Dear Ariel Levy, author of The Rules Do Not Apply

Dear Ariel Levy,

Many years ago, I read and enjoyed your first book, Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture. For some reason, I didn't make the connection between the your books until I was listening to you read your memoir, The Rules Do Not Apply. Granted, the books are very different, and I read them thirteen years apart. I wasn't even tracking my reading in 2005. Still: knowing you wrote both of these very different, thought-provoking books makes it clear I will be in line to read any book you write.

I'm so glad you narrated The Rules Do Not Apply. It's such a personal story, and I can't imagine anyone else capturing the emotion, insight and thoughtfulness. Listening to this audiobook made me feel so close to you. When I decided The Rules Do Not Apply would be my next audiobook, I didn't know one of the themes of the book would be your international travel. It was such a happy accident for me, as I listened to it while I'm traveling in Thailand for work, without my family. To even compare our travels seems absurd to me, as so much of your book is about losing your child and your spouse. You write beautifully and thoughtfully about those losses. Mercifully, I do not know that experience. An experience I know well, however, is negotiating who I am, both as an individual and in relation to those whom I most love, and I love reading and thinking about how other people, but in particular women, navigate these identities.

I listened to this book in less than twenty-four hours. It will stick with me, and it will also remind me of my time in Thailand. I'm so appreciative of this book, and I will be thinking about it for a long time. Thank you for sharing your experiences so beautifully and for giving me the groundwork to think about mine in new ways.

Fondly,
Nomadreader

Rating: 4 out of 5
Length: 224 pages (4 hours 53 minutes)
Publication date: March 14, 2017
Source: library

Want to read for yourself? Buy The Rules Do Not Apply from Amazon. I recommend it on audio.

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