Review: Normal Gets You Nowhere by Kelly Cutrone

Normal Gets You Nowhere
By: Kelly Cutrone, Meredith Bryan
Publisher: HarperOne
Published: May 3, 2011
Genre: Non Fiction
Rating:



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nor-mal: according with, constituting, or not deviating from a norm, rule or principle / conforming to a type, standard, or regular pattern / of, relating to, or characterized by average intelligence or development

Normal?
Who wants to be that?

When Kelly Cutrone’s first book, If You Have to Cry, Go Outside, was first published, young people flocked to this new voice—finally, someone was telling it like it is, in language they spoke. It quickly became a New York Times bestseller, and fashion publicist Kelly Cutrone became more than a personality, she became a beloved guru, mentor, and fairy godmother.

Now she’s back with another no-holds-barred book to awaken our souls and kick our asses into gear. With Normal Gets You Nowhere, she invites us to get our freak on. History is full of successful, world-changing people who did not fit in. Think Nelson Mandela, Joan of Arc, Eleanor Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart, John Lennon, and Rosa Parks. Instead of changing themselves to accommodate the status quo or what others thought they should be, these people hung a light on their differences—and changed humanity in the process.

“I know you don’t feel normal, so why are you trying to act it and prove to everyone you are?” Cutrone says. So much of what we say or don’t say, and what we do or don’t do, is dictated by what others have told us, or what people may think of us. This is not how we should be living, by measuring ourselves against the mundane.

An invitation to rethink who you are, what you value, and what you want from life, Normal Gets You Nowhere goes beyond how to reinvent yourself and create your own brand, and investigates what it means to live in this world as a tuned-in, caring individual with a passion for making a difference. There’s already an army of super talented uberfreaks changing the world–isn’t it time you joined it time you joined them?

My thoughts...

I picked up Kelly Cutrone’s “Normal Gets You Nowhere” after reading (and liking) her previous book “If You Have To Cry Go Outside”. Let’s start off this by saying I have a lot of respect for Kelly Cutrone. She is a strong, independent, successful woman in the fashion industry, that I think any modern woman can take some advice from. On a personal note, we are like one in the same, both Scorpio’s, and both from Syracuse! Since I’m from Syracuse, her frequent references to CNY are cool (who knew her family owns Pirro Funeral Homes!).

From this books title, I was hoping to get revolutionary wisdom on how to not be normal - that would make sense right? Well, I don’t think the book necessarily stuck to the theme unfortunately. Honestly, anything that comes out of Kelly’s mouth I eat up, she is so intelligent, has had great experiences in life and has some interesting stories. That being said, I feel like the book didn’t really teach anyone about how to be different in life. The epilogue was the hardest hitting evidence on the title, where she define’s what she means when she says “normal gets you no where”. To Kelly, and I agree, if you are waking up, going to work, eating at a restaurant for dinner, watching a movie at night and falling asleep in the arms of a man, that is normal - and it will get you nowhere. Further drilling it down, if you arn’t out there pushing yourself every day as hard as you can, you won’t achieve your highest goals (if you have any). You won’t be a successful CEO of a company, or own your own boutique if you are worried about getting the kids to their soccer game, or what movie to watch that night.

Kelly does push the reader to question things in life. Like, what is the driving force of the media’s message, why is the homeless man on the corner homeless, or why are there no woman’s faces on money bills? Where she loses me is her trying to tie Christmas and lawyers into “normal”. She had stories that were entertaining, just not relating to the subject, really.

Kelly is, in her own way, trying to push the reader to excel in life - to not settle for less than they deserve. While I agree, and want to excel in life, I also believe that it’s ok to work hard and still be considered “normal”. We are the ones who define normal anyways, and who said normal was all that bad! 

Favorite parts from the book...

“I believe that all the things you do for other people, you’re actually doing for yourself. Life is like a bank account. Random acts of kindness, telling the truth, being loving, showing up for yourself and others - these are all deposits. Getting f*cked up, f*cking other people over, letting your ego lead your choices - the thinks we think are fun after eleven at night but don’t seem so entertaining at eleven in the morning - are withdrawals. If we give more than we take, we progress. If we take more than we give, we regress.”

Another concept from the book that I liked is what Kelly called “The No Matter What Club”. It’s your group of friends in life, that you’ve signed up to be on their team, no matter what. Think about it, who and how many would be on your team? I’ve lived through 25 years of friends, coming and going - but there will always be those select few that are my No Matter What’s.

Guest Post: Kersten L. Kelly Author of Economics

Joining us today is Kersten L. Kelly, author of Economics

Kersten L. Kelly is a self-published author of narrative non-fiction and semi-fiction books. She grew up in Munster, Indiana, and currently works in a sales role based out of Chicago, Illinois. She started writing at an early age and graduated from Indiana University with a dual Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Communication & Culture. She then went on to earn a Master’s in Business Administration from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. She has a passion for learning, teaching, and writing as well as international travel in her spare time.

For more information on Kersten L. Kelly visit her website.

Every day I learn a valuable lesson, and sometimes the same one is reiterated over and over again. Last week, I was unexpectedly reminded of one of my very favorites. I was flying home from Minneapolis, Minnesota on business, and I made a rash, last-minute decision to catch an earlier flight. I was pessimistic about whether I would actually make the flight, but I sprinted through the airport to the gate anyway. Luckily, I arrived with about twenty minutes to spare. I found the nearest seat to plop down and organize my carry-on luggage before I entered the aircraft. As I rummaged through my stuff in search of a book, I overheard the people sitting next to me talking about something that immediately sparked my interest.

The young woman was describing her current occupation which included the words "Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty." Normally, I would have eavesdropped without actually saying anything, but I couldn't help but inquire about her position with the campaign. She led on that she was one of the former models for the campaign, and now she is a spokesperson and motivational speaker for women throughout the country. As controversial as the campaign was, I remember thinking what a great message it conveyed. The premise of the campaign was that women of all colors, shapes, and sizes are beautiful despite what the media portrays to be a "normal" representative of the female population in the United States. Models photographed for the campaign were depicted in their underwear, without airbrushed touch-ups or excessive make-up, and the majority of them were of average physical appearances. The public was accustomed to viewing thin, perfected models in advertisements.

After engaging in their existing conversation, I learned that she used her experience with Dove to forward that message on to women all over the country. She travels to publicly speak about how to love your body, self-image, and appearance as it is without having to achieve unrealistic expectations. As I listened to her describe her routine, I thought of a television show that I've seen that exploits and rears young girls into being in pageants. At very young ages, the girls are dressed in scandalous clothing, painted with layers of make-up, and flaunted around a stage only to be judged for their appearances. Being the opinionated (and extraordinarily extroverted person that I am), I shared my candid opinion on the show emphasizing my disgust with the actions at such an early age. I asked if she ever included information about what a negative impact this could have on children and their self-image.

She responded by saying "In all of my speeches, I focus on the positive. The information I provide is supposed to educate women on how to love themselves. It wouldn't do me any good to stand up in front of a crowd of women and talk about the thousands of ways people engage in poor body image practices. I've found that clients respond much better when I discuss how to be positive and encourage them about their physical appearance." She was right. This actually shut me up fairly quick (which is pretty atypical), and I couldn't help but just nod and agree with her process.

I enjoyed the rest of my conversation with her because I was able to argue back and forth with her about self-image and share my knowledge and thoughts on the topic. She agreed off record that the show I mentioned was portraying the wrong self-image norm for children but the presentation of the argument is much more important than the argument itself. We chatted about the subject until they called us to board the plane.

I ended up not sitting by her on the flight, but I thought a lot about what she said. Instead of focusing on the negative in any context, it is much more effective to highlight progressive aspects. People are much more willing to respond and actually engage with an encouraging connotation. I am going to adapt to her delivery method and keep this life lesson close. Think positive!

Professional football players, corporate tobacco advertisers, volatile gasoline prices, and the Cold War all share an undetected commonality—each is an intrinsic part of economics. Though not obvious to the naked eye, each entity shares a pattern with the others. This book helps to shed light on these mutual characteristics. It is an extensive compilation of theories interpreted using supportive examples written in a narrative non-fiction format. The overarching goal of the book is to provide readers with a non-textbook account of economics in our world that they can actually relate to and enjoy.

You can purchase Economics at
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Review: Love, Lust, and Faking It: The Naked Truth About Sex, Lies, and True Romance

By: Jenny McCarthy
Publisher: Harper
Published: September 28, 2010
Genre: Social Science
Pages: 344p
Source: Bought
Format: Hardcover
Rating: I liked it.

New York Times bestselling author Jenny McCarthy returns to her comic roots in this candid, wise, and witty look at women, men, sex, romance, heartbreak, love, and how (not) to fake it.

Filled with humorous stories about her own out-rageous exploits—from becoming a Playboy Miss October to the pain of getting a discount boob job to meeting Brad Pitt—as well as the lessons she's learned from family, friends, and fans, Love, Lust & Faking It takes on a subject the sex symbol, mother, television star, comedian, and divorcée can be trusted to examine with nothing but unvarnished honesty and earthy humor. Throughout, Jenny reminds us to aim higher, believe in true love, and, most of all, be kind to ourselves. And to have lots of fun and sex—without faking it.

My Thoughts:
I did enjoy this book. It is a short and easy read and there were some entertaining parts. In all actuality, some of the chapters make you evaluate some of your own behaviors in relationships. I did LOL at some of the stories Jenny tells. I like Jenny McCarthy so this was an easy pick for me. I did, however, anticipate a bit more out of the book since her interviews were so comical.

My Favorite Part:
I must admit my favorite part of the book was the story about Playboy. We should all be able to laugh at ourselves and Jenny proves that.