Share Your Stuff. I’ll Go First. by Laura Tremaine // 5/5 books // Laura Tremaine is my best friend. Ok, oooohkay, she’s not my best friend; in fact, I’ve never met her. But I have followed her work for years because as soon as I heard her in my earbuds, I knew she was a kindred spirit. I am excited for her debut book which is an extension of her current podcast, 10 Things to Tell You. The book is similar in format to the podcast, in that each chapter brings up a question that you can ask your friends to deepen friendships. Laura leads the way with stories of her own that are vulnerable, funny and revealing. She’s such a humble storyteller—in stories from her past where she clearly was hurt by someone in her life, she treats them with such grace and kindness, generously allowing that her experience of the situation may have been different from theirs. She’s so honest and open that you don’t feel bad about your own hangups and quirks. I loved the questions that she posed at the end of each chapter—you don’t have to read it straight through, by the way, you can cherry pick the chapters you want. The chapter on fear spoke to me the most (2020, am i right?!) and I plan to spend some time journaling answers to her questions. I also can’t wait to sit down with my girlfriends and dig in to their answers.
// Clearly I’m a fan of Laura, but I do think this book was excellent. While I don’t love this type of nonfiction generally, I zoomed through this in 2 days. It was like sitting down with a friend over coffee. I found her questions thoughtful and challenging. She’s an engaging writer and I hope her book finds a huge audience. It debuts in February so go pre-order it now! Thank you to @netgalley for the advanced review copy.

This was fun. Part memoir, part friendship guide, SHARE YOUR STUFF presents 10 questions to ask your mates (and yourself) in order to skate rapidly past dreaded small-talk and into meaningful, connective conversation. As someone who not only dislikes small-talk but is utterly terrified of the awkwardness of it, I found myself excited at the ideas this book presents and the possible (maybe, hopefully, please) normalising of the conversational deep-dive into who we are and how we think... even as early as ON FIRST MEETING. Obviously, you don't necessarily want to be chatting about your childhood fears with everyone you cross paths with on the daily, but this book demonstrates how depth and rawness in all communications can make rich even the most mundane interactions. At its heart, too, I think this book confirms that in the age of scrolling and sharing and reposting, there is, more than ever, a genuine need for connection beyond our screens. The author offers up a whole host of ways to do that, while revealing her own answers to questions such as "Who Are You?", "What Are You Afraid Of?", "What Changed You?" and others. This was an enlightening read over morning coffee, and I can't wait to start asking everyone ... well, everything.

I found this book to be more memoir than guide for reflection or a way to deepen friendships. It provides more information about the author's history and expands a bit on things revealed either in various podcasts, blog posts, or her occasional "secret post" emails. However, others may find it more useful to reflect on and answer the prompts provided at the end of chapters.

I love Laura Tremaine, I've followed her podcasts for years. First with The Smartest Person in the Room and currently 10 Things to Tell You and this book is definitely Laura's book.

I enjoyed learning more about Laura and her history and how she became who she is. She has struggles and problems just like the rest of us but she keeps on keeping on.

I don't know that I learned any lessons that I didn't already know as listening to her for so long, this book was a repeat. But I try to put myself in the place of the casual reader that maybe hasn't heard of her before and I think this book would be really good for that reader. Laura had several things to tell us and many principles related to those things that would be helpful to a wide variety of people.

I do have a better appreciation for Laura after reading this book as we sometimes put our mentors on pedestals and this book really did tell me that she is just normal like the rest of us.

This book is just honest, raw and really does share her stuff with us readers. I found this book reflective and engaging equally and I enjoyed reading about her answers to the 10 prompts. I also enjoyed the "10 things" lists at the end each chapter. While I do quite enjoy this book I did not find that it prompted me to reflect myself. I am not a reflective person yet but I hoped this book would prompt me to start that a bit more than it did. But I can see why people are drawn to do so the passion, helping people connect through vulnerability and trying to let others in The book does try to get the reader to be more open and to form deeper bonds with friends and loved ones. As a whole enjoyable. Thanks NetGalley and Zonderfan Fiction for the ARC for an honest review.

I loved the idea of this book, but the execution fell a little flat for me. It was a good starting point but didn’t deliver what I hoped. I always love good questions for friendship, so I have a few new ones now.

Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my opinion.

I was excited at the potential this book held. But it turned out to be just average. As I started reading this book, about sharing yourself with others and letting them share themselves with you, I was totally into the book. Once I had read approximately 10% of the book, I was excited. By 25% in my excitement was waning. Then by the end of the book, I was slightly disappointed.

The book is laid out by posing one question per chapter, Laura Tremaine then answers that question by giving examples from her own life, and then throws the ball into your court asking you to answer that same question in a journal privately or verbally with another person.

This book offers many thought provoking questions. And if you are a writer, you might even be able to use this book to get some writing ideas or just for writing inspiration, or to fuel your writing creativity. If you use this book that way, this book would be most helpful if read one chapter at a time with time in between to reflect and write. This is not the kind of book I thought this was going to be.

Laura Tremaine opens herself up with her own personal stories, hence the “I’ll Go First” in the title. And these stories are interesting, but also within each chapter are almost bunched together so you don’t realize she is moving to a new story. (This may have been because I read this on a kindle…maybe the formatting was off).

After Laura gives her own examples, the question is posed, “your turn.” This is where Laura gives the reader some follow up questions to get thoughts moving in a creative way to answer this question. However, this part gets less and less helpful as the book progresses, especially in chapters 8 and 9; which also happen to be the two hardest questions to answer. (At least for me.) I felt the guide part this book promised was lacking.

At the end of each chapter is a top ten-like list of things like, 10 things I learned from my sister, or 10 pieces of unsolicited advice. Again, these might be great for the creative writer, but not really what I look for in a book.
And just a word to those who are more conservative in their religious beliefs, there are a couple swear words, and the author has a more liberal definition of god.

So, if you are a writer in search of a creative spark or if you are just looking for an easy read, this book might be for you. But if you are just looking for a memoir or even a guide book, this might not be the book you are looking for.

This book was so good! It was super informative and I'll take a lot of what I learned with me. I'm so glad I read it!

I was interested in this book because I really love sharing stories and as I've made new friends in adulthood it is sometimes hard to cross the threshold into a more vulnerable place. It's easy to talk about TV shows and current events but I often crave a deeper conversation with friends but don't want to freak them out by sharing too much information.

This book was perfect for handling just that. It's really just all about asking questions. After the typical "Where are you from?", follow up with "What was that like?" instead of a basic response. Tremaine poses 10 questions and then answers them herself. Her stories are very interesting as well as providing the options for sharing your own stories.

In between the questions are short, fun lists about random things like favorite books or pieces of advice. I found it very easy to read and it made me reflect about what my own answers would be. It offers many sample questions you could use with your friends to open up the dialogue and I even saved some that I really liked.

I love the idea of sharing even though it is scary. There is so much out there about how beneficial it is to be vulnerable and this book really supports that notion with actual ways to practice it with your friends. I definitely recommend if you're looking for different ways to communicate or are interested in sharing more of yourself with others.

Thank you to NetGalley and Zondervan for providing me with an ARC of this book.

I liked Laura Tremaine's book a lot. The anecdotes she shares are at times wild and surprising, and it was great learning more about the person behind the 10 Things to Tell You podcast. The tone of the books is friendly, but at the same time I can see why she says her friends call her bossy.

I don't necessarily like the way she tells the listeners on her podcast to "Now go share something", but I liked the way she invited and gave her readers the chance to think about each topic. She picked different questions and subjects of conversation, some deeper, some less, told her stories, and then asked questions for the reader to go deeper and talk or write about their experiences. Although it says the questions are aimed to deepen your friendships, I am sure they could be used for any meaningful, close relationship.

I found this book both easy to read, and deep enough to make you think. Maybe because I like the podcast I was even more open to the message she shared. I find her life choices and changes fascinating, and it was fun reading about them. I look forward to reading her next book.

Thanks to netgalley for this review copy. This is the first non-fiction book I have read all year! Super crazy for me since there was a time where I only read non-fiction - oh how things have changed! I really enjoyed this book, in short, it is basically about how being vulnerable with friends and sharing your stuff, makes stronger and better relationships. Each chapter Laura shares a different area of her life/her past/her stories and then asks you to do the same. You're supposed to write down your answers which I didn't do but I have to say SO MUCH stuff came up when reading this book. Memories I haven't thought of for years/decades popped up, it would have been good to write them down but I was being lazy, whoops. Then you can take those questions to the people in your life and just listen and then share.

Review to be posted on bookstagram @whatgeorgieread closer to pub date.

I have been a long-time fan of Laura Tremaine so I was delighted when I saw she was publishing her first book, Share Your Stuff, I'll Fo First. I have followed along with Tremaine on podcasts for years (Sorta Awesome & Smartest Person in the Room) and was ecstatic when she started 10 Things To Tell You. If you haven't heard of it before, this is the summary... "Laura Tremaine has 10 Things To Tell You. And YOU have 10 Things To Tell. This is a show about sharing your stuff. Each episode asks a question, and you can take that prompt to your journal, to your best friend, or to social media. Let's dig deeper."

So, I have realized something during the last few years...I despise "small talk". I love talking (if you know me, you know this LOL) but there is nothing more exhausting than "filling the void". Give me the real stuff - let's talk about how we really are doing, the joys, the heartbreaks, and everything in between.

Life is built in the moments of gray, and that is also where our connections come from. For most of us, day to day life is built up of so many little moments, of questioning ourselves and sometimes each other. Of wondering if we have ANY idea what we are doing. Of remembering we all have different stories that have molded us into who we have become (and are still becoming) today. We are who we are, yes, but we also are not stuck here. 

When we talk, like really talk, we learn, and we grow, not only on our own but also together and Laura Tremaine has been one of my biggest inspirations in this area. Tremaine is not afraid to show up, even if she doesn't have it all figured out. She is honest and real, and willing to listen and grow. And that is the beauty of being human, right?

This book follows a similar path to her podcast, where she shares 10 questions, dives into her own journey, and then opens the door for your own examination of the topic. It is a mix of memoir-style prose, discussion topics, and self-discovery. Her writing is easy and although you might not relate to every part of Tremaine's journey, she helps us realize that sharing our stuff is not only important but vital to ongoing understandings and connections with one another.

I got so much out of this book and it was such a wonderful reminder of the power of vulnerability and the various trajectories that have impacted who we are, and who we have yet to become.

Thank you to Zondervan for the gifted copy in exchange for my honest review. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own. You can read this and other book reviews, at genthebookworm.com

I am an introvert who has always struggled with vulnerability when sharing with friends. This has limited me with friendships my entire life. This book was a good kick in the pants to open up and share first! This seems like an appropriate “workbook” to accompany Brene Brown’s work on vulnerability - Brown speaks of the power of vulnerability, and Laura Tremaine gives you a fun how-to to get us started. You can’t expect to know people better I’d you don’t 1. Know yourself (journaling, therapy) and 2. Share first.

I plan to buy copies of this book for my sisters and a few friends, and it will definitely be a re-read on my shelf!

As a fan of the work Laura Tremaine does online I was excited to read this book. And my excitement was warranted. This book shows Laura going first and setting an example of how to share your stuff with others. She gives 10 great questions that will  likely lead you into some self examination and into greater friendship if you share your answers with friends. I left each chapter really contemplating parts of my life and looking forward to how and when I will share these parts of me with my friends.

Laura is honest and raw and really does share her stuff with us readers. I thought this book was reflective and engaging and I enjoyed reading about her answers to the 10 prompts. I also enjoyed the "10 things" lists between each of the chapters. While I liked this book I did not find that it prompted me to reflect myself. I am not generally a reflective person but I hoped this book would prompt that a bit more than it did.

Oh my goodness, there aren’t enough good words to share how much I love this book! Laura is open, honest, raw and a voice I could listen to all day. I loved the set-up of this book and the way Laura shared her stuff and then gave the reader a guide on how to share theirs. The 10 things lists at the end of each chapter were a favorite, too. I will 100% be reading this book again ASAP!

If you love Laura Tremaine's 10 Things to Tell You podcast, this book is for you. Laura has a passion helping people connect through vulnerability and letting others in. The book equips the reader to be more open and to form deeper bonds with friends and loved ones.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into this book, so it was a DNF for me.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

This book is reflective, well written, engaging, thoughtful, entertaining and ultimately challenging, in all the best ways. I can't wait to read it again with close friends and answer the questions together. It left me thinking more deeply about my life and it left vivid pictures in my head of the stories Laura painted with her words. An excellent read. I can't recommend it highly enough!

I loved the promise of part memoir, part guidebook but I found the guidance lacking. Each portion was end-capped with a list instead of directions to replicate the theme, questions, or conversation starters which was the part I looked forward to most. I love the sentiment of such a read and found the cover and description promising, ultimately it was just too much storytelling and not enough substance for me.