Over the Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love

Over the Top: A Raw Journey to Self-LoveOver the Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love by Jonathan Van Ness

I went into this book expecting it to be amazing and bubbly and positive, and there were definitely moments of that. But there was also a lot of really tough stuff. Jonathan is incredibly candid about his journey so far, and the bumps along the way, that have brought him where he is now.

As far as writing goes, the book is not 100% linear, and instead chooses important bits in a certain order to help frame something of a narrative and connect important, formative moments from his life together. It is also written in JVN's storytelling voice, to the point where I had to reread a couple passages in his voice in order to really understand them because my internal reading voice was not cutting it. (I imagine the audio book would be terrific for this reason.)

As far as insight, this book provided a clear perspective into what it can be like to grow up gay in a small midwestern town, as well as the fallout that can happen from living that childhood experience. From his early love of ice skating & gymnastics to his childhood family system, to going to cosmetology school, and eventually making it onto Queer Eye and becoming an overnight celebrity, and along the way vulnerably sharing personal struggles & victories, Jonathan's journey is worth reading and understanding. So that (1) we can know it does get better, AND (2) there's still a lot we can do to continue making it better.

"Just because we mess up doesn’t mean all the lessons we learned are undone. Healing can be imperfect."
"Being a fulfilled and successful adult has required accepting that I do have an inner child who was hurt and traumatized. It’s my job as an adult to nurture him, alongside all the other parts of me that make me who I am.”
“So I’m telling my story - the whole story - to show that some masterpieces start off a mess.” 

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