A collection of powerful, fiercely brave, and funny-as-hell personal essays from writer Shauna Ahern of Gluten-Free Girl fame on her transformation from a woman who never felt like she was enough--in body, romance, and popularity--to one who finally knows, deep in her bones, that she both is enough and has enough (at least most of the time!).
At age 49, after a decade of running a successful food website, writing cookbooks, establishing a large social media platform, and starting a family, Shauna suffered a minor stroke. What happened? When her doctor reminded her that emotional stress can cause physical damage, she dove deep inside herself, determined to trace all the ways she had not felt good enough in life and let go of a lifetime of negative feelings.
In Enough, Shauna traces the arc of feeling not good enough, something that began in childhood and stayed with her well into adulthood. Pretending was a deep-seated habit that lasted well into her thirties. When she finally told herself, "Enough pretending!" she started down a road of healing. And though her authentic voice began asserting itself, like many women she still felt compelled to please. When the rage of years spent trying to do all the right things rose up inside her in her forties, she declared, "Enough of this shit!" With candor and humor, Shauna chronicles her journey to the point where she has finally found enough--in her friends, her rural island town, her husband and children, and in the small joyful moments of life. She has discovered the only "enough" that truly feels like belonging: believing in herself. Readers will be inspired by her story; after all, this journey of "enough" is one we all have to take.
Industry Reviews
"Reading Shauna is what taught me we need never be ashamed of our appetites. In Enough, she breaks open the myth that women who want are to be feared, and allows us to take up the space we were born to occupy. Plus, she's very, very funny."
--Lena Dunham, filmmaker, actress, and author of Not That Kind of Girl "A candid, instructive memoir of self-growth."
--Kirkus Reviews
"Enough isn't just the incredibly well-written story of Shauna Ahern's life, it's also one of the best accounts of human growth I've ever read. Through abuse, rejection, illness, romance, motherhood, and finally, authentic truth-telling, Ahern leans into the uncomfortable realities of being a person in the world. Reader, do not be afraid. These uncomfortable truths are told so compassionately, so beautifully, you won't be tempted to look away. This book reveals the big heart of one woman, and in return, shows us so much of what we can hope to become."
--Ashley C. Ford, writer and host of BuzzFeed News's PROFILE
"Shauna Ahern's beautifully crafted collection of essays ferries us through her courageous journey from decades of shame and uncertainty toward a life of agency, freedom, and dignity. Raw and vulnerable, Enough is a testament to the healing power of a purpose-filled life."
--Lisa Congdon, artist and author of A Glorious Freedom: Older Women Leading Extraordinary Lives
"I absolutely adored Shauna Ahern's intensely relatable, funny, and warm memoir. She manages to be heartbreaking and uplifting in one fell swoop. You will be better for having read this."
--Julie Klam, author of You Had Me at Woof: How Dogs Taught Me the Secrets of Happiness
"This rich and candid collection will be a balm for anyone who has inhabited the tricky space between daughter and mother, wife and woman, woman and human being. Enough feels like a long exhalation."
--Molly Wizenberg, author of A Homemade Life and Delancey
