A Chat with Jessie Faerber

September 7, 2018

We’ve picked I Thought There Would Be Cake as our book club read this month.

Jessie Faerber, author of More Than Just Pretty, had lots of thoughts to share about this powerful memoir.

Sometimes a book title intrigues and bewilders and this book did entirely that! The first line on the back page of I Thought There Would Be Cake drew me in even more; ever thought life isn’t turning out quite as you expected?

Maybe it was my nosiness at what the author, Katharine, experienced of life as being not what she expected, or maybe it resonated deeply with something in my soul . . . 

As children, and even as teenagers, we often have an image (or several) in our head about how life might turn out for us. And often we wait with excitement and expectancy for what gifts a bit more age will give to us and bring for us. And yes, there is so much joy in adulthood. But the term “adulting” has been coined for a reason.

I decided to browse through Twitter to see some of the latest posts about adulting to find the following:

I finally have enough self-control to have ice-cream stocked in my house #adulting

Today I realised that adulting is just a second, unsupervised childhood

Hello, I have finished my free trial of adulting and am now longer interested. I would like to cancel my subscription. Is there a manager I can chat to?

What I love about Katharine’s approach in her book is that honesty and humour is intertwined in every topic she explores, which makes the reading super easy and relatable at the same time.

She is an incredibly personable writer, a trait I find vital to avoid feeling like an anonymous person is giving you life tips. You can be left wondering what makes them eligible and entitled to do that...?! A naive point of view, yes, but one that, nonetheless, never simmers to the surface in Katharine’s book.

I love that books have a way of connecting you more to yourself. I Thought There Would Be Cake offers multiple chances to ask yourself questions about who you are, how you think, your approach to others and to life in general. For example, 'Is your view of yourself/my view of myself realistic or not?’ and ‘What would it take to stop you feeling the need to compare yourself to those around you?’

See what I mean?! This book is a powerful tool for self-connection because of the topics it explores with such honesty like comparison, affirmation, social media, boundaries, and perfectionism. As you read Katharine’s experiences, there’s no doubt you will be saying, 'Me too!!!' in your head (or out loud . . . whatever your style is!) It’s a book that I would place into the hands of my nearest and dearest because I want them to have a deeper revelation of who they are, who they are not and who they are destined to become - because I love them.

And I think you should read it too.