Book Review: My Boyfriend Wrote a Book About Me

My Boyfriend Wrote a Book About Me, Hilary Winston
5.13.11 - 5.15.11
*lent from a friend

Alright, so I hate when friends recommend books, because it usually feels awkward--as if they're asking me to validate their own literary choices. And 8.5/10 of the time, their recommendations suck (harsh, I know, but also true).

This book was funny on a mediocre level for the first 9/10s (I'm totally digging fractions today, can't you tell?). She's a good writer, but I didn't care a lot about her story. Then the last chapter happened, and she talked about her "exit interview" with the ex who wrote the book about her--how by writing it, he killed their future. She talked about being embarrassed by emotions she still had for him, and hopes and fantasies regarding him, and she did it in a way that made it okay.

My friend was right--I needed to read the book. Not so much for its literary value (it was a good book, don't get me wrong, it just wasn't my cup of tea), but for the message. I needed to hear that it's okay to fantasize about reuniting with exes, about wishing for happy endings. And I needed to read that even when those fantasies don't come true, even when reality sets in and your ex one-night-stands-you or tells you they've never liked your sister, or writes a mean book about you, or any one of a million things but mainly, when they don't fulfill their end of the fantasy, that it's still okay. And it doesn't take away from what you two had.

Not working out for forever doesn't make what was there any less special, or less meaningful.

It was a really good, comforting reminder, and as cheesy as it was, it made me feel a little less alone and ridiculous.

**Oh and also, she wrote the best description of testicles ever. EVER. Known to mankind. It was so spot-on! And still makes me laugh.