Book Review: “More Than Enough”

“When the world tells you to shrink… Expand”

– Elaine Welteroth

Elaine Welteroth is my new best friend in my head. She also is the former Editor-in-Chief for Teen Vouge, the youngest to be given this title, as well as only the 2nd African American in the 107 year history of Conde Nast. In 2019, she debuted her memoir “More Than Enough: Claiming space for who you are (no matter what they say).” To tell you the truth, I had seen the book, and even bought it, but it took me a while to read/listen to it (I have Audible, which I highly recommend).

I am a self proclaimed “self-help junkie,” so any book that sounds like it might help me get my life, I’m interested. Covid-19 has provided all of us with a little extra time, so I finally decided to listen to her book while I took my morning walks. Once I started, I couldn’t stop. I felt like she was sitting next to me and we were bonding over the similarities in our lives. From pagents at 3 years old, to having our mother’s give us a new braided style every sunday night, to being one of the few black people in the schools we went to. She seemed so familiar to me even though we have never met.

In her book she chronicles her life and the major lessons that he has learned up until this point. Her writing style is very engaging, pulling you into her story, inciting familiar emotions. I found my self audibly saying “ Me too!!’ at the end of so many of her stories. There was one story she told about being embarrassed of her father, which reminded me of how protective I’ve been of my of my own dad. My dad has his own unconventional ways of doing things and most people don’t understand. I don’t always understand, for that matter. But so many times, from a young age, I’ve been embarrassed and had to suck it up to protect my family. She talks about how those experiences like that matured her quickly, and I’d have to agree. It wasn’t until I got older that I realized the impact that those moments had on me. But we can talk about that in another post.

I highly recommend this book! I thoroughly enjoyed each chapter. It left me motivated to be my true authentic self, and encouraged me to live up to my full potential. There are inspiring quotes, relationship advice, and transparent teachings. If that is something you are looking for “More Than Enough” is the book for you.