Emilie Pine

"In this vivid and powerful collection of essays, Emilie Pine writes about all the things she shouldn't say."--Page 4 of cover.

Notes to Self

The extraordinary #1 bestseller - a word-of-mouth literary phenomenon 'Do not read this book in public: it will make you cry' Anne Enright 'Every line pulses with the pain and joy and complexity of an extraordinary life' Mark O'Connell 'I am afraid of being the disruptive woman. And of not being disruptive enough. I am afraid. But I am doing it anyway.' In this dazzling debut, Emilie Pine speaks to the business of living as a woman in the 21st century - its extraordinary pain and its extraordinary joy. Courageous, humane and uncompromising, she writes with radical honesty on birth and death, on the grief of infertility, on caring for her alcoholic father, on taboos around female bodies and female pain, on sexual violence and violence against the self. Devastatingly poignant and profoundly wise - and joyful against the odds - Notes to Self offers a portrait not just of its author but of a whole generation.

Louisa

You could read this in one sitting, I took as long as I could because I did not want it to end. All six essays are great. Spellbinding indeed :)

Elisavet Rozaki 

Simply wow. I never expected a book of personal essays to touch me and make me think so much.

elizabeth

Pine's collection is highly intimate, honest, and centered on the female experience without being girlboss-esque. Pine's voice feels clean and clear but gentle; she means what she's saying but doesn't shout or sing about it. She conveys the extremely personal in a way that feels understandable but not detached. 

While each essay felt meaningful and well-written, I did sometimes feel that this collection was more of an exercise in healing for Pine than something provocative or enlightening for readers. She divulges a lot of trauma--rape and neglectful parents and miscarriages--and I commend her for processing this trauma through writing without romanticizing it as some beautiful, essential part of one's "journey." At best, this collection is soul-bearing. At worst, it's navel-gazing. I can't necessarily say that this style is "wrong" of Pine, just that I think I'm not built to really love essays like these.

Teresa Bonifácio

I liked it. I did not love it. Emilie's life is very interesting and she makes you relate to some of it. At least I did. I did judge it a little and that I found myself thinking a lot about my life choices and although I did not get Emilie's choices most of the time, I was able to understand them because she was able to make them understandable in these essays. 
I like that she did not hide the ugly part of it. She chose to write it and even though it might make you judge her more, I got to understand why she reacted the way she did in when she was older because of what she went through when she was a teenager.

Isabella 

i loved reading this book so much!! it was so honest and raw. the topics discussed are what we often see on books like these, but i still loved reading it. it discussed infertility, sexism, parents' separation, female body, etc. emilie articulated her story so beautifully; i was invested in it. personally, books that delve into infertility always makes me sososo sad for some reason, and reading her essay on it made me tear up. a very quick, but impactful read!

Imie Kent-Muller

Emilie Pines Notes To Self is beautiful raw collection of personal essays that will resonate with any woman reading it. She splits the book into personal moments - from her fathers alcoholism leading to him being desperately ill because of it, to her relationship with her body from teenage years to miscarriages. This is a beautifully written collection that left me upended, but also comforted. Thank you Hamish Hamilton for sending this my way. 

As with any collection, you have ones you're most attached to. For me it was on her fathers alcoholism, her miscarriages and the one about her relationship with her parents. These hit me at my core, not that the other essays didn’t but I connected to these three the most. Pine tackles topics that would be tough to write about in a fictional manner, but honestly opens up about her experiences of them. She is brave, she is fierce, she is a wonderful writer. 

I read this book in one sitting because I fell in love with it, but it is also the kind of book you can have at your bedside to read an essay at a time. Pine has an honest style to her writing that wraps you into her world. It's gorgeous, heartbreaking and brave. It is a wonderful memoir that will make a great addition to any persons life and their shelf. I look forward to seeing more from Emilie Pine!

Laura Friel

shelby

David Wall

Emily Carruthers 

Andrew Reeves

Kaelan Chambers

chrystyna

Kelsey Longley

Daniel Gynn

sarah / yasko

Paula Grund 

Nicole Vanderbilt

Mariana Francisco

Sara Holman

Emily Morgan

Brenna McKenzie

"In this dazzling debut, Emilie Pine speaks to the events that have marked her life--those emotional disruptions for which our society has no adequate language, at once bittersweet, clandestine, and ordinary. She writes with radical honesty on the unspeakable grief of infertility, on caring for an alcoholic parent, on taboos around female bodies and female pain, on sexual violence and violence against the self. This is the story of one woman, and of all women. Devastating, poignant, and wise--and joyful against the odds--Notes to Self is an unforgettable exploration of what it feels like to be alive, and a daring act of rebellion against a society that is more comfortable with women's silence"--

Notes to Self

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