Bitter is the New Black
Something I discussed on The Inside Story Podcast was how to give ourselves grace and space to grieve during times of failure, hardship, and loss.
Let me emphasize that so it’s loud and clear: we need to give ourselves the gift of the grieving process.
Grieving can take many forms. For example, while sometimes cringe, my main character in Girl, Unemployed had to own her anger, frustration, bitterness, and resentment. All those feelings were real—they came from the sting of an epic fail and the realization that even though she thought she had done everything “right” in school and the workforce, she was still left with nothing—less than nothing—buried under a mountain of debt.
Of course, it’s never healthy to stay in a negative headspace for too long, but it’s important to let those feelings out. During my own grieving process after losing my travel job with a luxury European tour operator, I turned to books that spoke directly to that mindset of anger, frustration, bitterness, and resentment.
One of my favorites was Jen Lancaster’s Bitter Is the New Black, because the protagonist gave voice to the anger I was feeling—but in a funny, ironic, and ultimately hopeful way. What began as a journey through anger and bitterness ended with a promising way forward.
If you’re in that space today, here’s the book—with its ridiculous but spot-on subtitle:
