I was immediately excited when I saw Sophia's book on Net Galley, but this collection of essays was less humorous than I had anticipated after a few years of enjoying her jokes on Twitter and I wanted to give up halfway through. Despite only being 28 years old and living a fairly unextraordinary white, cis-woman, middle class life, Benoit feels compelled to incorporate feminist themes in a manner that feels like unwarranted lectures on favorite talking points from internet activists. I felt like this essay collection wanted to be both funny and academic but missed the mark on both.

I’ve been following Sophia Benoit on Twitter for a while, and subscribe to her advice column Here’s the Thing. To go on somewhat of a tangent (based on her book, this is something I think Benoit would understand and appreciate), the thing I love about advice columns is that often, the advice is - in retrospect - sort of obvious. But a lot of times what you really need is for someone to validate what you already know or encourage you to do the thing you’re sort of scared of doing. Here’s the Thing is great for that! It’s funny and insightful and like getting advice from a really frank friend, and I love it.

A lot of Well This is, Exhausting was just like that - funny and to-the-point and kind, but also straightforward (my best friend is exactly like this and I love it). Benoit talks about sexism and internalized misogyny, struggling to fit in and social anxiety, loneliness, and dating and bad relationships and good relationships, and so many other things that girlfriends talk to each other about but not really publicly. She does all this by telling stories about her own life and experiences and the things she’s learned, and that’s exactly what I was expecting from and hoping for with her book. I loved nearly every essay in this collection!

Reading Well, This is Exhausting, it felt like Benoit was extremely preoccupied with making sure she didn’t upset anyone. Each essay is filled with footnoted caveats (a LOT of footnotes, not just caveats about her privilege) about race, gender identity, and sexuality, and the essays about her childhood and family (as well as one about her relationship and a female friend of her boyfriend) are peppered with repeated assurances that she loves everyone involved and they love her and maybe she’s mistaken and probably she’s exaggerating. The thing is that I can relate to this impulse. It’s exactly the reason I’m terrified to write a memoir, as in love as I am with the format: the thought of a fact checker calling the people who have hurt me to confirm the specifics of the ways in which they hurt me is a deterrent, because there is nothing more terrifying than the people I am mad at knowing that I am mad at them. What if that makes them mad at me?! The horror! At a certain point though, the reassurances about her understanding of her privilege and of how much she loves her family did become a little frustrating to read over and over (partly because the use of footnotes outside of legal, medical, and educational documents is a pet peeve of mine).

Ultimately, I really enjoyed this book and gave it 3.5 stars (rounded up to 5). Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

My opinion on this book changed radically from beginning to end. The author’s life has been a bit basic, no offense. But for being ripe ole age of 29, she did a good job with what she had to work with. The first half is very relatable and pretty much about growing up in the quiet midwest and then moving to LA for college.

But then I got to the second half and that’s where Sophia shines. Her perspectives on privilege, being an ally and how to advocate for change are well articulated, insightful and poignant. Overall, the essays were humorous and well written. Even though I had no idea who the author was, I really enjoyed it. And by the end, I’d recommended - and I also really want a dude to sit around watching me read a romance novel to even out all the time I’ve spent watching them play video games.

Big thanks to the publisher and #NetGalley for the ARC.

I thought this was something different than what it was. I really did not enjoy the writing style or the authors thoughts/outlooks on things.

Normally not a huge fan of memoir/essay collections, but found this very endearing and moving. I hope to see more from Sophia Benoit in the future!

Well, this was hilarious! Sophia Benoit is hysterical, her essays had me cackling and rolling. She's blunt, witty, and on point! She doesn't sugar coat life events, doesn't play the pity card, it's real life- the good, the bad, and the ugly parts. One of my favorite parts was when she was talking about her fashion style as an overweight, pre-teen, still wanting to try out all the latest looks from Vogue. Life is exhausting, trying to please everyone (parents, friends, men) is impossible, but through her essays we're reminded to live unapologetically and have a good time along the way.

A list of observations, thoughts, and provisos about the books of essays known as Well, This Is Exhausting by Sophia Benoit.
I follow Sophia Benoit on Twitter.
Sophia Benoit’s handle on twitter is 1FollowerNoDad, which I always found intriguing, especially given that she has a ton of followers (but of course when you sign up for twitter you don’t have any followers and don’t really expect any, so it’s not the one follower part… but the “no dad” was extremely interesting in a way that I can’t really pinpoint other than wanting to know more because it almost feels tragic but then is it really?).
The book includes an anecdote about when she signed up for Twitter and why she has that handle and I am not going to spoil it (even though I don’t believe in spoilers), but thank goodness I can always have that touchstone when I see her on twitter now.
This week is my 14th twitterversary and this isn’t really related to the book but that seems impossible that Twitter has even been a thing for that long. (I am not fond of the word twitterversary but I don’t want to pretend that people don’t say it with a straight face.)
I’ve never read Sophia Benoit in any form besides Twitter. I’ve always enjoyed her in that extremely short, barely contextualized form. I haven’t always agreed with her, but if I only followed people I agreed with, I wouldn’t even be on Twitter.
Sophia Benoit is smart, funny, and extremely good at short form writing. The translation from short form to longer form (essay) or even longer form (book) is sometimes exhilarating, sometimes transformative, and criminally interesting.
I don’t know why I was quite so enthralled by the book, but I think it has something to do with what makes me interested in almost any memoir told by someone with a handle on the language. I mean it’s this person telling a story in their own voice and maybe the only thing in the story is how they make an egg sandwich, but it’s great to know that there is someone else out there who likes to put siracha on their egg sandwich and has opinions about it. (There is no egg sandwich content in the book. That was literally just about me.)
This book doesn’t come out until Summer (July 13) and it’s currently the last day of March so you might have to pre-order it or put it on your wish list.
If you like voice-driven memoir (apparently I do), then you should check this out.

The title of this book SUMS IT UP!
EXHAUSTING!!

The title of this caught my attention, and I was really hoping to read a funny book of life lessons and anecdotes.

This is a book of essays chronicling Sophia’s life from teen, Women, to Adult. I liked her rawness, and how she straight up told you how she was. She’s weird, loud, judgmental , has a hard time fitting in, and is a little bit of a fun sponge. She described herself well, I’m am literally using all the same words she did.

I did get a good chuckle over some of her stories. However, by the time I was halfway through the book, I felt exhausted by reading it, and was ready to call it quits.

I literally felt like I couldn’t read another word. The whole book felt like she was right there,talking loud, fast, and shouting at me. Every page was like this. If my eyes could hear they would be deaf! Every story was like that commercial “ CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW”.


I feel like I need a drink and some calming meditation after reading this book!

Well, This is Exhausting by Sophia Benoit was enthralling! Benoit details through essays things she has experienced as a woman. The writing is funny and the essays are well curated both in timing and theme. After reading her book I feel like I've gained a friend. So much her internal monologue feels shared to anyone who has ever wondered about emotional labor or tried to be "chill". Perfect way to ease into non-fiction!

When Sophia Benoit writes you a letter in her book, you pay attention. And maybe she didn’t actually write it only to me. It’s possible there are some other people who read that letter and assumed their name was typed in the front and that she had somehow spied on their whole life and now had words of wisdom passed down from God Almighty Herself and that your entire existence had been validated like LA Live parking. Or maybe it was just me.

I felt so much of Sophia’s book, felt it like acid reflux on a warm night. Because we’ve all felt ugly and overtaxed and inadequate and like we’re missing something in the woke scene and trying really hard not to. But thank heaven for her honesty and vulnerability because she makes it feel like it’s going to be ok. Raw and real and right on the money, she’ll take you to church in this one.

Note to self: read more hilarious memoirs. And follow Sophia on Twitter.

Benoit's narrative is refreshing and relatable right from the intro. It struck me when she mentioned reading memoirs by female writers over the years, all funny, all well-written, but also all about personal life disasters of men, drug use, sexual freedom, etc. Where was the woman written memoir for milder folks, for those of us who don't go on benders or live fascinating lives? Benoit has provided that memoir and it's splendid. Humorous and introspective, it feels a bit like sitting and talking with a girlfriend over drinks.

Thank you to Gallery Books and Net Galley for an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. I didn't even know about Sophia Benoit before reading this, but I'm a sucker for a GOOD humorous essay book. I emphasized good, because many are not. This one is. She's funny, real and also made many good points about the world as it is today. I adored this book, and I think you would too.

Author Sophia Benoit is best known as a columnist and Twitter sensation, but the new essay collection Well, This is Exhausting is a delightful look at the pitfalls of modern womanhood. Benoit spent the early years of her life being focused on being a "good girl" and trying everything in her power to keep up with the ever changing goals of the life of being a young woman. Her essays discuss some difficult topics like anxiety and the disappointing world of dating, usually in laugh-out-loud funny ways.  Her writing combines things like pop culture obsession, feminism, understanding others despite societal expectations and what exactly it mean to be a woman in the United States. Benoit's writing is FULL of foot notes, that are often even funnier than the original sentence. For the millennial crowd, you'll feel a serious sense of kinship. 

Well, This is Exhausting is available July 13, 2021 from Gallery Books.

This is such a terrible memoir. I don't even really know where to start. At first I hoped because she is classified as a comedian perhaps this is a satire or laugh at myself sort of book. It's just irksome how she dismisses casual sex, eating disorders and low self image as a right of passage for women. I mean she talks about using bumble as a way to get sex during high school, and the guy asking and her allowing him to cum on her face. Then goes on about how that made her feel empowered. I should of stopped reading there. Maybe I'm getting old and this is all acceptable stuff now. One thing to help the book is just get rid of all those footnotes at the end of the already very short chapters. It's distracting and annoying. You can afford to add them into the story.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this.

A delightful book of essays tackling life in the fast lane and being a woman. I love these delightful stories or glimpses into the writer’s life. I highly recommend.