Operation Beautiful

Caitlin Boyle

Transforming the way you see yourself one Post-it note at a time...

Tired of watching women pick themselves apart in front of the mirror, Caitlin Boyle scribbled a note on a Post-it--"YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!"--and slapped it on the mirror of a public bathroom.  With this one small act, she kick-started a movement.  In a matter of days, women were undertaking their own feats of resistance, by posting uplifting notes on gym lockers, diet shakes in supermarkets, and anywhere else a nagging voice of self-criticism might lurk.

Operation Beautiful showcases the notes women have posted around the world and the stories behind them.  Interlaced between interviews, revealing research findings, and tips for improving one's outlook on life, each Post-it offers an inspiring message.  

Blending heartfelt confessions with gutsy observations about redefining beauty, Operation Beautiful empowers women to trust, respect, and love themselves just the way they are.

My Take:

I've always been very lucky with the role models in my life.  My mom always taught me to appreciate myself, to know that I am a nice, smart and beautiful person, and to always remember it is what is on the inside that counts.  So while I, like everyone else, had my bouts of self doubt (especially during puberty--eesh!)  overall I was very blessed to know that even if I didn't look perfect, I was still pretty great.  Unfortunately, for one reason or another there are about a zillion women out there who don't like themselves, and this is the book for those women, and even ones like me who, while I know I am far from supermodel status, know they are beautiful.  This book was very important to me, because I wanted everyone to have the security I was lucky enough to grow up with, I wanted to help other women like themselves.  This book is full of stories of how women began leaving post its for other women about how they should feel beautiful, and this in turn made them feel better about themselves.  This book is all about paying it forward and I think that is great, because nothing makes you feel better about yourself than helping others.  The book challenges you as the reader to leave these notes wherever you can, and at first I thought it would be a little cheesy.  I thought it was all well and good for others to do it, but I'd feel silly.  After thinking about it some more, I felt like I'd be doing a disservice to the book to not at least attempt to get the full experience.  So I decided to give it a go.  I oh so stealthily left funny notes in fashion magazines that said things like "They are AIRBRUSHED!  Now quit beating yourself up!" or "Don't stress about looking like this model, SHE doesn't even look like her!"  and of course, the more sappy ones like "Would you tell your best friend she is ugly/fat/stupid?  Then why are you saying it to yourself?"  I must say I felt goofy at first, but then it got to be pretty dang fun.  There were so many women in the book who felt as if someone actually cared about them enough to leave a note, and it was way fun to be part of the experience.  If you decide to participate in this movement, just be sure to leave operationbeautiful.com on the note, so women can visit the site and learn more so they can pass it on themselves.  This book is really a collection of stories, in their own words, about how these women have changed lives or whose lives have been changed, I feel weird assigning a number rating to the these stories.  So as a Book Buff first (gasp!), I won't be assigning a number rating to a book.  It is an amazing book, I highly recommend getting it, or at least checking out the website involved.

http://www.operationbeautiful.com

***FTC Disclosure:  This book was provided in exchange for an honest review, no other compensation was given, all opinions are my own

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