Hannah Hart

The wildly popular YouTube personality and author of the New York Times bestseller My Drunk Kitchen is back! This time, she’s stirring up memories and tales from her past. By combing through the journals that Hannah has kept for much of her life, this collection of narrative essays deliver a fuller picture of her life, her experiences, and the things she’s figured out about family, faith, love, sexuality, self-worth, friendship and fame. Revealing what makes Hannah tick, this sometimes cringe-worthy, poignant collection of stories is sure to deliver plenty of Hannah’s wit and wisdom, and hopefully encourage you to try your hand at her patented brand of reckless optimism. Personal note: Hello, my darlings! I am incredibly pleased to present BUFFERING: Unshared Tales of a Life Fully Loaded! As a big fan of memoirs, I wanted to try my hand at writing about the events of my life that deserve a little more consideration than can be accomplished in 140-characters or a 6-minute vlog. Now on the cusp of turning 30, I'm ready to expose some parts of my life that I haven't shared before. Before, it was all about privacy, process and time. And now the time has come! I’m ready to put myself out there, for you. I'm a little nervous about all these vulnerable words going into the world, these tales about my love life, the wrestling I’ve done with faith, how I feel about sex and my family and myself. I’ve had a lot of trials, a lot of errors, but also a lot of passion. Here’s the thing--I've always found comfort in the stories shared by others, so I hope my stories, now that I feel ready to tell them, will bring you some comfort too. And when you read this book please remember: Buffering is just the time it takes to process. Enjoy! Love, Hannah

Unshared Tales of a Life Fully Loaded

Buffering

Moth

This book was NOTHING like I expected it to be. And yet, it was exactly what I needed it to be. I've loved Hannah Hart for a while now. She's a generally amazing person. So I jumped at the chance to read this book and have it my first review for this new feature I'm adding now that summer is done - to share women authors and reviews for them for their soon to be releases. 

And I'm happy I chose Hannah's book to start with. For starters, this book's introduction thing is done by none other than Jenny Lawson, who is one of my favourite authors. Funny AND is a huge advocate to get awareness of mental illness out there. I didn't get that connection at first. I just assumed they were friends for being funny ladies.

But Hannah starts this book out with a warning. And this is my warning - this book deals heavily with mental illness, neglect, self-harm, ect. Because that's Hannah's true story, the story she hasn't told until now. It runs in her family and in her. Yes, it tells us the things we do know about Hannah - she's gay, she's awesome, she's caring, she's funny. But this book tells us why. It shows and shares her heart.

I don't want to spoil things about this book. I think it's better to go into this book without that, like I did. It leaves a bigger impression in my opinion. But I will say I found it well written and a bit addicting. Hannah's book was the first time I saw my own mental illness actually acknowledged and left me crying. Although she wasn't the one who shares it with me, the way she described it was dead on and left me feeling less alone. Her own struggles also hit home. I related to her more than I thought I ever could. She knows just how to write mental illness without it being harsh. It was a joy to read. And it made Hannah human, not just some Youtube star that seems nice enough, but who knows if she really is. If she's like she is in her own book, I feel like I said bye to a good friend by the end of it.

Gillian Rose

I've been a fan of Hannah's for almost a decade. Because of this, I already knew some pieces of her life. I was impressed by the vulnerability here and that I could definitely hear her voice with every story. It's inspiring to see someone who went through such trauma growing up to become such an optimistic person and finding her own way.

Fiona Coffey

I've been watching Hannah's videos ever since I discovered YouTube in 2011... I think I was about 14 or 15, and I remember my cousin first showed her to me. "Have you ever seen my drunk kitchen? It's this really funny girl who gets drunk and cooks things and films it?" We watched whatever videos Hannah had out then, and I've continued to watch ever since. It wasn't long though, before I realized that My Drunk Kitchen was about so much more than drunk cooking, and that Harto was about so much more than My Drunk Kitchen. After reading this book I know that Hannah Hart is so much more than her YouTube channel. 

Hannah Has always been an inspiration to me, with her reckless optimism and her ability to prevail through so many difficult challenges. She's opened up to the world on her YouTube channel. She's honest about her feelings, and she's a huge role model for those in the LGBTQIA+ community. Hannah's acceptance for herself and her reassurance that it's okay to not understand yourself or accept yourself yet helped me reach my own acceptance and understanding. The other day I read an article about how Hannah is making it cool to be kind again and my heart swelled, because Hannah is helping to create the world that I want to live in, and showing that anyone can help to create that world. 

Hannah's book spoke to me in many personal ways. When you read it, it feels like she's speaking to you as a friend, and like the emotion that she put into her short essays soaked into the page. I absolutely loved Buffering and I admire Hannah's bravery for putting herself out there and not being afraid to share her past with the world. Or maybe being afraid but doing it anyways. 

There's so much more that I could write, but I should probably stop here. I don't know if anyone will read this review but if you've made it this far, thanks. 

I recommend this book to anyone recklessly optimistic, or anyone who watches @harto on YouTube and wants to reach a deeper understanding of the wonderful human that is Hannah Hart.

Amanda Wells

More than usual, I just want to say "Oh Hannah!" and hug her tight - because this book is so honest. Hannah has gone through a lot in her 30 years, and yet she's resiliently (stubbornly?) a positive force in this world. 

The only reason I haven't given this 5 stars is that I thought the writing could have been geared more towards the medium of a book. It reads as a conversation, or the script to a video - which makes sense! And I can absolutely hear her voice as I read, but I wished for a little bit more. That little bit more that you can get when you go deep with written words.

That little tiny thing aside, I am so grateful that Hannah wrote this book. I feel it will give people space to think more compassionately and complexly about their lives and the lives of others. Especially in regards to people like her mother, whom we too often see as too hard to help.

Luisina Rivoira

Heartfelt, honest, and hilarious. Just what you'd want and expect from Hannah! Not to mention my heart broke about a million different times.
Follow your Harto!

Caitlin Berger

You. Must. Read. This. Book.
What a life Hannah Hart has lived. Her writing is so touching and human. She is brave and intelligent and passionate and I think her story is worth reading about. Human to the core. A must-read.

Buffering Unshared Tales of a Life Fully Loaded

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