“Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain,” by Portia de Rossi

Reading this book was a total skew from the genre of books I normally read. What brought me to read this book was more of a general interest in how the author, Portia de Rossi, overcame two very strong concepts in her upbringing that she had to learn to accept in her life.

Before I chose to read this book, I read reviews on the book itself. The reviews were either good or poor, nothing really in the middle. I chose to go by the reviews that gave a good light on this book and now that I’ve finished reading it, I’m glad I did.

Reading “Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain,” was touching, honest, & heart wrenching as we followed Ms. de Rossi’s life & her reasoning for the decisions made in her life. There are many people in the same place as Ms. de Rossi, choosing to live by society’s standards & not accepting how they were born. I am one who has had trouble accepting myself, perhaps not in the same way as Ms. de Rossi, yet just as painful. Reading this book helped me to look deep within myself and evaluate my choices. Many of my own choices were made based on my understanding of what was expected of me from family, friends, and my Christian beliefs. From simple decisions such as, how I vote to whom I accept into my social circles. As a child, and even into my adult years, I found ways to dislike myself and learned ways to be accepted. All it takes is just being you, nothing more and nothing less.

The book, “Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain,” was well written and made you feel as if you were in Ms. de Rossi’s shoes as she went through her life experiences. I appreciated how she shared her experiences, yet didn’t impose her life decisions on her readers. She spoke sensibly and straight to the point. She explained her confusion and her lack of acceptance very clearly. She also shared how love and support from friends and family helped to find her inner strength to succeed.