Well, you can call me a Friducha now...

What Would Frida Do? is a self-titled “Guide to Living Boldly,” just as Ms. Kahlo did. The book weaves together the stories from Kahlo’s legendary life, using her writings to herself, friends, lovers and family to help present-day readers to find Frida in their own lives. Segmented into ten commandment-like themes (such as Confidence, Pain, Identity and Friendship), author Arianna Davis writes about Kahlo with such familiarity and feeling that you can’t help but read on!

I must confess, this was my first foray into learning about Frida Kahlo’s life. She is such an icon that while her image always felt present in my life as a woman and purveyor social media purveyor, I had never purchased anything with her image featured as I didn’t want to be a shallow consumer of someone who I assumed was a feminist icon. All this to say, I loved learning about Frida, and for all those who aren’t usually a self-help/care genre reader - you should still pick this book up if you’ve ever been curious to learn about the great self-portrait artist!

If you love: Frida Kahlo’s work, the concept of self-portraiture and how it relates to selfies, Mexican art and culture, and motivational quotes - you’ll love this book!

This book was a history lesson and a motivational text all in one. The illustrations were lovely, just like the cover, and the historical information about Frida and all the aspects of her life were so interesting to read about! If anything this book motivates me to go out and read more about the incredible Frida Kahlo!

The actual motivational/self-help aspect was okay. It didn't break the mould and the advice was mainly centred around art and creativity so I definitely think creative and artistic people should pick this up for a little inspiration as well as casual life lessons and reflections on daily life all through the lens of life of Frida Kahlo and her struggles, politics, and relationships.

There were some weird moment where the author would imagine what Frida felt and would say if they had a conversation and I thought it read a little weirdly and presumed too much about what the artist would think and would actually say.

Overall, a solid motivational read that I would recommend to everyone!

WWFD is a playful homage to the legendary Frida Kahlo. It's a great primer for those new to her story, or a good refresher for longtime fans.. It's not a comprehensive biography but rather an exploration into different facets of Frida's life and and some lessons that might be applied to our own lives in current times. There is quite a bit of repetition which makes it possible to treat each chapter as a stand alone. The author's respect and admiration for her subject clearly shines through. The illustrations are cheerful but keep your browser open as you will likely want to look up some of the artwork for yourself and dig deeper into some of the fascinating details about this extraordinary woman..

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy.

The latest offering in “Fridamania” is WHAT WOULD FRIDA DO?: A GUIDE TO LIVING BOLDLY from Arianna Davis, the digital director of O, The Oprah Magazine. She seeks to carve her niche and shine unique amongst the multitude of Frida homages by showing the reader how they might infuse into their daily lives a shot of Frida’s ‘alegría’ and the way she lived her colorfully bold life. Arianna is a self proclaimed “Friducha”, and I must admit I am part of the Frida adoration ranks as well, but am in good company with the likes of Madonna, Beyoncé, ColdPlay, and Salma Hayek. I will never forget my “Frida Day” with bestie Sara Abu-Rumman in Chicago, where the highlight of our celebration of all things Frida and Mexican was the Oscar winning film, Frida starring Salma Hayek. That film was also the beginning of the author’s Frida journey, but the world has been swept up into a Kahlo frenzy ever since the Women’s Rights and Chicano Movements have brought the artist to heights of fame never achieved during her own lifetime. Posthumously her painting Two Lovers in a Forest sold for the highest amount of money ever paid for a Latin America artist’s work and currently all books I read my daughter that showcase great women trailblazers and heroes include her amongst the ranks.

So until you can make the ‘Friducha’ pilgrimage down to the Museo Frida Kahlo at La Casa Azul yourself, grab this book to learn new little known facts behind a confident strong woman who embraced and used her imperfections and pain to soar to new heights with her painting, make signature statements with her outfits and hair, and fight for her causes and country. While you may not always agree with her beliefs and behaviors, you have to admire her staunch love and support for all the things she loved, from her home country of Mexico and its culture to her beloved “Panzon” Diego Riviera. Nothing could stop her if she willed and wanted it— from attending her artist exhibition from her bed to rallying at a protest from her wheelchair to coming back from her husband’s affairs and many health issues and surgeries — she used her pain and roadblocks to inspire her best paintings and create her greatest work and achievements. However, Davis’s book doesn’t shy away from painting Frida in all her contradictions, acknowledging that 39% of her paintings were self-portraits despite her eschew of flattery, her countless affairs, her self revision of her birthdate and name, and her aversion as well as disdain for “Gringolandia” ‘s people and food just to name a few.

Set your calendars and grab your fellow “Friduchas” for an evening full of tequila, mariachi music, Frida movies and art books, and authentic Mexican fare to honor the formidable Frida Kahlo next month, October 20, 2020, when Arianna’s WHAT WOULD FRIDA DO? Releases. Use it to amass and create opportunities to make bold splashes in your life’s giving and doings!

“Viva La Vida” - Frida Kahlo

‘They thought I was a Surrealist, but I wasn’t. I never painted dreams or nightmares. I painted my own reality.’
An inspiring read about Frida Kahlo and her life as an artist, a wife and a friend, most of all, a trailblazer, who knew how to live loud and proud, embracing her strengths, weaknesses and eccentricities. She married Diego, known for his philandering habits, divorced him and married him again, all along loving him with the same ferocity as the day she fell for him.

Even when bed-ridden, she never let it deter her from creating and painting, even attending her exhibition against her doctor’s advice. She forgave her sister whose affair with Diego broke her to pieces, she went on to fight for her beliefs despite the challenging conditions she was in, she survived her miscarriages, overcame polio; she never let pain nor the world define her.

This book encapsulated her spirit and wisdom, her passion for life and love and the people who helped shape her life. There were inspiring quotes to lift one’s spirit, anecdotes, timelines of events in her life from her illness to the celebrations of her as an individual and an artist and political pursuits and snippets of her letters to Diego and her friends which were found recently.

The author took what we could learn from Frida and divided it into chapters such as Confidence, Strength, Creativity, Style, Love, Sex, Identity, Friendship and Viva la Vida, and ending each chapter with ‘What Would Frida Do If…’ she needed to find inner strength, she needed a spark of creativity, she needed a little style inspiration, was heartbroken, wanted to seduce someone, take a stand, and wanted to build a strong inner circle.

Clearly Frida lived her life to the full. Yes, she was a walking paradox – portrayed her self as one who’s strong and determined, and yet her paintings showed otherwise, declared her love for her husband, yet engaged in affairs, womanly and feminine yet also manly and masculine in her outfits. But did she care how she was seen by others? Never.

Some of my favorite quotes from her.
“The most important thing for everyone in Gringolandia is to have ambition and become ‘somebody,’ and frankly, I don’t have the last ambition to become anybody.”
and
“I don’t belong to any category.”

I love the fact that it didn’t bother her that she was seen as the wife of Diego. She just wanted to make him happy to the extent of befriending his ex-wife to learn how to cook his favorite foods from her, and she dressed up the way he liked. It didn’t bother her that she was without ambition, when today, we are so caught up with the rat race, wanting to powerful and ambitious, chasing for trophies and the acknowledgment of others. Frida proved to me that there’s nothing wrong in being proud of who we are and who we want to be, even if it's going against the grain of society. Thank you, Frida! And thank you Davis for writing this book! This was much needed, especially now!

This book would make such a great gift especially because Frida is so well-loved!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of What Would Frida Do?

Like many art lovers, I was familiar with Frida Kahlo and her incredible contributions to the art world but there was so much I did not know.

The book is broken down into ten chapters that outlines Frida's philosophies in life including sex, politics, identity, family and love.

I wished the book contained some of Frida's artwork, which would have saved me time from Googling the titles of her pieces, but the lack of art might be due to copyright issues.

This is a great book for any Frida Kahlo fan or anyone interested in learning more about an extraordinary woman; talented, sassy and a woman ahead of her time.

***Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
Though the formatting was a little funky with the digital ARC, I think this could be a beautifully accessible book for those who love Frida and also for those who have no idea who she is.

Arianna Davis clearly knows Frida Kahlo and how to embody her way of life.

This book is a deep exploration into Frida's life: how she lived, how her decisions directed her life, and how little she cared about what people thought of her.

I was completely clueless who Frida Kahlo was. If not because of the captivating cover of this book, I would have not requested and picked it.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. Here's my honest review.

Reading What Would Frida Do? is a gift to one's self. This book isn't only offering self-help tips through Frida Kahlo's life history but it's also giving us a profound background on what Frida Kahlo stood for as a woman, a wife, a friend, an artist, an activist and as Frida Kahlo herself.

Arianna Davis did a fantastic job laying this guide to love, life, and happiness through Frida Kahlo to us. This book needs to be celebrated.

A fun approach to living boldly inspired by Frida Kahlo. Ask yourself What would Frida do? She would always do whatever she wanted to.

The author is very well educated on Fridas life and clearly respects her. Frida herself is fabulous and iconic in every way.

The book looks at so many topics through different lens including identity, love & all around festivity & creativity. A sweet self help book to find yourself and become comfortable with who you really are.

The author of this title clearly loves Frida Kahlo.  She has immersed herself in the life of this artist by spending time at La Casa Azul (Frida's home) and by letting the spirit of this artist infuse her.  Ms. Davis has also researched Frida's life and work.


This book includes much biographical information on Frida; her life had contradictions and these are explored.  There are many quotes throughout the illustrated text.  Ms. Davis also looks to Frida as someone who can guide readers on good ways to live their lives.  The book looks at this topic from several points of view including confidence, pain, creativity, style, love, heartbreak, sex, identity, and friendship.  For example, the author notes the famous eyebrows and sees them as a way of loving/accepting herself, implying that there are ways that readers can practice their own self-acceptance.. Other suggestions include things like the using a creative outlet to help build inner strength.


If you are a fan of Frida Kahlo or if you enjoy self-help books, this book may appeal to you.  Many thanks to the publisher for this title.  All opinions are my own.

What Would Frida Do?: A Guide to Living Boldly by Arianna Davis is a fun, informative biography and self-improvement book perfect for when you need a some inspiration. I read Hayden Herrera's big, long Frida biography many, many years ago, but it's been a while, so it was nice get a a refresher. This was delightful to read, and I even got a kick out of the self-improvement aspect of it. What would Frida do? She wouldn't give a damn what anyone thinks, and neither should you! I wish I could show you the cover in color because I've seen pics of it and it's gorgeous, but unfortunately I only have a copy of the e-book (thank you @netgalley!) and this book's publish date is Oct 20th. Author Arianna Davis summed it up nicely in a Refinery29 article saying, "as a bi-racial Latina—my mother is Puerto Rican, and my father is Black—I love how deeply proud Frida was of her own identity as a Latina born to a German father and a Mexican mother with indigenous roots. In the Latinx community, especially, Frida has become an icon for many of us—a symbol for standing up for who you are and never letting anyone define you but you." Be true to yourself, amigas, and live boldly!

I've had a passing interest in Frida Kahla and her life over the years. I can't say I knew a lot of details about her life, but I knew enough to admire her apparent zest for life, and the way she completely owned herself and everything about her life.

This book not only delves into her incredible life and talent, but uses that to highlight valuable life lessons along the way. I think the most important message that the book conveys through the life of Frida Kahlo is to life your life fully and passionately no matter what.

I enjoyed reading the book on the whole. Both for the insights into Frida Kahlo's life as well as the quick snippy takeaways.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book.

I was not expecting to love this book as much as I did. This modern analysis of the incredible life of Frida Kahlo through the lense of how she may handle modern times kept my attention throughout. I devoured it in one sitting. I loved the author's voice and her connection to Frida. I learned so much about Kahlo that I did not know.

This book was also a beacon of inspiration for me. I can't wait to move forward with some of the ideas that sparked from the "What Would Frida Do..." situations at the end of every chapter!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me access to this eARC!

As far as self-help books go, this one does not seem extraordinary in any way to me. The advice it gives is generic and oftentimes vague. Very little time is spent on developing how to incorporate this advice into your life in favor of short, punchy advice snippets with little substance. What this book does have, however, is an interesting premise and framework.

There's no denying the pop culture relevance of Frida Kahlo. In fact, a week before I read this book I saw a bunch of handbags with her face on them for sale. The gimmick of this book is to pull from Frida's life history and experiences as an example to live your own life by. Again, none of the advice given was revolutionary or exemplary, but I very quickly stopped reading it for that purpose. Instead, I read more with the intention of learning about Frida's life. This book, I think, would have been much better framed as a biography with a little bit of life lessons added in for flavor rather than a straight up self-help book.

The book also could have been shorter/condensed or else better researched. I felt that the same moments in Frida's life were being described over and over again without any new information being added in. These moments were mostly in the first half of the book; the latter half began to differentiate the moments it chose of her life it chose to reflect on.

All of the images in this book, cover included, are lovely. They added a nice touch to the overall design and I'd love to see what they'd look like in color in the final version of the book. "What Would Frida Do?" would make an excellent coffee table book.

What would Frida Do? by Arianna Davis is chockful of years of research on every aspect of Frida's life! I learned more than I could have ever have hoped to learn. Arianna's insightful perspective was a welcome change from the way most biographies are written. I loved how she made Frida come alive by placing Frida in the room with her as she types and researched Frida's life!

No stone was left unturned! Frida's life emerges fully so that the reader truly feels that they, themselves have conducted years of research. I absolutely enjoyed the walking/sitting commentary from the author as she visited Frida's home aka museum. It's amazing that she lived and died in the same home. So many aspects to her life have never been truly revealed until now.

This is a MUST READ book for any woman who is seeking assistance from another woman on being independent and doing living the life they want to live. To take care every single day. How one dresses... one's body is a canvas. I honestly never really gave much thought to getting dressed in the morning. Now, I can't stop thinking about it. Amazing how much life Frida crammed into her forty-seven years on this planet. It's up to each and every one of us to LIVE and be vocal about our own beliefs.

I absolutely loved reading this story!! Well done, Frida! Well done, Arianna!! Well done, women of the planet! Viva la Vida!! Long Live Life!!

I wanted to read this book as I am fascinated by Frida Kahlo and the life she led. The book is nicely separated into sections that describe Frida from when she was a girl to her early death.

What I liked about the book:
* the writing flowed very well
* a lot of historical facts and information that I did not know prior to reading this book
* cute chapter endings as to what Frida would do

What I did not like about this book:
* I was not expecting such a biographical type book but more fun notions as to what Frida would do in certain circumstances (this initially bothered me as it wasn’t what I was expecting, however I did end up enjoying the historical facts and information)
* the author noted that Frida was sexually fluid early on in the book. I noticed that throughout the book she would constantly make note that Frida would have same sex relationships, using this information for attempted shock value. I found in unnecessary and a bit disrespectful. Example from chapter 9: “...her several infamous extramarital liaisons (many of which were, yes, with members of the same sex).”
* there was much description of Frida’s artwork, however there were no actual pictures of them. Having some imagery of her artwork would provide more context to the writing.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy for an honest review.

Davis’s work, a short book that breaks down Kahlo’s life, with sections outlining some of the philosophies Kahlo may have followed, if not having personally articulated. Davis’s book outlines Kahlo’s political views, her relationship with Diego Rivera, her physical and emotional pain that she handled through her life, and much more. While I had much of this knowledge on my own due to having studied Kahlo and her work, this was a good primer for anyone new to Kahlo’s work and life.

However, what felt like it was missing from this book were prints and pictures of Kahlo’s art. So many times, the book references her work, but there isn’t an accompanying picture to help illustrate what the author was saying. Maybe this was a decision made because sourcing and printing the art in the book would have required some level of licensing, but honestly, I would pay more for a book printed on glossy paper with her art attached if it meant a more rich reading experience.

If you are curious about Kahlo and don’t mind googling her art mid-read to understand the authors implication further, I would say this book is perfect for anyone who loves art, feminism, mid-20th century history, or political intersections of all three.

I’ve always been a Frida Kahlo fan. I love her outlook on life, her art, and her story so when I seen this available on Netgalley I knew I had to read it! What Would Frida Do? by Arianna Davis was enjoyable. This book does a wonderful job of laying out the aspiring life of Frida Kahlo and is a beautiful tribute to a woman who refused to be held back by social standards. I think this book is a good read for anyone interested in learning about Ms Kahlo’s life, it appears that the author did her research and further backs her statements by including excerpts of letters to and from Frida. I also liked how Davis speaks on what Frida Kahlo meant to her personally. I would definitely recommend this book.

Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book!

A fun book for Frida fans. I find Frida's life and art so I have read my share of books about her, the best part about this one is how obvious it is that it's obvious that the author is a fan (a Friducha as she calls it) and the b book often reads as a friend telling you about someone they know a lot about and have a lot of love for. The quotes in between the essays and the information sections at the end of every chapter are very cool. The advice itself is not very specific so this book resent really feel like a self-help book, it didn't really give me any new information about Kahlo but it was a cool point of view and quite a fun book. Recommended.


I read this book as an ecopy from NetGalley. Thank you to the publishers. All opinions are my own.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3486795899