Unapologetic: Unshackle Your Shame, Reclaim Your Power

Performance coach Howling debuts with a candid yet unsatisfactory analysis of shame as a tool of the patriarchy that robs women of their agency. Highlighting the ways shame manifests, she explains how unrealistic social expectations of women to be perfect partners, friends, and mothers (and look thin and pretty while doing so) spur addictions, eating disorders, people-pleasing, and general dissatisfaction. The antidote, she suggests, lies mainly in getting honest about one’s desires and practicing “radical self-acceptance.” While such points are valid, the interspersed narratives of women who have personally dealt with shame quickly grow repetitive, and there’s a dearth of actionable or research-based solutions (for example, Howling advocates for self-compassion without providing clear strategies for practicing it). The result is an account that feels frustratingly preoccupied with decrying a problem rather than offering solutions. Those seeking concrete advice on living an empowered life would be better served by Faith Harper’s Unfuck Your Shame. (May)