Anna Kendrick just might be my spirit animal.

I recently finished reading Anna Kendrick’s book, titled “Scrappy Little Nobody,” and just knew from page one that I would need to write a blog post about it. As I’ve mentioned in my other book reviews though, I am no book critic, so don’t expect much. 😉

So first, here’s a little info about her, just in case you need it. She’s been in a number of movies such as the Twilight saga, Up in the Air, Into the Woods, A Simple Favor, and the Pitch Perfect movies, just to name some of the more well-known ones.  Not only can she act, she can also sing. She’s witty, talented, and has done some incredible work not only in films, but on the stage as well.

Now back to the book! The woman is super talented in acting and singing, and yes, she can also write! Her memoir is sassy, honest, crude at times, entertaining, and relatable. From reading her book, we get the impression that Anna Kendrick is funny, insecure, down-to-earth, and real. Throughout the pages, we find funny and personal stories not only about her career, but about her “normal” life experiences. We get to see what happens behind-the-scenes for movie making (which I found really cool), and what happens behind-the-scenes in her regular life.

One of the best quotes from her book is this:

“Maybe we all have imposter syndrome and perpetually feel like our real life is right around the corner…”

As I read those words on page 184, well, I’d like to say that it was as though an epiphany happened. But in all honesty, first I had to set the book down and look up if imposter syndrome was a real thing. It is.

Then imagine my relief, mixed with a healthy dose of anxiety, as I diagnosed myself (as most people with internet access to WebMD do) with having this syndrome. It would explain a lot: I am not comfortable with praise. I feel like a phony in certain aspects of my life. I’m worried that my status as a writer will be publicly and shamefully revoked once everyone figures out that I really cannot write and that this whole blog is actually pretty awful.

Anyhow, back to the book review. Page after page, through every personal story Kendrick shares with us, we are reminded of the humanity of celebrities. It’s not all glitz and glamour in show business, although she informs us that those are definitely perks of her career. We see how she was an awkward teenager, just like us. We feel her sorrow as she talks about how she bereaved her grandmother’s death. We laugh when she geeks out around some other celebrities. We relate to a number of other endearing life experiences that feel so familiar, yet also just slightly unreal because she’s famous and we’re not.

The title is brilliant. Scrappy Little Nobody. As we read the book, we see that those three words are almost like her personal mantra. A way to remind herself of where’s she from, who she was, and who she is. Those three words seem so ironic, and maybe even a little sarcastic. Being a word nerd, I tend to think of the play on words. She may have been scrappy as a kid, but she’s certainly no longer a “little nobody.”

As always, thanks for stopping by. Have a Happy New Year! ❤