Okay, I have a massive book hangover, so here's some background info to start with: Amanda Fucking Palmer is a punk cabaret rock musician, has toured the world, hugged a large part of the human population, and scored a whooping Million Dollars with her "Theatre is Evil"-Kickstarter-campaign. Her fanbase is loyal and strong, since she tweets daily, blogs about everything, and is very approachable at signings. She is married to (one of my favorite) author(s) Neil Gaiman.

So, in 2013 she gave a speech at TED (see above), where new ideas and concepts are presented. She talked about asking people to help instead of carrying the weight of the world alone on your shoulders. After the talk she was approached if she wanted to write a book about her idea. This is it.

But it's not simply a How-To-Ask-manual or a dry nonfiction book. Amanda's life has been a study in how to ask for the things you need: you have to make a connection first. That is why the How-To-Parts are intertwined with stories from her own life - a large part is autobiographical, including details of her marriage and her friendships and the connections she has made on the road.

I myself had the same problem with money as Amanda: I am currently an intern and therefore don't have as much money as my boyfriend. He sometimes insists to pay for stuff for me and I, in my stubborn feminist mind, tell him not to. I have now learned to thank him for his offerings and not feel guilty. That is why this book is a beauty: it teaches us to interact, to accept, and to be grateful.

I laughed ("BaNAHna"), I cried (Neil and love), and then I realized that I had been lurking in the shadows of her blog, never commenting, never engaging. I felt connected to this wonderful woman and her fantastic husband and she didn't even know I existed. But there were so many things that I wanted to tell her. So I took notes and wrote her a mail. I made a connection.

"There's really no honor in proving that you can carry the entire load on your own shoulders. (...)

Take the fucking donuts."

Interesting Links:

Amanda's Twitter

Amanda's Homepage

Pay-what-you-want Playlist to the book

~ Lilith ~

07.01.2015