that point. I’m starting to embrace who I am, recognize my flaws and accept them. I’m starting to dwindle my friend group down to people who proved they should be in my life, and I’m starting to not care about the reputation that other people have created for me. It’s so empowering to get to a point where you’re comfortable with who you are (for the most part), and I like that Amy expresses how the media has painted her to be this actively sexual being when in reality she just rotates the same few hilarious stories. She also touches on how it’s impossible for her to have emotionless sex, and I know there are many people out there who can relate to that.
Something I was surprised to learn about Amy is that she’s an introvert, and I love how she described being an introvert as wanting to spend the majority of your time alone and not being an awkward social recluse like most people believe introverts to be. Throughout the book, she shatters a lot of the assumptions that people often make about certain types and groups of people, and not in a harsh or demeaning way, but more of an educating way.
One thing that I’ve told people, and my friends can attest to this, is that I’d be a great rich person. I’ve never cared about brand names. I don’t know anything about make-up. I would probably spend my money on food and travel, just like I do now, and not $5,000 purses and even more expensive shoes. There’s a part of the book where Amy touches on being considered “new money,” meaning that you earned your money rather than inheriting it. There was a part of her childhood where her family struggled, but she didn’t realize they were struggling until she got older. This is something I can deeply relate to, and this was a part of the book that I especially appreciated. My favorite quote from the section was:
“I don’t believe that money changes your level of happiness, but things do get easier, and I feel great in the moments that I can help someone.”
Even though the intro for the book said she wouldn’t be offering any real advice, I beg to disagree. She actually offers pretty solid advice, particularly for women, about body issues and confidence. She talks about becoming a woman, and the moments that define that happening. She touches on how she used to love magazines, but one particular experience changed that in an instant. She made a powerful statement that I loved and think everyone should read over and over:
“I know my worth. I embrace my power. I say if I’m beautiful. I say if I’m strong. You will not determine my story; I will. I’ll speak and share and f*ck and love, and I will never apologize for it. I am amazing for you, not because of you. I am not who I sleep with. I am not my weight. I am not my mother. I am myself, and I am all of you.”
THINGS AMY AND I HAVE IN COMMON:
// Our first kisses were with redheads.
// She appreciates the hottness of Ryan Gosling (okay so we have this in common with most people).
// She doesn’t like rollercoasters that spin you around or take you upside-down.
// We’ve both worked at summer camp.
// Her favorite purchase is her bed.
// We’ve both been skydiving.
// We have irrational fears.
// When we get drunk, we become gluttonous.
// We love pasta and wine (YAS, girl).
A FEW OF MY FAVORITE QUOTES:
“When can I leave so I can eat pasta?”
“For anyone to become good at something, they have to fail a lot too. And they have to be completely unafraid to fail or they’ll never make it to the next level.”
“It’s hard to be in the company of others for very long when being creative.” (I think a lot of my blog friends can relate to this one!)
“As women, we relive our fears all the time.”
“I’ve broken hearts and had mine broken too. Beautiful, ugly, funny, boring, smart or not, my vulnerability is my ultimate strength.”
I give The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo a 5 out of 5. Even though Amy Schumer is one hilarious human, her huge heart and caring attitude shines throughout the novel. She reads entries from her old diaries, talks about getting caught shoplifting, discusses her love of wine, pasta and private jets and her rollercoaster of a ride to getting where she is today, but she also touches on the lessons she learned from working at a special needs camp, the unexpected experience she had when losing her virginity, gun control facts she learned after the shooting at a viewing of her movie in Lafayette and abusive relationships. This book made me love Amy so much more, and I can’t recommend it enough.
