It’s not our fault if we’re born ignorant. It IS our fault if we die that way. -Drew Afualo

You probably know the author from TikTok. Her most viral videos are clapping back at toxic men, cackling all the while. But this book is so much more. She talks about her childhood, unpacking “pick me girl” behavior, becoming an ally, and empowering her friends to name a few.

This is a book about being true to yourself, the importance of building community, and how internalized misogyny impacts us all. And something that I think is missing from a lot of “self help” books is the lack of toxic positivity. It’s a pep talk from your best friend. Drew is a true girl’s girl and that you’re never too young to have wisdom or too old to make change.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the audio ARC.

Loved this book -- I follow Drew on TikTok, so when I saw she had a book coming out I was excited to get my hands on it and am very appreciative to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity.

Drew is a little young to be writing a whole memoir so this book is about what I thought it would be -- mostly her thoughts on men/women/the patriarchy, with a little bit of her backstory to help fill in the gaps of how she came to be where she is currently. It didn't really introduce me to any real new information since I'm already with Drew in almost all of her stances, but I loved hearing about her thoughts top to bottom, instead of just in little 1-5 minute increments that I typically get through TikTok. Will absolutely continue to follow for more and good for her for her following and the book drop!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this audio book ARC opportunity!

I came upon Drew on TikTok and loved her very important take on women’s self esteem and the way some men speak to and about women. I literally and figuratively love her voice, so I was excited to be able to hear her book.

It was nice to learn about Drew and hear even more about her views. The only thing I’d recommend is I wish she brought a little more energy to the way she spoke, but I understand this is a book and not TikTok. Even so, Drew still brought her “don’t take sh*t” stance to this book and it was inspiring!

Listening to this audio book was just like listening to Drew on her podcast. it was very easy to get into and I enjoyed every second. I think drew gives off cool older sister vibes and that was showcased a lot in this book with all of her advise for younger women and femes. I love that she's not afraid to speak about missteps that she has made and how she has worked to fix those issues. I would recommend this to any younger person who 1) enjoys Drew's content, and 2) have questions about where they fit in this society when it comes to the patriarchy.

I listened to the audiobook of this and I absolutely LOVED that Drew narrated it herself. The entire book felt like an uplifting pep talk from a smart and cool older sister. It did, however, feel a little repetitive at times. It may be because I’m not necessarily one who needs a lesson in how the patriarchy works and is maintained? I think it definitely could be more impactful for somebody who doesn’t already spend their time unlearning what we have been taught about gender roles in society. I wish there had been a little more vulnerability- while it was a good read I didn’t end this book feeling like I really knew Afualo any more or got any insight as to who she is beyond her internet persona.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for a free advanced listener’s copy. I received this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Drew writes like she talks, like a friend who wants the best for you. This audiobook felt vulnerable and empowering and I loved the meditative feeling I got listening to this audiobook.

I’m, admittedly, not a huge fan of the self help genre so I wasn’t sure how I’d enjoy the book but wanted to support the amazing Drew Afualo. When I got the chance to listen to this audiobook through NetGalley I was so excited to get a sneak peek of the book and truly, the part that shined to me was the memoir aspect. Even as a young woman, Drew has so much to share from the life experience she does have.

Highly, highly, highly recommend for a good read that’s thoughtful and even-toned throughout.

Also, yes, please read the audio book if only for Drew’s perfect cackle at the end.

Credibility 8
Authenticity 10
Writing 8
Personal Impact 9
Intrigue 10
Logic/Informativeness 8
Enjoyment 10

Drew is raw, real, and authentically herself as always. This book beautifully weaves together her experiences, the importance of fighting the patriarchy, and consistently showing up as yourself without fear. Really appreciated her vulnerability!

Loved that she voiced her own audiobook!

I really enjoy hearing memoirs in the author’s own voice, and as a fan of Drew’s work, I was delighted to get my ears on this one. As I listened, I realized that this was less of a memoir from Afualo, and more of a lamentation of the patriarchy, disguised as self-help content. Although I don’t disagree with the majority of the points Afualo made, I did find them to be repetitive. I also personally believe that self-help advice should come from broader, academic, or otherwise professional sources (i.e. psychologists or sociologists) and not necessarily from celebrities, no matter how humble their beginnings may have been.
As a fan of Afualo, I enjoyed learning more about her life and upbringing and personal experiences. I wish there was more of this, and more of her signature humor, in her book. Thank you MacMillan Audio for the ALC of Loud by Drew Afualo in exchange for my honest review.

I liked this book. In my season of changing, from SAHM to fulltime worker, from married to separated, from two parent household to single parenting, it was uplifting and encouraging.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

I have followed Drew on social media for quite awhile now and was THRILLED to know this book was coming out! I had to do the audio version because I needed Drew's voice in my ear spewing the truth, and that she did! If you are or identify as female, do yourself a favor and listen to this book. At the very least, please be sure you're following Drew on social media!

I knew this book was for me before I even started because I already love Drew’s content, but I didn’t expect to feel so many emotions listening to this audiobook. I cried twice before chapter one even started.

This book offered an intimate and refreshing side of Drew, and I devoured it.

I hope the gays, gals, and femmes who need a pick-me-up come into contact with this book because it feels like listening to your best friend who gives the best advice.

I enjoyed every single part of this audio book. The connection of listening to the narrator be the author and on top of that be Drew!! So good! This is one of those books that you should listen to every few months because you never know when you need to be reminded of your worth or even a different perspective. Listening to Drew talk about her past and her life was very endearing, made me feel close to her rather than the separation of influencer and content consumer!

Invigorating and well written. Raising women and femmes up while shutting shitty men down. Drew manages to be vulnerable and strong. This book is Drew lending the reader her confidence so we can take it and make it our own.

This book was part memoir, part self help book, and I loved that. If you have TikTok, you've more than likely seen at least one video of Drew. My first video I remember seeing of her was through Charlotte Dobre's YouTube channel, and Drew was shaming a man after he'd just fat shamed a woman online like some hero for the bros. Between the shameless way she spoke, and that laugh of hers, she gained my follow. I've loved seeing her videos pop up here and there, so when she wrote a book I knew I needed to read it.

In Loud, Drew just doesn't tell you why you should do something, but she backs it up with how she herself discovered it. And often the hard way. It truly did feel like having a big sister giving you advice. Her stance on body acceptance and it being okay to not want children stood out to me the most. Along with something that was said near the end of the book. How when she had what she thought was her "dream job" she felt she had no value outside of that job. For years now I've felt that if I go anywhere else, my life won't be as great as it is now. Even though I'm struggling to pay the bills, that job became my identity. After reading this book, it finally gave me the courage to start imaging other things for myself. Like a job where I'm valued for the work I do.

All in all this was a 5 star read for me, and I will be recommending it to others.

Thank you to NetGally for an ALC of this book, and thank you to Drew Afualo who had the guts to write it all out.

This was good! I was skeptical about the premise of Drew writing a memoir because she isn't very old, however, I think this is the perfect mix of memoir, manifesto, and self-help. Unless someone is extremely new to reading about feminism (which may be the case as I am sure there will be a lot of youth who will read this due to Drew's TikTok presence), there aren't any groundbreaking feminist concepts in here, however, I don't think that is the point of the book. Drew delivers her story and her lessons in a way that is both heartfelt and extremely funny, which isn't always an easy balance to keep. Parts of this book were surprisingly vulnerable, which was refreshing to see and made the book feel more like a memoir and less like she just strung a series of personal anecdotes together. Additionally, I listened to the audiobook and Drew does a fabulous job narrating. It felt like listening to a particularly long podcast episode, which I really enjoyed.

Thank you to Net Galley for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book absolutely blew me away! I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review as an audiobook narrated by the author.

This was very much like a memoir for me, and I enjoyed every little bit of this. It was also a exploration of the patriarchy, the standards. Women are set to in society and just overall Drew's life. I was really interested in the parts that showed how grew up and how she became the social media sensation that she is today. It was a very interesting look at how her early experiences in her culture and family shaped the person that she became overtime.

I really appreciated how honest Drew was even with mistakes within her family that shaped who she ended up becoming. I really love when a narrator/author can be honest and depict some not so stellar parts of their past and spin them to how they made them a positive. And I feel like Drew did that very well throughout this novel.

I really loved how Drew explained her relationship with her current boyfriend and how that stable and sturdy non-patriarchal relationship helped her to grow and discover herself. It's so nice to see that. A woman doesn't completely lose herself and her autonomy with a relationship. I feel like that's something I strive for every day and it's so nice to see it actually be successful with another woman. Society definitely doesn't want women to be their own person in a lot of situations and I love how Drew explained how she had gained that for herself.

Overall, I feel like this audiobook was really a self-help guide on how to love yourself, embrace yourself and just grow as a amazing and strong woman. And I think everybody needs to read this book, regardless of whether or not you like her social media persona.

4.5 Stars

Thank you Netgalley and MacMillan Audio and ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I won the ARC of this book in a Giveaway!

It’s funny how I come across this book because honestly I never heard of Drew Afualo until this point.

Yes, I am on titktok but I never saw her content graced my for you page. So Edelweiss sent me an email  in April saying they have a webinar talking to authors and their future books called Macmillan Presents. There were three authors’ books that I had the E-arcs of so I signed up to hear them talk about their books that I was excited about.  I didn’t realize that the actual key speaker of the webinar was Drew’s interview with her publisher about her upcoming book and also it was a giveaway of an Arc copy of her book. I almost forgot to enter the giveaway until the day of the webinar. So I heard Drew speak for the first time and to be honest, she really didn’t sell me on her book for some reason. It sounds nice but I don’t think it was something I would pick up and read. So I got an email in May saying that I won the ARC copy of this book which I was floored that I won. Especially the fact that I entered the giveaway an hour before it ended and the fact I wasn’t sold on the book after listening to Drew talking about it. So I read a few pages but didn’t go back to it. It wasn’t until I saw NetGalley having the audiobook to it that I decided to request it and got approved.

This book greatly surprised me because it feels so authentic and relatable. Drew uses her experiences with her family, love life, feminism, and the workforce to give advice on how to live life to the fullest to get what you deserve. I consider it a memoir and self help book because she does talk about her life but what she learns in life to help give advice. The way she talks about her family is so relatable because you can tell that she does not play about them at all. She most def doesn't play with her Mom and her sister. You can tell how much respect she has for Mom ( and her dad) which shaped her views on certain things she says in this book. Listening to the audiobook really helped as well since it was Drew narrating her story. So I enjoyed it, which I recommend if you need something quick to read and give you a confidence boost. Some of the things she said I already knew but sometimes you need to hear it from someone else who has been through similar things to help you out.

Probably one of the best books I have ever read/listened to. I am huge fan of Drew from social media, but this book is next level. Drew breaks down the mindset and thought process of patriarchy. Even if you do not normally follow her the way she explains things is amazing. What I really loved was her dissecting the Pick Me. The way of her explaining her upbringing, mindset, evolution, and how to move forward was just amazing. I was addicted the whole way through the book. It takes you through a whole new way of thinking and analyzing yourself and others while preaching the concept of empathy.. Amazing job!

This was such a fast and fun read! You get the humor you expect from Drew balanced with real conversations about misogyny, the patriarchy, racism, relationships and more. I loved Drew’s narration and her honesty and learning more about her. Would highly recommend!

If you’re like me, you found Drew during the pandemic. With her unabashed, unrelenting, honest views and knock-downs of patriarchal sad males (lmfao); and let’s be honest that unforgettable cackle you can’t help but love her. Drew is a total girls’ girl - rooting for all us. I wish I had this book as an adolescent; hell even a few years ago. As someone who is also LOUD - this book just really resonated with me, and if you know me you non-fiction is not my jam. I loved listening to her narrate (should’ve thrown that laugh in girl!!). Such a good book, I’ll definitely be recommending.