I was afraid to read this book because I really like Felicia Day and memoirs are deep, personal business, and sometimes I come away from celebrity memoirs not knowing how to feel about someone anymore. Either because I learn ugly things I wasn't expecting, or they confirm the negative aspects of a their personality I already suspected where there.

Luckily, in this case, I came away liking her just as much, if not more. Now she seems much more real, and not just a quirky character on tv. Before I basically thought of her as Codex from the Guild, and I learned...that she basically is Codex from the Guild.

It made me so happy when she talked about her memories of the the internet becoming a thing. Because I am so obsessed with the internet that I basically am the internet (I try not to speak entirely in memes because I make a small effort to not be totally obnoxious, don't worry), and I also remember the internet becoming a thing, and I will actually ask people really pointedly, "Do you remember Prodigy?" and they're like, "What?" and PRODIGY, MAN! And then I don't even bother asking them if they remember having to pay by the hour to use dial-up because I've already lost them. (I thought it was actually pay by the minute, but admittedly, I was about eight and didn't have to actually pay that bill. Did my parents lie to me so they could use the rest of my hour?!)

But it's so nice to have a famous person out there who's a champion of gaming and the internet, because there's nothing wrong with loving these things. It was nice to read a book and have someone make it feel ok again, because we're constantly bombarded by messages about how we're "addicted to screens" and "people don't even know how to interact anymore" and "video games are what's wrong with kids these days" or whatever. It seems like the real problem is that things that are fun are automatically bad and we have to come up with reasons to justify that feeling and shame anyone who's having a good time. Literally everything is a problem if you think about it hard enough. And before the internet was a thing, I was addicted to books. And before I could ignore people to stare at my phone all day, I ignored them to stare at the wall...like, let's not act like the internet made me this way.

It kind of frustrates me that she blames being home schooled on the fact that she's like this. I'm like oh no. I went to public school AND my mom ran a daycare, and I'm like this so...you can be a shut in AND leave your house and interact with hundreds of people ever day, trust me. The contradiction is possible. I would have killed to have her upbringing instead. My parents didn't take me to lessons or pressure me to learn at a college level. I went to an absolutely terrible public school that was way more of a day care than an institution of learning. It was a complete waste of my life where I learned to hate everyone and everything. But thank god for the internet.

In case you're worried this book is all sunshine and rainbows where she paints this picture of herself as a super likeable, happy, successful nerd, she spends a lot of time talking about her struggles with anxiety and depression, and how the internet and video games were helping! Until they weren't. Because while video games are fun, and can help you connect to other people, and feel a sense of accomplishment, they can't fix an anxious obsessive personality. But Felicia did the hard work to get out of her rut, and the first step was making the Guild. I love her for sharing what happened after that, because as far as I knew it was happily ever after, but that's when the real hard work began.

This book was funny, well-written, and hard to put down. I hope Felicia writes another book someday.