Skip to main content

Everything's Trash, But It's Okay by Phoebe Robinson

 width=

Life sucks, ok? Phoebe Robinson knows this and tells us how life really is for a famous comic who is a person of color and a cisgender woman in her latest essay collection, Everything’s Trash, But It’s Okay (Plume). Every single woman who has felt the cold-hard pain of a hairband digging into her wrist or a man put his hand on her back without permission (aka every woman everywhere) will relate to this.

Actually, not only will you relate, but you’ll feel better, more confident and you’ll laugh along the way. And that doesn’t forget the men either. Men (cisgender men, that is), you have been surrounded by talk of #metoo and sexual assault cases and you might be wondering how best to understand the female plight. Well, here it is, your one-stop shop for understanding a woman’s life struggle in a man’s world.

Robinson is a master storyteller through her fantastic voice and hilarity. She sucks you in with her rambling, venting, and complaining in a way that others would find hard to do on paper. Robinson discusses her life in stark detail and refuses to shy away from topics others may feel apprehensive about such as sex, body image, sexism and so much more. The topics covered in this collection are vast.

Though Robinson addresses serious issues, this memoir does not make you feel discouraged. In fact, Robinson brings her readers to their feet without making them feel like trash for not having stood up before now. She calls on her fans and readers to stand up for what they believe in, act in bold ways, be the way they want to be, and to fight for other’s right to be the same way. Robinson made me feel like she was my best friend who genuinely wanted me and the entire world to be better, and what better kind of motivation is there than that kind of love?

As a member of the human race, I loved this book. As a white woman, I appreciated this book for its complex discussion on feminism and its dive into specifics for African American women’s experiences. So get off that booty of yours and check out Everything’s Trash, But It’s Okay, which is available now.

 

Everything's Trash, But It's Okay by Phoebe Robinson
Genre: Memoir, Potpourri
Author: Phoebe Robinson
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 9780525534170
Meagan Foy

Meagan Foy calls Newtown, CT her home. She is a James Madison University graduate with a degree in English, so you can always find her with a book. She also enjoys sitting on the beach and drinking coffee. She is the Senior Life Editor at The Tempest. You can learn more about her at meaganfoy.com.

Leave a Reply