Name: Simply More
Rating: 3 (3 reviews)

Cynthia Erivo

Simply More

Cynthia Erivo is an incredible person and she has many talents, but writing books does not seem to be one of them. This book feels half-baked and unnecessary, the result of someone saying, "We love your work, would you be interested in writing a book?" rather than a genuine desire to write.

The book is structured in three parts: the three stages of running a marathon. Sports and athleticism metaphors are massively overdone, especially in the self-help book space, and it feels unnecessary and lazy. There's also a moment when another athleticism metaphor gets shoehorned in, namely mountain climbing: 

"What I have learned is that when you think you have passed the final test, another one may be around the next corner. Mountaineers experience this all the time, reaching false summits before the final peak. Don't give up. Don't be surprised, just buckle down. You've got this."

I don't know if it would have been possible to fit any more platitudes in this paragraph. "Success is like climbing a mountain" (not an actual quote in the book, thank god) is the most trite, hackneyed bullshit you could possibly put in a self-helpoir (mem-help?), and it's just sad.

The book fails at being a memoir because it does not examine any life events in great enough detail for the reader to feel connected to Erivo (all emotional beats feel rushed), and it fails at being a self-help book because it has nothing new or unique to say. 

I think the aspirational, self-help content of the book would have been better as a magazine article, and I think the memoir aspect would have been better a few more years down the line, once there's more to reflect on.

Beautiful cover, lovely person, unnecessary book. It's simply nothing.

Jonnie

Cynthia Erivo is an incredible person and she has many talents, but writing books does not seem to be one of them. This book feels half-baked and unnecessary, the result of someone saying, "We love your work, would you be interested in writing a book?" rather than a genuine desire to write.

The book is structured in three parts: the three stages of running a marathon. Sports and athleticism metaphors are massively overdone, especially in the self-help book space, and it feels unnecessary and lazy. There's also a moment when another athleticism metaphor gets shoehorned in, namely mountain climbing: 

"What I have learned is that when you think you have passed the final test, another one may be around the next corner. Mountaineers experience this all the time, reaching false summits before the final peak. Don't give up. Don't be surprised, just buckle down. You've got this."

I don't know if it would have been possible to fit any more platitudes in this paragraph. "Success is like climbing a mountain" (not an actual quote in the book, thank god) is the most trite, hackneyed bullshit you could possibly put in a self-helpoir (mem-help?), and it's just sad.

The book fails at being a memoir because it does not examine any life events in great enough detail for the reader to feel connected to Erivo (all emotional beats feel rushed), and it fails at being a self-help book because it has nothing new or unique to say. 

I think the aspirational, self-help content of the book would have been better as a magazine article, and I think the memoir aspect would have been better a few more years down the line, once there's more to reflect on.

Beautiful cover, lovely person, unnecessary book. It's simply nothing.

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In this vulnerable and enlightening book of life lessons, globally renowned performer Cynthia Erivo draws from her singular experience to show us how to embrace being “too much” and to live up to the fullest iteration of ourselves. It is never too late to build the life you’re seeking. Cynthia Erivo learned the music to Wicked a decade before she needed it, not knowing those same lyrics would change her life. Now she has performed those songs on the world stage, showing us there is always time to keep discovering ourselves. And to illustrate that it’s often the parts of ourselves we are told to bury that make us shine. In a series of powerful, personal vignettes, Cynthia reflects on the ways she has grown as an actor and human and the practices she’s learned over years of performing and reminds us all we are capable of so much more than we think. We all have hopes and dreams that we want to bring across the finish line. We all falter and take missteps. In this book, Cynthia draws from her experiences running marathons, both real and metaphorical, onstage and onscreen, to show how each challenge can help us. She urges readers to lean into the wisdom of their bodies, to understand and strive for a physical and mental balance. Because when we chase our deepest desires, each small step leads us closer to where we want to go.

Simply More

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