Title: #GIRLBOSS
Author: Sophial Amoruso
Publisher: Portfolio
Publication Date: 2015
ISBN: 9781591847939
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Sophia Amoruso spent her teens hitchhiking, committing petty theft, and scrounging in dumpsters for leftover bagels. By age twenty-two she had dropped out of school, and was broke, directionless, and checking IDs in the lobby of an art school—a job she’d taken for the health insurance. It was in that lobby that Sophia decided to start selling vintage clothes on eBay. Flash forward ten years to today, and she’s the founder and executive chairman of Nasty Gal, a $250-million-plus fashion retailer with more than four hundred employees. Sophia was never a typical CEO, or a typical anything, and she’s written #GIRLBOSS for other girls like her: outsiders (and insiders) seeking a unique path to success, even when that path is windy as all hell and lined with naysayers. #GIRLBOSS proves that being successful isn’t about where you went to college or how popular you were in high school. It’s about trusting your instincts and following your gut; knowing which rules to follow and which to break; when to button up and when to let your freak flag fly.
This was one I listened to on audiobook, just out of curiosity. I didn’t know much about Sophia Amoruso or Nasty Girl, but as I was reading this book and talking about it, I’d heard about Nasty Girl’s downfall and it really put this book into a new light. I think Amoruso has a lot of really inspiring and interesting things to say in this memoir, so I’m very glad I took the time to listen. But it’s too bad that her company isn’t really much of a thing any more. I love books by inspiring women, written in order to inspire others. A story like this can really show that with the right idea and the right angle, anyone can find success.
Perhaps I missed something with this book (audiobook is not the best way to take in a work like this if you don’t want to miss a lot of details), and a lot of reviews for this book are negative, but I think that it’s a great personal story of growth, experimentation, struggle and eventually triumph. Again, a lot is taken away from this story knowing that Nasty Girl declared bankruptcy, but to be honest, you can see it coming a bit in this book. This company rose at a rate of such incredible and unsustainable growth, it really is no surprise that it failed. But Amoruso, through it all, seems like a hardworking, non-nonsense, strong woman. I found her story to be super accessible and I could picture my dream self in her shoes. I hope that I’m able to one day be as successful as she’s been. Even if things don’t always work out, that’s how life goes. Amoruso is very motivated and driven, so I’m sure there’ll be plenty more achievements in her future.
I would read another Amoruso memoir in a heartbeat. I’d be curious to know more about her learning experience and I appreciate her writing style and delivery as an author. She sounds like someone to learn from and take inspiration from. I hope you’ll give this book a shot. She’s got an interesting story, if nothing else.
Happy reading!
Worn Pages and Ink 