Girl, wash your face by Rachel Hollis

Have you ever read a book, or watched a video on YouTube or Facebook, or listened to a podcast and just thought, “YES!!” This happened to me recently, when I finally got my hands on a copy of ‘Girl, Wash Your Face‘ by Rachel Hollis. I’d heard a friend enthusing about the audiobook ages ago, but forgot all about it until another friend posted one of Rachel’s videos in our group, so I put in my order.

You may not have heard of Rachel Hollis, although, if you have, you’ll probably know what a big deal she is. She is the entrepreneur founder of The Chic Site, a website aimed at mums like you and me, who want to do the best for their families and themselves, but in a realistic way. She has gone on to be one of the top female motivational speakers doing great things in the US, she’s written fiction, cookbooks and motivational books and she is a prolific podcaster, serving up regular episodes of Rise, Rise Together (with her ‘ultra hunky’ husband, Dave) and also Dais – a more business-focused podcast. She has four kids and runs a media company. Busy lady, huh?

In that strange way that the internet works, the day after ordering the book, an event popped up on my Facebook timeline: Rachel Hollis was coming to my home town for a book signing – the only event of its kind in the UK so far. It was listed as a fun-sounding thing; get a signed copy of the book, glass of bubbles, sweet treats and the chance to listen to Rachel talk and be her wonderful self, then have a selfie with her! It was too good to pass up on.

So, this weekend, I stepped leapt out of my comfort zone and took myself off to the event. Alone. I don’t do events unless it’s for work. I don’t do social ‘things’. I am nervous, socially anxious and would rather be at home in my PJs watching Strictly with a bag of Maltesers. I took the plunge and posted in the Rachel Hollis UK Facebook group asking if anyone else wanted to meet up before the event and go in together. I can’t stand walking in somewhere on my own. Fortunately, an amazing group of women came to my rescue and offered to meet up, and arrangements were being made, chat groups set up and travel details being shared.

In the meantime, my copy of Girl, Wash Your Face had arrived and I devoured it. Each chapter is based on a lie that Rachel, or often women in general believed, and she talks about how to stop believing those lies and become who you were meant to be. I hold my hands up; many of the 20 ‘lies’ spoke to me. For example, ‘I’m not good enough’, ‘I’m not a good mom’, ‘I’ll start tomorrow’ and ‘I am defined by my weight’ to name a few. Rachel tells her very personal, often emotional story of how she’s managed to overcome these lies and become the person she feels she was called to be. (Rachel is very religious. I am not. At all. And yet, I can’t hold it against her! Whatever gets you through!)

After reading the book (and marking out chapters and quotes that stood out for me!), and watching videos, her regular livestreams and listening to podcasts, I was very excited to be getting the opportunity to meet this incredible woman. But also a little worried; they say you should never meet your idols in case they don’t live up to the hype. 

Rachel totally lived up to the hype. 

She’d flown in from the States a couple of days before, was jetlagged, had given the keynote speech at a big conference that morning (after waking at 3.30am and being in the gym at 5, according to her Instagram!) and yet she still managed to give us, her audience, all the time and attention without seeming jaded, or that it was just another job for her. She patiently worked her way through a Q&A session, empathising with the woman who wanted to know how they can walk into their new job and be kick-ass despite leaving the last one feeling as low as can be, or the young lady who, two years into her marriage, was just discovering that she and her husband don’t always see eye-to-eye on some things and how should she handle that? Not only did she understand just where these women were coming from, but she made them take a good look at themselves; she made them (and the rest of us) realise that we can be whoever, whatever we want to be, and that “you shouldn’t let someone in the cheap seats have an expensive opinion in your life.”

One of my favourite quotes of Rachel’s, and one which she brought out early on in the evening, is “someone else’s opinion of you is none of your business.” Aint that the truth? And yet, we’re so used to believing the opinions of other people over our own thoughts, feelings and desires, that we push ourselves to the back of the queue – repeatedly – through life. Rachel talks about how we are only deemed ‘worthy’ if we are serving someone else: as a mother, a wife, a sister, a daughter… And yet, this doesn’t seem to apply to men. And what if you’re not a mother, or a wife – does that mean you’re not worthy? 

In the end, despite my nerves, I had a great evening. A small group of us met up at the station to walk up to the venue, and I had a good chat with another lady who also blogs and has some great ideas for future projects. I hope she finds inspiration in the things Rachel has to say so that she can bring her ideas to fruition. 

And I got my photo! And a hug, a brief chat and my first copy of the book signed by Rachel. It was a pleasure to meet her, and I hope she returns to the UK soon. I can’t wait for her next book, ‘Girl, Stop Apologising‘ next spring!

So, seeing as I now have two signed copies of Girl, Wash Your Face, I thought I would offer one (the one I haven’t scribbled notes in!) to one lucky reader! If you’d like to be in with a chance, enter using the Gleam widget below. If you want to be a better version of yourself and live your best life, you could do worse than read the book and take note of Rachel’s advice. 

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Kelly

Kelly is a mother of two – her son H and daughter Tink. H is home educated, Tink is autistic. Kelly is a self-employed Virtual Assistant… Life is busy!

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