Underestimate Me Excerpt and Review

 

Underestimate Me – That’ll Be Fun

by Furiosa

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GENRE: Non-Fiction

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

This book is a collection of rants, opinions, and observations on random subjects that I scribbled while running away from and toward my true self.

I hope my words can show others that there is life after years of breaking rocks on society's conformity chain gang and that real empowerment is being yourself and not what others tell you that you should be. You cannot sit and read the book of your life as it unfolds. You must write the next page yourself. That is the way to growth and to peace and yes, you can be homesick for places you have never been.

Book description by my Inner voice: This is a chunk of at times incoherent ramblings on life and people one meets as they wander aimlessly on the internet and through the so-called real world... a shambolic, circumlocutious clustershtuck of a sometimes crap-infused, possibly drug-fuelled word salad.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Exclusive Excerpt

Inner Voice

If your inner voice had a face, you would punch it

It almost never shuts up

It chains you to a reality that is defined by someone else

It filters your beliefs

It keeps you in your limited safety zone

It keeps you uncomfortably comfortable in a state of inaction, but to grow and learn you have to step out of the comfort zone. You have to be uncomfortable and push past it. 

It is better to regret what you did than to regret what you didn’t do because you were afraid. If you aren’t afraid once in a while, you’re not challenging yourself and you’re not growing. 

Sometimes you have to shut off the voice in your head and listen to your heart. Do not let your inner voice talk to you in a manner you would not use with your loved ones in or in a way that you would not accept from someone else. 

Inner voice: I am reality, Sugar. Maybe they should learn to deal with reality.

Furiosa: Maybe they don’t want to be chained to a reality whose limits are set by someone else! We already covered this. Try to keep up, Sugar!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Review

If you have a crappy inner critic that needs a hot steaming cup of STFU, this book may provide the encouragement you need to help you make that cup for her. For decades, my own inner critic has continued doing the work of the bullies who made my life miserable in school. Only now that I am closing in on 60 years old have I been able to start shutting her down. I don't want to spend the rest of my life listening to the garbage opinions of such a miserable bitch, and this book reinforces my need to fight against my own self-limiting inner voice.

The author and I are alike in some ways but extremely different in others. She appreciates using profanity and snarkiness to shut down those who would place limits on us, including, and perhaps especially, that omnipresent Inner Ninny. I appreciate doing the same. She was raised Catholic, as was I. She likes music from bands like The Who, and that is my kind of music. I resonated with her on many of the things that she said.

The author has the courage to speak her mind. She talks about the ways in which modern "feminism" is undoing the work done during the second wave of feminism. I secretly declared myself a feminist in 1973 at eight years old after being told for the zillionth time about what girls "couldn't" do (anything fun or interesting) and having what girls are "supposed" to do reinforced. Basically, it boils down to "become a Stepford wife." I didn't know what a Stepford wife was when I was eight, but I knew what I didn't want out of life.

The author proudly wears Louboutin shoes and, at least in her promo photo, looks quite glamorous. I wear orthotic shoes and generally look like an unmade bed. I did insist on orthotic shoes that look like regular walking shoes. 

The only thing that I disliked about the book were the places where the author made what I feel are harmful generalizations about certain people. In one instance she mentions "women who sit home Saturday nights with their six cats, shoveling Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice cream straight from the bucket into their pie holes while complaining that there are no real men around anymore."

As someone who has lived through crippling depression and anxiety as well as sexual assault and who has been struggling with an eating disorder since I was twelve years old, I loathe this trope. I did have six cats at one point and I preferred their company to the company of men who were likely to abuse me because that was the kind of man I tended to attract. My self-esteem was extremely low and I had not yet learned to respect myself. Sometimes I starved myself and sometimes I binged. Someone who is doing that sort of thing isn't happy. 

Cats don't have anything to do with the eating disorder, PTSD, and self-loathing that I was dealing with. However, I do happen to like them better than I like people most of the time. I despise the "crazy cat lady" stereotype. The "crazy cat lady" is someone who is hurting badly and people should have sympathy for her.

When the author used the term "soy boy" I wondered what the heck that was. I thought maybe it was something similar to what I call a "wokebro," which is a guy who calls himself a feminist and then proceeds to scold women who speak out about their lived experiences. I also thought perhaps a "soy boy" might be a "Nice Guy (TM)",  a guy who pretends to be sympathetic to women so he can get in their pants. His true colors show when he gets "friend-zoned" and he starts calling the woman he was fixating on all manner of nasty names.

I learned that "soy boy" is a term meaning a man lacking any masculine qualities and this term tends to be popular with alt-right groups and incels, which left a bad taste in my mouth. I don't like reinforcing the idea that "effeminate" men should be targeted for bullying. "Soy boy" is a bit too close to "f*ggot" for my liking.

Overall, I appreciate the author's courage and the quality of her writing. I rate Underestimate Me four out of five stars.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Furiosa has been expressing her thoughts and ideas on paper, walls, and sidewalks since she could hold a crayon. Though she only recently published her first book, Underestimate Me. That’ll be Fun! She identifies as a bestselling author.  She wants you to know that being yourself is your superpower.  Furiosa loves autobiographies, classic old movies, all genres of music, chasing stars, and visiting far-flung places via roads less travelled.

CONNECT WITH Furiosa:

WEBSITE: https://furiosabooks.com/

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/people/Furiosa-Jones/100073421539012/

GOODREADS: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21918421.Furiosa

PURCHASE LINKS : Underestimate Me. That’ll Be Fun!

AMAZON.COM- https://amazon.com/dp/0228855225

BOOKSHOP-https://bookshop.org/books/underestimate-me-that-ll-be-fun-9780228855224/9780228855224

INDIGO CHAPTERS-https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/underestimate-me-thatll-be-fun/9780228855248-item.html

BARNES & NOBLE-

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/underestimate-me-thatll-be-fun-furiosa/1140324595

BOOK DEPOSITORY-https://www.bookdepository.com/Underestimate-Me-Thatll-Be-Fun-Furiosa/9780228855224

~~~~~~~~~~~~~