Lena Dunham is a writer, actress, producer and director. And she is only 30!! Most known for enriching women's lives everywhere with 'Girls'. An HBO series which follow's the life of Hannah (Dunham) an aspiring writer who is trying to navigate through her twenties along side her three best friends. The show tackles a multitude of societies issues which makes it shockingly honest and some times fairly dark. There is just the right amount of humour within the show to make it an entertaining and an unmissable weekly indulgence. Following on from the success of the show Dunham has been nominated for numerous Emmy awards and won 2 Golden globes. She is also the first woman to win the directors guild of America award - outstanding directing comedy series. Fist pump! Not that kind of girl is Dunhams first book and is a collection of essays centre around five key themes within her life. Love and Sex, Work, Body, Friendship and Big Picture. Her stories are deeply personal, such as when she lost her virginity, or the time she was sexually assaulted while high on a mixture of Xanax and cocaine. In contrast her mindless lists such as 18 unlikely things I've said flirtatiously "I'm the kind of person who should probably date older guys, but I can't deal with their balls" and 13 things I've learned are not okay to say to friends "she's chubby in a different way than we are" are light easy giggle worthy reading. She tackles issues that women can relate to. Her journey of menstruation and being diagnosed with endometriosis, with the painful realisation that motherhood may not be a given. Her battles with weight and diet. Sharing an old food journal that resulted in her binge eating and consuming over 4000 calories in a single day. She addresses sexism and sexual harassment in the workplace. Withholding names of the perpetrators but exposing the ugly underbelly of Hollywood and the men who run it. Not that kind of girl has received rave reviews and harsh criticism. It's not a book you compare much against. Was her top 10 health concerns groundbreaking? Far from it. A lot of the writing could be seen as self indulgent and a fair bit of overshare. But on the other hand it's refreshingly exposing warts and all about the trials and tribulations of any ones life. She's a voice for all 20-30 something women and it's empowering. If your looking for a read that's funny, thought provoking, controversial, light hearted, high brow, low brow, confronting and historical, your being ridiculously picky and need to get out more but I think this might be the book for you! Since Not that kind of girl was published Lena and Girls showrunner Jennifer Konner have gone on to write an online feminist newsletter called Lenny Letter. If your inspired by Dunhams underlining message it might also be worth a read here.
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