Book Review: Jennifer, Gwyneth & Me

Book: Jennifer, Gwyneth & Me: The Pursuit of Happiness, One Celebrity at a Time by Rachel Bertsche

Source: Borrowed from Publisher/NetGalley for an honest review

Publication: July 1, 2014

Description:

A charming memoir brimming with wit and wisdom, Jennifer, Gwyneth & Me is a pointed look at our fascination with celebrities, as one woman strives to remake herself in the image of her favorite stars.

What woman hasn’t seen pictures of Jennifer Aniston, Gwyneth Paltrow, or Beyoncé and wished she had their clothes, their abs, their seemingly flawless lives? For Rachel Bertsche, these celebrities are the epitome of perfection—self-assured and effortlessly cool. Yet lately, between juggling her career, her marriage, and her dream of becoming a mother, Bertsche feels anything but put together.

In Jennifer, Gwyneth & Me, Bertsche embarks on a quest to emulate her Hollywood role models—while sticking to a budget—to see if they really hold the keys to happiness. While trying to unlock the stars’ secrets, from Sarah Jessica Parker’s wardrobe to Julia Roberts’s sense of calm to—maybe one day—Jessica Alba’s chic pregnancy, Bertsche learns valuable lessons. A toned body doesn’t come easy or cheap, avoiding social media can do wonders for your peace of mind, and confidence is the key accessory for pulling off any outfit. But can she immerse herself in the A-list lifestyle and still stay true to herself? And will her pursuit of perfection really lead to happiness?


Rating: 5 stars

Review:

Although I'm not a huge celebrity person, I thought this was a smart and humorous look at one woman's attempt to improve her life by doing it the "celebrity" way. The areas she was trying to improve as well as her choice of inspirations were:


Jennifer Aniston's Body
Gwyneth Paltrow's Kitchen
Sarah Jessica Parker's Wardrobe
Tina Fey's Work Ethic
Jennifer Garner's Marriage
Julia Robert's Serenity
Jessica Alba's Pregnancy
Beyoncé: The Whole Package


The author Rachel Bertsche, a married, work from home freelance writer was starting to feel like her life wasn't as fabulous and energized as it once was. And to improve her happiness she decides to see if implementing some of the things that celebrities tout as their go to lifestyle choices may perhaps invoke some of that glamour and charm that the celebrities seem to exude.

So each chapter marked Rachel's progress (or the lacked there of) of her journey to improve her life. She started with trying to get herself off the couch and get back into shape and even though she knows she'll never have Jennifer Aniston's body she knows that exercising will make her feel better about the body that she has.

With Gwyneth Paltrow the author was inspired to prepare more home cooked meals. Gwyneth's uber-healthy lifestyle may not work for everyone but that doesn't mean there are not some tips that may work which the author found out.

The rest of the months continued in that way with her incorporating all her new habits as she went along.

This was an interesting project that the author took on because who hasn't wanted to improve some aspect of their lives be it getting a better job or trying to lose weight and to correlate it with the current wave of celebrity obsession is rather unique.

I also like that the author included quotes from researchers and writers about how our society has access to non-stop information and pictures and it's easy to see people falling into a slippery slope of obsession. That what we see in magazines and entertainment shows is more of our perception of them than what is actually shown. The experts say that having celebrities as role models or inspiration isn't a bad thing it's only when it starts to become detrimental to our health when we start to lose our identities and try to become those celebrities (i.e. trying to get plastic surgery to look like them).

She also makes a point of mentioning that (although we already know it) those celebrities seem to have it all because of all the various help (nannies, trainers, personal chefs, etc) they count on to make it seem like they have it all.

I enjoyed reading this because not all of these life changes worked for her and not to mention some even put a dent in her budget but it showed her that sometimes sitting on the sofa watching TV is a lot more fun than trying to have the perfect life. The book also showed the author going through some good and bad times as she and her husband tried to get pregnant.

The author's personal, energetic, humorous and sometime emotional writing really drew me in because not only was she trying all of these different things but she was putting her personal struggles with trying to have a baby out there.

What I got out of this is sure it's good to want to improve your life but it's never going to be like the celebrities which is a great thing, well at least to me. We get to enjoy our lives with out the pressure to always having to be perfect or be camera ready.