Synopsis
Jacquelyn Phillips hated herself. She sabotaged everything she did before she even started. Her upbringing was toxic. Her marriage was crumbling. Her friendships were built on deception. She tried to kill herself.
She is unique, but she might be just like you.
In this incredibly honest, raw, and real memoir, Phillips reveals how she faced the origins of self-hatred turning them into self-love. She describes how she dealt with childhood trauma and rewrote her upbringing. She works past the lies to rebuild the foundation of her marriage. She shows how she fought the patriarchy and won.
Phillips had too much damage not to need some kind of help. But conventional doctors and therapies didn’t help. Their patriarchal approach rubbed the wrong way on still raw wounds. She fought it all. She found a way to exist, pain free, physically and mentally.
On all fronts—Phillips made the choice to put in the hard work herself. She found happiness through making choices that gave her control. Most of it made her feel uncomfortable, putting her in awkward situations. Most of it scared her. But, as she shows in Comfortably Uncomfortable, that hard work is worth every minute.
Raw, real and honest.
A book that guides you to face off with your fears and issues and gets into the dark places inside of you, shining a light for you on your journey of self-discovery.
Jacquelyn Phillips has ripped open her soul for all to see in this wonderfully written book. She delves into ALL OF HER ISSUES, showing us how they had crept upon her, how she had avoided owning them, and then how she faced them and finally started working through them.
Jacquelyn discusses the various treatments she has undergone over the years, detailing her opinion on whether they are effective or not. This, for me, was very refreshing. Many books of this genre will suggest a certain treatment, but rarely do you hear if the treatment is a waste of time. Obviously this is the author’s viewpoint and will not reflect everyone, but for me, I think her honesty is much needed in this field.
Throughout the book Jacquelyn references her relationship with her Mom. This pulled-back the curtain view into their personal lives is heartbreaking at times, but also offers hope to people who struggle with toxic family relationships.
The book is in three parts. The first part is all about Jacquelyn opening up Pandora’s Box getting all of her troubles and issues out into the open. This section may be uncomfortable reading, but it is absolutely necessary for us to understand how the next two parts work.
Part Two is all about the clean up phase. Here she shares the letters she wrote to her parents as part of her healing process. Those letters are raw and emotive, and they certainly don’t make for easy reading. But there is something beautiful in her words that leave you feeling the release and relief.
Part Three is all about turning pain into power. As someone who has a chronic illness, Jacquelyn has not only used her emotional pain to push her on, but her physical pain too. This is not the sort of book that preaches, it’s aimed at guiding the reader to find their self worth.
Given the difficult topics discussed in this book, I wasn’t sure if I would actually enjoy reading it. But I was surprised to find that this was a book I actually did enjoy reading.
I found this book inspirational and would recommend it.
I review for numerous organisations, including netgalley. I love reading just about anything and everything.
