leahrosereads
Written on Apr 25, 2018
Still all the fucking stars...
11/10 - 11/26/2014
5 Fucking Stars and Hugs For All
A little background, because I feel like I need to put this here: I love Amanda Palmer’s music. I received a burned copy of The Dresden Dolls my senior year in high school (late 2005/2006). I fell in love with her lyrics and their music back then, and I’ve continued to support both Amanda Palmer and Brian Viglione whenever I can.
That has included supporting AFP’s Kickstarter. Honestly, I pretty much ignored any negative story on the subject, because I just didn’t care what the Negative Nancy's had to say. I wanted to support an artist that I loved and had a lot of respect for. It was as simple as that for me. Anything else was just noise.
When AFP first started blogging about THE ART OF ASKING, I was uber-excited for her to be writing about her life, her art, her thoughts, and anything else that came across her mind. To me, she has always seemed genuine and real, and I will admit to being extremely moved with her speaking engagement on TED Talks. Knowing that this book was going to be a more in-depth conversation of that, while adding in her experiences over the years, I knew that I would definitely be getting a copy of this book when it came out.
And I wasn’t disappointed with what I read at all.
The writing itself is fantastic. But then, knowing her lyrics, I knew that AFP could spin her words and make them feel real as hell, because well, that’s what they are. She’s this open artist that writes what’s on her mind, without needing or wanting to filter herself. And I love that.
AFP’s life has been so full and fascinating, and she is incredibly open about her experiences. From her art/music career, her life experiences in college and her marriage, AFP didn’t seem to hold anything back - she bared herself to the world, and has asked us to see her. I definitely do.
If you’re wanting to read this book as a “How to Guide” on Asking, then it falls extremely short, because that’s now what it’s for. This was yelling at me - that it’s OK to ask! To not be ashamed to ask, and that asking and giving can create these amazing human connections.
And To just fucking ask.
Finally, on a personal level, THE ART OF ASKING has inspired me to start creating again. To bare my soul and start writing, because this life is freaking short, and I need to remember that. I should be living my life for me, my goals and passions and loves, and hopefully by doing that, I re-open myself to everything that’s awe inspiring around me. I’ve been pretty closed off from human connections for too long, and in 2015, I’m planning on really changing that. I’ve missed the connection.
