“Unfiltered” by Lilly Collins

I like reading biographies and I like “Emily in Paris” so I thought that “Unfiltered: No Shame, No Regrets, Just Me” by Lilly Collins would be an interesting choice. I did, however, have some regrets after picking up this book.

Firstly, I did not like that the book did not have an overarching concept: it felt like a mumbo-jumbo of ideas and essays with the only connecting point being Lilly Collins herself. I wish there was some wisdom or points that I could take away from this book but there were not any.

Secondly, I felt like the writing was sub-optimal, at best. If you read a book and you catch yourself thinking that you can write better than what you are reading, you start to question whether it should have been a book in the first place.

Thirdly, I did not feel like the author had much to say. They did write this book at a quite young age and you can see it from both the writing and the experiences that they describe. Most of the experiences felt not relatable or too simplistic. For example, Lilly Collins talks about missing her father and feeling the gap that not seeing him often left in her heart so she wrote him a letter addressing that. I did not, however, get a glimpse into all the complexities of what it feels like to grow up with an absent father or what effects, perhaps, she felt from that later in her life.

The only thing that I could say I enjoyed was that I could get a glimpse into Lilly Collin’s personality behind all the roles that she played.

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“Be you and embrace your differences as things that make you unique and special. “Different” shouldn’t be considered confusing, negative, or something that divides us.”

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“It’s okay to stand up and assert my opinions. Expressing myself in any relationship should never be considered complaining.”

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“I am whole just I am. I am defined, not by my life experiences, but by how I let them affect me and how I handle myself in each situation. Just because someone treats me badly doesn’t mean that I am bad person or unworthy”.

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“I’ve always believed that there are two ways to accept being told no: You hear “No, this isn’t for you” or you hear “No, this isn’t for you right now.” Either you accept defeat, letting someone else dictate how you live your life and whether you’re up to a challenge. Or you accept the current situation for what it is and figure out way to turn that no right now into a yes later.”

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Okay, maybe it was not that terrible. But, I recommend skipping that book – there are much better biographies to read. For example, “Born a Crime” by Trevor Noah.