Main takeaways
I picked this book up at the library intrigued by the title. The book ended up captivating me not because I wanted to “solve” perfectionistic parts of me but because of insights on how to write about vulnerability. She very skillfully evokes scenes through stream of consciousness thoughts and connects the scenes of her life to illustrate how she came to be who she was.
Memorable stories
- How Elizabeth tells the story of how her mother didn’t want to hold her. The recounting of this conversation is itself fractured/interrupted across sections of Part 1.
- Her mother’s relationship with Elizabeth’s aunt and how differences in her character revealed a lot about her mother
- How her father and mother never seemed to be more in love than when they were designing their new house
- How the design of the new house and looking out at the empty lot where it would be built revealed to Elizabeth her mother’s perfectionism
- Elizabeth’s violin teacher