For a review of the Conscious Divas’s Diva Date Night, scroll below to “Continue reading”.
1) Kelly Cutrone – If You Have to Cry, Go Outside: And Other Things Your Mother Never Told You
I’ve been dying to read Kelly Cutrone’s first book since I watched her hit show Kell On Earth, which I was tipped on by a fellow fashion publicist. Since then, Cutrone has gone on to write her second book, Normal Gets You Nowhere, and be a correspondent on the Dr. Phil Show.
I typically don’t review books, but I was blown away by this one because it was so not what I expected. Kelly Cutrone is one of the world’s most famous New York fashion publicists, but also a tell-it-like-it-is personality that many would simply refer to as a “bitch.” Though I knew that this wasn’t going to be a book about how to become a publicist, the reviews I read on it mentioned this aspect quite a bit. On the contrary, I describe If You Have to Cry, Go Outside as part memoir, spiritual self-help guide, and branding book.
Cutrone describes her life, from making appearances on local TV as a young kid, to climbing the ranks in LA & New York jobs weaving celebs like Michael Jackson through crowds, to her position now as CEO of international PR firm People’s Revolution. However, the journey is not told chronologically but when the lesson is most needed. I loved this about the book. There is so much I could say about her personal and career journey that is so wild, but you can read all about it – after Cutrone’s early years in New York (her dream city), she moved to the hippie streets of Venice Beach in LA, discovering herself again after getting off drugs. Learning about the many religions out there and learning from the teachings of her guru, “The Mother,” she created her own religion, and this is what she encourages each woman to do in life in order to be able to identify their life purpose and work toward it (very similar to former New York publicist Gabrielle Bernstein’s lessons in Spirit Junkie). This statement really spoke to me and I read it about five times over:
“My religion is about manifesting the Divine in myself and in everything I do. For me, the Goddess embodies compassion, perception, ruthlessness, and a total commitment to the destruction of falsity and ignorance; I aspire to embody and be all these things.”
The other part of Cutrone’s book is about self-branding – it’s funny because I had just finished reading Gary Vaynerchuk’s Crush It!: Why Now is the Time to Cash in On Your Passion and Cutrone echoed this about needing to find out who we are and embodying and expressing it in the best way possible – through our personalities, demeanors at work, how we dress, and how we treat people. Cutrone swears by using the phone as much as possible to keep the human connection going in this age of text, email and social media. Yes, branding is how companies appear to the public, but since companies are run by people, it’s ultimately people who do business. In the book you will find tips on do’s and don’ts on working in fashion and interning for her company, People’s Revolution.
I would recommend this book to any girl or woman 14 and above (bearing in mind there are tales of sexuality and swearing), because even though you may not relate to her in the least bit (I definitely could identify as a publicist and someone striving to find wholeness), you will appreciate where she came from, what she learned in her hard life experiences, and maybe even be amazed – as I was – that this hard, punk-like fashion publicist actually has a HUGE heart and soul and strives for awakening for all women. What I feel was the thesis of the book:
“My journey has been about forming an “X” on the spot where the heights of glorious superficiality meet the depths of spirituality.”
I know this isn’t exactly a new book, but I feel that women in 2012 could use a different “Goddess” to inspire us this year. I would highly recommend this book and Spirit Junkie to help you (a woman) on your path if you feel that calling. I look forward to getting my hands on Normal Gets You Nowhere and will blog on that if I have things to say about it. Oh, and I’ve discovered the holy grail of e-book resources: BCLibraries.ca – all the e-books you can borrow!
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Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate with Biscotti
