Gwyneth did it. Cameron did it. So, naturally, it’s Kate Hudson’s turn. To write a book, giving you advice on how to love your body. Were you waiting for this? Before you answer, please consider the synopsis from the publisher:
“I didn’t just wake up one day understanding how to take care of myself. I had to learn how to do so over time, and I continue to learn—each and every day. This is a process, and my body is constantly changing. So is yours. And when I learned how to accept that I will always be like this, I relaxed. Our bodies do not stand still for time.
When you understand yourself and connect to how you can become body smart, you realize pretty quickly that the perfect, the ideal is not the goal. Instead, the goal is feeling good in your body. That’s what leads to confidence, to feeling and looking fit, and being pretty happy. Doesn’t that sound great? I think so!”
In almost every interview she gives, Kate Hudson is asked the same questions: What do you eat? How do you stay so fit? What workout do you do? What’s your secret? Well, the secret is that the sound bites the media loves so much don’t tell the story, and the steps you need to take to have a healthy, vibrant and happy life can’t be captured in a short interview. The key to living well, and healthy, is to plug into what your body needs, understanding that one size does not fit all, all the time, and being truly honest with yourself about your goals and desires.
Like everyone else, Kate is constantly on the move, with a life full of work, family, responsibilities and relationships. In Pretty Happy, Kate shows how she honors her relationship with herself through exercise, making the right choices about what she eats, and constantly going back to the drawing board and starting fresh, instead of holding herself to unrealistic standards of perfection and giving up when she falls short. Focusing on the Four Pillars of Health to enhance her well-being, Pretty Happy shows the benefits of:
• Cultivating an Intuitive Relationship With Your Body
• Eating Well
• Awakening Your Body through movement
• The Miracle of Mindfullness
Full of questionnaires to help you assess your Body Type and your stress levels, advice about cleanses and keeping your diet and body balanced, and plenty of interactive Drawing Board exercises, Pretty Happy is a beautiful, insightful, and personal look at health from the inside out, an authentic plan for an authentic life from a woman who truly lives what she speaks.
F-ck I’m so confused. What’s the difference between Kate’s brand of body love vs Cameron’s brand of body love vs what G is telling me to do every day on Goop vs what Reese might tell me next year in her book and etc etc etc. Do I have to read them all?!?
Look, if someone’s throwing money at Kate Hudson to write a book, of course she’s going to write a book. And of course Gwyneth is going to write a book. And Cameron too. You’d probably make the same decision. Interestingly, they all have books coming out within two months of each other. But who ELSE gets to write books? Would it be OK if they continue writing their books but other people with other stories get to write books too? G, Cam, and Kate will argue that their stories are, actually, independent and different and uniquely theirs. Of course. But they’re also in so many ways very similar. They’re actors. Their lifestyles are connected. Their lifestyles are their brands! They’re resourceful, they’re wealthy, they have access…
I mean, if we’re talking about keys to happiness, most non-celebrities would tell you that financial security plays a big part in that. And all of them have the luxury of financial security. Which is great, for them. Maybe they’ve been able to figure it all out since that basic worry has been removed from their current experiences. But, again, how will they be able to relate that to you, to me, in a way that feels achievable?
You know who did that well?
Shonda Rhimes. Shonda Rhimes checks her privilege on every page of her book, Year Of Yes. And then she tells you about how even privilege couldn’t protect her from being a judgy bitch when one of her friends told her she needed help with her kids and had to eat her own sh-t when she herself enlisted help as soon as she became a mother. Shonda Rhimes describes how even her privilege and success – while rewriting network television – couldn’t protect her from making assumptions like an asshole, about parenting, about body image, and about leadership. After putting that truth on the table, she proceeds to advocate for professional women who give themselves permission to let others manage their homes while they manage their careers. That’s one reason why she’s happy. And it’s a reason that even I, and I’m not a parent, can actually appreciate.
So, yes, read Kate Hudson’s Pretty Happy. But if you do, will you also read Shonda’s Year Of Yes? And, while you’re at it, Duana Taha’s The Name Therapist? If you’re looking to read about identity and identifying who you are on the way to understanding who you are, that should be on your list too.
Click here for more on Kate Hudson’s book.
