When you have to forego the traditional path of doing something, it can be disheartening. However, as one of the books I’m about to tell you about says, “who cares if your path doesn’t look like it’s supposed to?” Jordan Bone, author of My Beautiful Struggle, and Patricia Bright, author of Heart Hustle are two beauty influencers whose books you need to read. In their own way, each book tells the story of hardships, positivity, and what can happen when you believe in yourself. Two books, I believe every woman should read.
My Beautiful Struggle By Jordan Bone
Jordan Bone is a beauty Youtuber and Influencer from the UK who at one point in her life wasn’t sure she’d be able to do her own makeup on her own again. At age 15, she was like most girls her age, she loved clothes, shopping, makeup, and hanging out with her friends. One day she got into a car, there was a bad accident and her life was forever changed. She spent the next months of her life in rehab retraining her body while trying to figure out her new normal. My Beautiful Struggle tells the story of the car accident, the months following it, and becoming a beauty youtuber whose message of positivity and self-love resonates with people all around the world.
I came across Jordan’s videos early in 2017 after looking for makeup tips for women with disabilities. I discovered there’s not much out there on the subject, but that’s a story for another day. When I heard that she was writing a book, I was interested in reading it because I liked her videos, but I thought it was going to be like every other biography out there. It wasn’t.
My Beautiful Struggle is Jordan’s story after an accident that changed her life. She takes her readers/ subscribers on an emotional journey telling them who she was, how the accident affected her, her struggles with depression and finding herself again. One of my favorite features of this book is the way it was written, Jordan relates everything to makeup. From being “barefaced” writing about the person she is now, to “Primer Starting Over” which talks about the accident, all the way to radiance where she talks more about her video with the same title as this book going viral. Jordan shares how the idea to shoot the video came about and the response it received.
Throughout sharing her story in this book, Jordan also touches on the issues with body positivity and beauty we can all face, but specifically as wheelchair users. At the beginning of the book, she writes “Some people are surprised that I still do make as much effort with my looks as I used to. But why wouldn’t I? Wheelchair users like myself are invisible enough, except when people stare. There was no way I was ever going to disappear behind my disability. It’s just not who I am. I was never going to cower away.”
I love this quote because she’s right, People always seem surprised that I’m out and about, happy living my life, into fashion and makeup. A number of times someone has said: “you’re so pretty for someone in a wheelchair”. Wheelchair users are unfortunately sometimes seen as nothing more than their disability.
My other favorite quote from this book, if not one of my favorite quotes ever in regards to people with disabilities is “You can be quadriplegic and glamorous. There’s no note that says otherwise! I think on some level I knew that, but never because of the way society looks at people in wheelchairs I doubted it. Reading this quote, this book reminded me that the disability doesn’t define you and like she like the nurse in the book says be glamorous there’s no reason you can’t be.
I learned a lot from reading My Beautiful Struggle. Years later, there are parts of it that have stuck with me, or I wouldn’t be suggesting you read. This book helped remind me that wheelchair or not, don’t let one thing define you. If you are a wheelchair user, be who you are whether it’s a fashion icon, a makeup queen, or something else, you’ll just do it from your wheelchair.
After reading My Beautiful Struggle, when I find out others from my go-to list of beauty youtubers have a book, I add to my reading list. At the time of writing this blog post, I had read Heart & Hustle by Patricia Bright a few months ago. When I read what the book was about, I was excited to read it, excited to learn how she built a business and was working for herself in a relatively new industry as well as learn a few things that probably help with future endeavors.
Heart & Hustle By Patricia Bright
Patricia Bright is a beauty youtuber and beauty influencer from the UK. She shares makeup and skincare tips, inspiration for makeup looks, and product reviews as well as posting lifestyle content. I started following Patricia after watching her video on Fenty Beauty’s Mattemoiselle lipsticks. I really liked the energy that she brought to the video. After watching her videos for two years, I know two things about Patricia Bright, she’s authentic and she’s having fun.
Heart & Hustle is the story of how she got to where she is today. In her own words, she was a multi-hustler. She did hair for other girls at recess, had a part-time job in high school and a corporate job after college. However, during her free time in college she was filming videos for Youtube. She tells the story of how she got to where she is today, including a few missteps and life lessons. Although this book is her story it’s also a guide of how to follow your own dreams and live the life you want. Each chapter of this book is filled with advice from her career journey and life lessons to help you reach your own goals.
If you asked me five years ago if I would ever consider starting a blog seriously, I probably would have said no without a doubt, that’s not in my plans at all. As I said in another post about improving your resume, I wasn’t prepared for how my disability would affect my job search. There were a series of events that led me to the path I’m currently on and I’m enjoying the ride. Nevertheless, I’m doing something different so it’s always great to learn from those who have dared to do something different as well.
One thing I’ve learned recently about forging your own path is that you may be doing something similar to someone else, be going into a new field, or a multitude of other things, but the path and journey you take will still be uniquely yours.
In Heart & Hustle Patricia shares tips for:
- Building a social media following and planning your content
- Staying focused on your own goals instead of what others are doing
- Dealing with finances
- Being confident in yourself and your abilities and
- so much more
Reading my Heart & Hustle was in a way a revelation of sorts for me, though I hadn’t yet decided to rebrand the blog, I had a renewed focus, drive, and determination. Though many of us have that in spades when it comes to dealing with matters where a disability or challenge is concerned, it can be hard to bring that to other aspects of your life. Believe in yourself, whether you’re forging your own path or working your way up the corporate ladder, you can do this.
One chapter in Heart & Hustle focuses on online life vs. reality, sharing the story of some influencers getting up really early in the morning to get a great Instagram photo. She writes “Comparison is the thief of joy. It is a distraction from your grind, and leaving it behind is just one of the many ways you can thrive in every single area of your work and life.” I love love love this quote because it’s so true when it comes to so many different aspects of life, especially social media. I like the point Patricia makes as she talks about staying focused on your own path.
It is so hard to stay focused on your plan when you see others doing so easily what may be a struggle for you. I’m guilty of it sometimes and Bright says the same thing about herself. When it comes to social media photos, she pointed out that the photo is one moment, we don’t see everything that went into taking that one shot so it may not be as easy as it seems.
Another part of this book that really resonated with me was the chapter titled, “The Power of a Pep Talk”, but really it was more about self-talk. Words Matter. Have you ever found that you’re chastising yourself for some stupid action or mistake? I have. Now, have you ever found that you are saying positive statements to yourself? For me, it’s not as nearly as often as I would be annoyed at myself sometimes. Why is that?
This is a question Bright poses in her book. She explains how negative self-talk can affect us even in the smallest of tasks. Bright goes on to say that we should give ourselves compliments, take a second to feel proud of our accomplishments, and remember that the next time you want to get down on yourself. It is easy to get down on yourself there’s no doubt about that, still, I’m taking her advice and making an effort to start celebrating the small things and going from there.
I’ve realized that being different than most around in a way that dealing with a disability makes you different, which means that you need to think outside the box sometimes, be willing to try something new because at times the traditional path will not work. Heart and Hustle shows you how one woman did that, simply because it was her passion. She shares missteps and how she would have done things differently, so her readers/subscribers can learn from her.
Heart & Hustle is everything I expected and more. The advice this beauty influencer throughout her book may seem anywhere from easy to daunting depending on what tips you’re referring to. However, she walks you through some actionable tips to help you take the first steps to change your life in ways that work for you.
My Beautiful Struggle & Heart and Hustle are books that you can read multiple times, especially the latter to help go after whatever it is you want in this life and achieve your dreams. Though I was hesitant to read these books at first, it is something that I’m so glad I did. So next time you’re looking for a new book, consider reading one of these. I hope you can see why I said these beauty influencers wrote books you need to read and find the books as helpful as I did.
Did you read either of these books? Do you these beauty influencers’ books are a must-read? Is there another beauty influencer’s book you think I should read? Let me know in the comments below.
~Kimberly
