Over the Top

Book 1 of my 2020 Reading Challenge

read from January 1 - 4

Over the Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love

by Jonathan Van Ness

Summary (via Goodreads)

published 2019

Who gave Jonathan Van Ness permission to be the radiant human he is today? No one, honey.

The truth is, it hasn’t always been gorgeous for this beacon of positivity and joy.

Before he stole our hearts as the grooming and self-care expert on Netflix’s hit show Queer Eye, Jonathan was growing up in a small Midwestern town that didn’t understand why he was so…over the top. From choreographed carpet figure skating routines to the unavoidable fact that he was Just. So. Gay., Jonathan was an easy target and endured years of judgement, ridicule and trauma—yet none of it crushed his uniquely effervescent spirit.

Over the Top uncovers the pain and passion it took to end up becoming the model of self-love and acceptance that Jonathan is today. In this revelatory, raw, and rambunctious memoir, Jonathan shares never-before-told secrets and reveals sides of himself that the public has never seen. JVN fans may think they know the man behind the stiletto heels, the crop tops, and the iconic sayings, but there’s much more to him than meets the Queer Eye.

You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll come away knowing that no matter how broken or lost you may be, you’re a Kelly Clarkson song, you’re strong, and you’ve got this.

My Opinion

4 stars

Memoirs are generally easy to review because it's going to be pretty clear going in if this is a person you're interested in learning about and I don't judge people's life experiences.  So the only question for a review is if it's well-written and if they actually give out information that makes the read worth it.  The answers in this case are yes and yes.

I'm not a fan of audiobooks because my mind wanders too easily and I read to get away from voices speaking to me but in this case his voice was in my head the entire time I was reading it anyway and I bet the audio version is really good as well.

One thing I will say is that there were things revealed in his memoir that he hadn't talked about publicly beforehand.  However, I'm reading this late enough in the game that I already knew them thanks to following him on social media and/or listening to interviews with him about the book (which tended to focus on the most salacious details as most interviews will).  I'm glad I did because he goes into so much more detail on those other platforms, especially regarding U=U.  So I recommend listening to him further on some of those revelatory topics, both for the information and because he has a lot more to say than these pages covered.  

Quote from the Book

"Letting go of that idea that I needed to be normal or that I somehow wasn't normal just because I needed to prioritize self-care to be healthy is the biggest gift I've given myself."