Never have I read a book that makes me want to be a misfit more - despite the often tragic backstory behind how their "misfitness" arises, what makes them stand out, the author makes a compelling case that misfits are artists, etc, that their stories make them stronger. While not untrue, I feel that the classification of "misfit" was taken to the extreme. Is there perhaps not a middle ground where one doesn't have a horrendous childhood to feel alone at times? I would make the argument that most of us have had experiences where we don't fit in, where we feel socially awkward and out of place. What is the distinction between that and misfits? Another interesting path to explore would be the identity of immigrants, LBGTQ characters, and "others" that are misfits because of how they identify.

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This is a pretty special book. We can get so caught up in the lives we lead or the lives we think we want to lead instead of choosing to be who we really are. There are many personal accounts and stories presented here worth reading. Some of it is so vulnerable and present that it felt like I was actually connecting with these people more than some people I sit across from in person. I wonder, though, if just "misfits" feel that way.

Although I thought the author was assuming with her perspective or whatever she was trying to point out at certain times, it was something I could eventually look past. It almost felt that as the book progressed, the author got more comfortable with her voice - Or perhaps, I as the reader got more comfortable with her voice.

What this book gives us is actually quite simple: Real people. People who may feel like they have trouble finding themselves or connecting with others and sharing their experiences with us.

"We are all pieces of each other." -30

In The Misfit's Manifesto, Lidia Yuknavitch truly tackles aspects of life that are often pushed to the side, thought about, but never discussed aloud. Her unique life experiences combined with her interesting perspective of life blew me away. I found this book through her TED Talk, which is just as stunning!

“Tell me: am I so very different from you? Admitting we are a part of each other interrupts the motion of trying to make me something else; something darker than you or dirtier than you or weaker than you or less intelligent than you. And yet, the people i have met who have fallen are not darker, or dirtier, or more weak, or less intelligent than any of us. They are us, our paths make a helix.”

Less of a singular memoir than it is a writing project inclusive of several narratives courtesy of Yuknavitch’s writing peers. I appreciated Yuknavitch’s approach to diagnosing social problems and the yearning in all of us to feel a sense of belonging to one another. It’s a good read for fans of Brené Brown who would appreciate writing with more acknowledgment of intersectionality.

Powerful and inspirational memoir on mental health, relationships, self-care and writing. If you too have felt that you didn't fit in, this is the book for you.

Add me to the group who cried while reading this book. I read it in one sitting after two am on a hazy PNW night. I checked it out from the St. Johns library, but will have to buy a paper copy-- which I almost never do anymore. There's just too much that's highlightable. Everytime Yuknavitch described a trauma that seemed too far out, too unrelatable, I suddenly remembered an equally far out trauma from my own life. Not all of us misfits look like misfits, but, man, I related to so much in this book.

Where Lidia goes, I will always gladly follow. This is a short missive to the - admittedly not well defined - misfit, and she covers a lot of ground through her own personal experiences and those of other authors/friends/students to try to come to larger truths about self love and individual meaning. I really resonated with the message in Chapter 3 The Myth that Suffering Makes You Stronger.

i think this would have been a more effective read if i'd watched the TED talk, but thats nothing to do with Lidia (although it bordered on similar rhetoric to american exceptionalism but what are you gonna do)

“Why can’t I manage to follow basic social rules of behavior? Why do institutions piss me off so much? Why does male authority make me want to throw up or fight to the death? Why do I make a mess exactly when things are finally looking ordered?”