A Review: I’m Judging You by Luuvie Ajayi
“We are more than the sum of our parts and we are more than the numbers on our scale. Be like me and judge people by the decisions they make with their eyebrows, that’s way more important.”
I’m Judging You: The Do-Better Manual by Luuvie Ajayi can be perfectly described by using the title of the book itself. That is exactly what this book is – a how-to on being a better human in general; a book that will make you WANT to do better. Maybe even make you judge yourself a bit.
Now, this is not your average self-help book. It’s not told in counseling-lingo. It doesn’t have checklists, planners, or journal prompts for you to use. The writer is a comedienne who has so much personality it might just make your head spin. Luuvie doesn’t use fancy technical counseling terms; instead she seamlessly weaves her self help advice through her storytelling and explains things in a way that is easy to understand.
Luuvie is an extremely relatable author – in that she is authentic, she is proud of her Nigerian culture, and she speaks up for what she believes in. She knows that finding your authenticity is not exactly easy — it can involve self-esteem issues, body dysmorphic disorder, or being ashamed of where one has come from. She is a brilliant writer with fantastic wit. Her one-liners will catch you off guard and may cause a spit-take or two. Fair warning.
This would be a great first “self-help”read for friends and clients because it is relatable and digestible; it’s fun; Luuvie encourages us to engage in rich, yet tough conversations. She helps the reader understand that we need to acknowledge our biases and our privileges in order to do better. You will see yourself in this text over and over, because after all we are all being judged in one way or another, and because there is ALWAYS room to do better.
If you’re more of a podcast person, we have one called Bibliotherapy, where we read self-help books and give you the therapist’s take! We’d love for you to give us a listen on Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen!