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25th out of 108 books
—
159 voters
My Year with Eleanor: A Memoir
After losing her high-octane job as an entertainment blogger, Noelle Hancock was lost. About to turn twenty-nine, she'd spent her career writing about celebrities' lives and had forgotten how to live her own. Unemployed and full of self-doubt, she had no idea what she wanted out of life. She feared change—in fact, she feared almost everything. Once confident and ambitious,...more
Hardcover, 304 pages
Published
June 7th 2011
by Ecco
(first published 2011)
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3.5 stars. I admire Hancock's courage to actually try to do one scary thing a day. I found myself both admiring her courage (she did some things I would NEVER do...even though they really scared her) and wondering how important it really is to conquer your fears. On the one hand, I know that changing our thinking can really help us overcome fear...most of the things we fear will never actually happen. And I know that conquering fears can be very motivating and empowering. On the other hand, ther...more
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I liked this memoir but I didn't absolutely love it. What I appreciated was the honesty. Reminiscent of: Eat, Pray, Love, Julie and Julia, 1000 Miles in a Hundred Days or The Happiness Project, the author is searching to truly find herself and redefine who she is. Based on a quote by Eleanor Roosevelt, "Do one thing every day that scares you," the author pursues a year of fear. Some of her exploits are funny (trapeze lesson) while others (service in a hospital) are poignant. However, what I enjo...more
I'm sensing a theme in the books I'm choosing to read. This is my umpteenth memoir in the last six months. I'm not sure if it's because I'm feeling dissatisfied with how productive my life is right now, or if I'm wistfully looking at what life could have been. Or maybe I'm just being voyeuristic. All I know is that this book filled a little niche in my life and for a brief moment in time, I was able to live a little vicariously through Hancock.
Overall, I thought the book was really interesting a...more
Overall, I thought the book was really interesting a...more
This book is horrible! I would not even give it a star if it were possible. I like the premise of this book, about conquering your fears and becoming a better person. In fact, I did a similar project myself years ago. What really turned me off about this book wasn't the poor quality of the writing or the author's selfishness; rather, I felt the book was disrespectful to Eleanor Roosevelt in many ways, the author used her as a gimmick. Eleanor Roosevelt overcame her fears and used that empowermen...more
I liked this book. I thought it would just be a copycat of julie/julia (which I loved). But while it was the same sort of project, the author and her adventure was more engaging.
I have always admired and respected Eleanor Roosevelt. I went to Roosevelt School (though I'm sure it was named for Franklin or Theodore rather than Eleanor). And I have always identified with Franklin Roosevelt due to the polio connection. The Roosevelt's (F & E) contributed to history to make America its very best...more
I have always admired and respected Eleanor Roosevelt. I went to Roosevelt School (though I'm sure it was named for Franklin or Theodore rather than Eleanor). And I have always identified with Franklin Roosevelt due to the polio connection. The Roosevelt's (F & E) contributed to history to make America its very best...more
I think they call this genre "stunt nonfiction" - do something for a year, blog about it and then get a book deal. I had two of these books to read, this one and one about a Kiwi guy whose goal was to work on every continent in the world before he was 30.
When I started Noelle's book, I found it quite irritating. Judging by the photo on the back cover she's attractive, she's got the perfect boyfriend, a well off family, she's able to live off her savings and get freelance work while she looks for...more
When I started Noelle's book, I found it quite irritating. Judging by the photo on the back cover she's attractive, she's got the perfect boyfriend, a well off family, she's able to live off her savings and get freelance work while she looks for...more
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Full review at my blog, http://cristinaguarino.livejournal.com!
I bought My Year With Eleanor at the Union Square Barnes & Noble in Manhattan while waiting on a friend. I was pretty hesitant to buy it, I'll admit, not because I was unsure of the book but because $25 seemed like a pretty steep price to pay for a hardcover that just clears 300 pages. In fact, if the timing weren't so perfect, I'd be kicking myself right now for finding it on Amazon for only $15. But I had a good feeling about t...more
I bought My Year With Eleanor at the Union Square Barnes & Noble in Manhattan while waiting on a friend. I was pretty hesitant to buy it, I'll admit, not because I was unsure of the book but because $25 seemed like a pretty steep price to pay for a hardcover that just clears 300 pages. In fact, if the timing weren't so perfect, I'd be kicking myself right now for finding it on Amazon for only $15. But I had a good feeling about t...more
I saw the Dutch translated book being featured on a Dutch blog and the translated title immediately caught my attention. I decided to look into the book and purchased the English version on the Amazon Kindle site (I prefer reading in the original language of the book). I loved the book! For me, it was incredibly inspiring. Of course we can't all afford to take a year off and do the things we fear. However, at the moment, I am trying to conquer some fears of my own. Noelle Hancock has inspired me...more
Noelle Hancock, author, reads on the wall of her favorite coffee shop the quote by Eleanor Roosevelt to do something every day that scares you. Since she was recently laid off from her job as an entertainment blogger, she decides she has the time and the resources to take Eleanor's advice. She does things like sky diving, diving with sharks, and hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro as well as running down the hall of her apartment building naked. I liked the concept of stepping out of your traditional comfort...more
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This is another of those "do-something-for-a-year-and-write-about-it" books, which is so trendy, but I thought this one was well-written. After losing her blogging job, Noelle becomes inspired by an Eleanor Roosevelt quote about fear and decides to spend a year doing things that scare her.
One of the best parts was the stories she mixed in about Eleanor's life. I knew very little, and it was neat to learn what a cool, revolutionary lady she was. I am inspired to read more about her. She wrote th...more
One of the best parts was the stories she mixed in about Eleanor's life. I knew very little, and it was neat to learn what a cool, revolutionary lady she was. I am inspired to read more about her. She wrote th...more
When celebrity news blogger Noelle is laid off from her six-figure job, it kickstarts the beginning of a year of adventure. Inspired by Eleanor Roosevelt and her coffee shop quote that spurs individuals to "do one thing every day that scares you," Noelle embarks on a 365-day quest to face her fears--both big and small. From extreme feats (like skydiving and climbing Africa's Mount Kilimanjaro) to commonplace victories (returning unsatisfactory meals at a restaurant or protecting one's space on t...more
This was rated 3.5 jewels on my blog: http://onebookshy.blogspot.com
This was a tough book for me to rate and review. It was one that I enjoyed greatly at times and then became mildly irritated with at certain points.
I agreed to be on the tour because the "memoir" was promoted as being akin to Julie Powell's "Julie and Julia" which I adored. The fact that I have always admired the amazing and inspirational Eleanor Roosevelt sealed my decision to read this book.
My Year With Eleanor does have tha...more
This was a tough book for me to rate and review. It was one that I enjoyed greatly at times and then became mildly irritated with at certain points.
I agreed to be on the tour because the "memoir" was promoted as being akin to Julie Powell's "Julie and Julia" which I adored. The fact that I have always admired the amazing and inspirational Eleanor Roosevelt sealed my decision to read this book.
My Year With Eleanor does have tha...more
I love books called memoirs because there really does not need to be much fact in them. They can be told in a “this is my story and I’m sticking to it approach which I think is useful with Noelle Hancock’s memoir concerning her “Year of Fear”.
Noelle finds herself facing down her 30th birthday and has found that she has closed herself off. Her job as a blogger on an entertainment platform has left her more concerned about other people’s lives then where she is going with her own.
One day she get...more
Noelle finds herself facing down her 30th birthday and has found that she has closed herself off. Her job as a blogger on an entertainment platform has left her more concerned about other people’s lives then where she is going with her own.
One day she get...more
Normally I'm somewhat wary of "I tried __ for a year" memoirs, but this one is delightful, inspiring and offers some history lessons. When Noelle Hancock learns that her entertainment blogging job has ended, she's at a loss as to what to do. In therapy, she's trying to overcome her fears, and she decides to look to Eleanor Roosevelt for advice, latching on to the First Lady's prompt to do one thing each that scares you. Hancock doesn't detail 365 feats, but the ones she does are at turns dramati...more
Jul 10, 2011
Molly
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
EVERYONE
Recommended to Molly by:
TLC
Shelves:
book-review
I'm not a big memoir reader, but, every once in a great while, I come to one that absolutely calls to me before I ever open the book. Noelle Hancock's is one. When I read the description of the book, I just knew that I had to read it. I knew it would be funny, yet deeply enlightening book about facing your fears. I've had a few fears that I wish I could have taken on the way Noelle did, that's for sure. I mean, I'm sure everyone's got some fear of something. Noelle's book of how she tackled them...more
Its weird to review a memoir written by a friend of yours. Most of the lines in the book (particularly the dialogue) I can hear Noelle saying, and a number of her friends in the book are friends, or, at least, acquaintances of mine as well.
Noelle's book was "blurbed" by Julie Powell, and her book is firmly in the "female inspirational memoir" genre. Those are the stakes - Noelle, a pop-culture/celebrity blogger, lost her job shortly before her 29th birthday. After a couple of weeks of unsuccessf...more
Noelle's book was "blurbed" by Julie Powell, and her book is firmly in the "female inspirational memoir" genre. Those are the stakes - Noelle, a pop-culture/celebrity blogger, lost her job shortly before her 29th birthday. After a couple of weeks of unsuccessf...more
I think I'm addicted to these memoirs where the author takes a year to discover herself =)
This book was very enjoyable and I had trouble putting it down. The writing was hilarious and I laughed out loud frequently. I like the idea of taking a personal journey inspired by a person you admire. I thought some of the things the author did to face her fears during her "Year of Fear" sounded like fun (like trapeze school, learning to dog fight in jets, sky diving, and hiking Mount Kilimanjaro). I like...more
This book was very enjoyable and I had trouble putting it down. The writing was hilarious and I laughed out loud frequently. I like the idea of taking a personal journey inspired by a person you admire. I thought some of the things the author did to face her fears during her "Year of Fear" sounded like fun (like trapeze school, learning to dog fight in jets, sky diving, and hiking Mount Kilimanjaro). I like...more
So inspring and well written! I am so glad my sister recommended this to me- all young women should read about the life and accomplishments of someone as fantastic as Eleanor Roosevelt!
Likes: Noelle Hancock is an endearingly funny author! I found myself laughing out loud several times throughout the book- I love witty, charismatic writers who make you laugh without really even trying to. The entire concept of the book just really spoke to me. I have always been a fan of Eleanor Roosevelt, but I...more
Likes: Noelle Hancock is an endearingly funny author! I found myself laughing out loud several times throughout the book- I love witty, charismatic writers who make you laugh without really even trying to. The entire concept of the book just really spoke to me. I have always been a fan of Eleanor Roosevelt, but I...more
When I read the promo for this book I was skeptical. It seemed very derivative of "Julie and Julia" and I wasn't super excited to read a book written by a former gossip columnist. Sure enough, the opening few pages confirmed my fears and I prepared for a painful slog of a true story tale written by a Bridget Jones clone.
Toward the middle the book picked up and I probably could be talked into giving this three stars. I do love learning as much as I can about Eleanor Roosevelt and I give Hancock c...more
Toward the middle the book picked up and I probably could be talked into giving this three stars. I do love learning as much as I can about Eleanor Roosevelt and I give Hancock c...more
After being laid off, the author decides to take the year before her 30th birthday to follow Eleanor Roosevelt's advice: Do one thing each day that scares you. The book chronicles her adventures in trapeze-artistry, skydiving, stand-up comedy, and mountain climbing, among other things.
Hancock has an engaging writing style, and I enjoyed the book. Her description of skydiving took me back about 15 years when I tried it, too, with the same goal in mind (to conquer my fear of heights. It didn't wo...more
Hancock has an engaging writing style, and I enjoyed the book. Her description of skydiving took me back about 15 years when I tried it, too, with the same goal in mind (to conquer my fear of heights. It didn't wo...more
The author loses her job writing for an online publication and has the luxury of taking a year off to explore her fears. A longtime fan of Eleanor Roosevelt, Hancock decides to take Eleanor's advice to heart and do one thing every day that scares her. Being much too timid at times in my own life, I was excited to read what fears Hancock overcame. While I enjoyed some of Hancock's adventures, I felt that the book didn't really go into enough detail or cover enough triumphs. I would have like to h...more
Do one thing every day that scares you. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt. Those words on a coffee house chalk board catapulted recently laid-off blogger Noelle Hancock on what she refers to as her "Year of Fear." Facing her 30th birthday and feeling as if she has lost all her youthful guts and gumption, Noelle faces her everyday fears of standing up for herself in social situations to her big fears with episodes of skydiving, highwire walking, and hiking Mount Kilimanjaro. Along the way she takes as her cons...more
After losing her well paying job as a celebrity blogger, Noelle decides to re-evaluate her life and spend the year before her 30th birthday following Eleanor Roosevelt's edict to "Do one thing that scares you every day." While skydiving, taking trapeze lessons, volunteering on an oncology ward and climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, she learns a lot about Eleanor Roosevelt and herself.
About half way through this book I was ready to stop because I kept thinking "You just lost your job in the worst economy...more
About half way through this book I was ready to stop because I kept thinking "You just lost your job in the worst economy...more
Yes, I'm obsessed with Eleanor Roosevelt. Yes, I love memoirs that aren't about navel-gazing, but about a life (or a life-so-far) that contains multitudes. My Year with Eleanor by Noelle Hancock is all this and more.
Told with scrupulous honesty and charming, often self-deprecating humor, My Year with Eleanor is Noelle Hancock's year of doing one thing a day that she fears--based on a quote by--you guessed it--Eleanor Roosevelt. Sometimes it's a physically daring activity-like performing on a fly...more
Told with scrupulous honesty and charming, often self-deprecating humor, My Year with Eleanor is Noelle Hancock's year of doing one thing a day that she fears--based on a quote by--you guessed it--Eleanor Roosevelt. Sometimes it's a physically daring activity-like performing on a fly...more
About maybe 2 or so weeks after I got let go from my job I happened to be up in time to watch some of the 4th hour of the Today show and they had the author on and I kind of took that as a sign that I should read this book.
When Noelle gets let go from her magazine job just before she turned 29 (my age!), she's not quite sure what to do. One day she's at a coffee shop and on the chalkboard was the quote "Do One Thing Everyday That Scares You" by Eleanor Roosevelt. She took that as a sign that she...more
When Noelle gets let go from her magazine job just before she turned 29 (my age!), she's not quite sure what to do. One day she's at a coffee shop and on the chalkboard was the quote "Do One Thing Everyday That Scares You" by Eleanor Roosevelt. She took that as a sign that she...more
So this was more of a 3.5 than a 4 for me (come on Goodreads, let me give out half stars!). I really enjoyed the concept (entertainment blogger gets laid off from sweet a** job, wants to know what her next step is, slightly paralyzed by fear, discovers Eleanor Roosevelt and uses the year by doing something that scares her each day...and making sure she lives her best live, according to Eleanor Roosevelt). It was one of those things where if Noelle was someone I knew, I'd LOVE this story and woul...more
Noelle suffers a pre-mid-life crisis when she loses her job unexpectedly. Going from working full-time to having nothing means she needs to assess what she's going to do with her life and what she's going to do next.
Motivated by an Eleanor Roosevelt quote in the local coffee shop, Noelle writes down all the things she is most afraid of - heights, public performance, anything at which she may fail. What commences is a year long quest to find herself, discover her strengths, and realize that Elean...more
Motivated by an Eleanor Roosevelt quote in the local coffee shop, Noelle writes down all the things she is most afraid of - heights, public performance, anything at which she may fail. What commences is a year long quest to find herself, discover her strengths, and realize that Elean...more
My Year with Eleanor covers a year in time that the author chose to face one fear per day (due to a early third life crisis) inspired by Eleanor Roosevelt's quote found on a coffee bar's chalkboard. Some of the book felt contrived - as if Hancock was planning to write a book once the year was complete - and chose some outlandish fear conquering experiences such as flying a fighter jet and climbing Mt Kilimanjaro (yes, really) in order to have some good fodder for writing.
Three things kept me int...more
Three things kept me int...more
This book was very good. If you liked "The Happiness Project," then read it. It is a great book that reminds you to live your life more fully. Everyone can internalize the message from this book and remember to face their fears every day. I do wish she talked about more of the everyday fears she faced and how she faced them, as opposed to the more outrageous ones (i.e. shark diving and trapeze school). Although they were fun to read about, I would have liked to hear how she asked her credit card...more
This was a really fun read. Her writing style is enjoyable and easy. I think she painted well the evolution of her year where inspired by an Eleanor Roosevelt quote she did one scary thing every day. I do feel like there have been a few too many of this type of memoir where somebody tackles a project for a year and then writes a humorous and light memoir about it tinged with self actualization.
What I learned:
Even pretty girls can be messed up on the insides and personal growth can make bank if h...more
What I learned:
Even pretty girls can be messed up on the insides and personal growth can make bank if h...more
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