Mighty Gorgeous - by Amy Ferris (Paperback)

About the Book

Part memoir, part self-help, this loving, compassionate, and unfailingly audacious missive from force of nature Amy Ferris--a woman who has made all the mistakes and, as such, learned all the accompanying lessons--tackles the question, What would I tell my younger self if I could speak to her now? with gusto.

Book Synopsis

Why are we so determined to be loved rather than to love ourselves? Why is it so hard to forgive our imperfections and remember that we're extraordinary? Why are we so willing to listen to others' voices when our own voice is right here, screaming to be heard?

Full of the stories that have brought her to this moment and the accompanying wisdom those experiences have lent her, Mighty Gorgeous is Amy Ferris's answer--tender, fierce, irreverent--to these questions, and much more.

Why? Because we are not on this earth to master suffering; we are here to create magic. Because perfection is overrated; all of our flaws and imperfections and scars are our beauty marks. Because all women deserve to speak their truth, to be heard and seen, to awaken to their own greatness. Because life is so very hard and so very brutal at times, bitter and cruel and excruciatingly difficult to navigate, and sometimes we need a light to guide us through that darkness. Because it's time for us all to come home to ourselves--and Amy's here to cheerlead you all the way to your own front door.

Review Quotes

" . . . readers will be charmed by Ferris's irrepressible humor. . . and unabashed praise of self love."
--Publishers Weekly

"Amy Ferris holds nothing back in this powerful work of truthtelling. Without restraint, she invites the reader to climb all the way into her soul and see the world through her lens. The result? An equally heart-wrenching and heart-warming work of longing, loss, regret, surrender, forgiveness, and ... love--in all its mixed-up, messy, magnificent forms. A must-read for anyone who has ever been wrecked by life and then woven themselves back together again by choosing to love and be loved."
--Julie Cantrell New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of Perennials

"When it comes to unearthing the shimmering diamonds in the messy chaos of life, you've gotta turn to Amy Ferris. Her small book is all about big big ideas on how to turn up the volume on what you know you really need and deserve. A warm, radically smart, and funny guidebook to life, love, money, work, estrangements (and throw in a stint as a topless dancer), Ferris's book should be required reading for anyone who has a heart."
--Caroline Leavitt, New York Times best-selling author of Pictures of You and With or Without You

"In Mighty Gorgeous, Amy Ferris whispers fast and urgent into your ear like the best friend of your dreams--the one who holds you up and urges you on when you're not sure you can keep going. This slim but intense-as-hell book offers an alternative to our culture of shame and internalized misogyny, audaciously offering instead a radical self-love that can save lives."
--Gina Frangello, author of Blow Your House Down: A Story of Family, Feminism, and Treason, and A Life in Me

"Amy Ferris is an audacious writer . . . both funny and heartbreaking, gut-wrenching and uplifting all in the same breath. Through her honest storytelling she challenges us to embrace ourselves, be grateful for our mistakes and 'wear our scars like stardust'. She does exactly that in this deliciously clever and deeply moving memoir. So read it. Laugh. Cry. Be uplifted. This is a mighty gorgeous book."
--Marta Kauffman, Co-Creator (Writer, Producer): Friends, Grace and Frankie

"In Ferris's powerful and brilliant new book, Mighty Gorgeous, she once again demonstrates an uncanny and extraordinary ability to grab you by the heart and take your breath away, like no one else. Each vignette glitters with truth, honesty, inspiration, and a mind-bending understanding of how life is not about either/or but a complex constellation of experience, scars, joys and hope. Her words build epic revelations from life's most intimate and private details, and ring with abiding truths that will guide and comfort you for the rest of your life."
--Jessica Keener, author of Night Swim and Strangers in Budapest

"In her uniquely fierce and tender voice, Ferris shares her stories--her truth--with humor and breathtaking honesty as she offers up a brilliant manifesto inviting us to embrace all the messiness of being human. Ferris reminds us that we can pull ourselves out of the wreckage of our bad choices and discover our greatness beneath layers of judgment, especially our own. She wakes us up to the power of love to heal our wounded hearts, and to wear our scars like stardust. You will want to keep this book on your nightstand to read again and again."

--Lisa Lucca, author of Ashes to Ink

"Amy Ferris is the voice we all need in our heads... so it's a good thing she wrote this beautiful book because now we can carry her around wherever we go - wherever we go with Amy Ferris. Get this book...for you and for all your people. Trust me."
--Jennifer Pastiloff, best-selling author of On Being Human

"Amy Ferris is fierce and funny and this collection captures her unique (and uniquely compassionate) world-view with humor and verve. It made me laugh out loud, but also quietly inspired me to reconsider many relationships. She challenges readers to find the courage to both love more fully and to forgive. It's what we need now - both for ourselves and for all the other flawed human beings that share this planet. Her book lights up a loving (and hilarious) path forward."

--Teresa Stack, Producer and Writer; Executive Producer, The Road to Justice

"Amy has shown us, yet again, that her sparkling wit, daring insight and generous heart are too great for one medium alone. Her talent as a screenwriter lifts even her most personal revelations into the realm of the universal, and reminds us all of the power of great storytelling. You can feel Amy's brilliant spirit in each page."

--Peter Spears, Filmmaker, Producer, Academy Award for Best Picture: Nomadland (2021)

"It's hard to find adequate words to express my feelings about this book, so I'll say this: Read it. Then read it again. Then buy a copy for your best friend. Hell, buy her two, so she can spread the love, as well. I can't think of a better or more powerful way to be uplifted and inspired. You'll see yourself in these pages. You might even shed some tears and love yourself just a little bit more--or even a whole lot more--courtesy of this glorious, gifted, generous writer. Thank you, Amy Ferris!"
--Ellen Meister, author of Take My Husband

"Throw away self-doubt; Sweep the crumbs offered into the trash; ditch those shrinking violets. When it comes to surviving the vagaries of our modern lives, Amy Ferris wields her pen like a samurai sword, slashing through the babble of wannabe gurus and advice-givers. In Mighty Gorgeous she fires out bits of sage advice on love, self-worth, and transforming relationships in crystal-clear nuggets that are drawn from a pool of deep wisdom which stretches back, yes, to Shakespeare and Socrates. Listen up. Laugh. Cry, but above all else, remember there's no expiration date for unconditional love and compassion."
--Howard Jay Smith, author of Meeting Mozart: From the Secret Diaries of Lorenzo Da Ponte