For all who have felt the sting of society's judgement, we salute you, Carla Sosenko! Carla Sosenko's book is well-written and relatable to most every woman. Though she speaks from a unique perspective, having had to deal with Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome, she echoes the truth that all women have impossible, superficial expectations put on us. Thank you for an enlightening perspective about what nonsense these unrealistic expectations are. The diet plans, the plastic surgeries - all part of the endless loop of what we are told we need in order to belong. We all want love and acceptance. As mom to three daughters, the author's wisdom is profound to me. For every person who has felt out of step with the mainstream, this book will speak to you. Carla Sosenko's book illustrates that working on developing your mind will help you can get skilled at ignoring your critics. It also helps to put into perspective those who don't appreciate what's uniquely beautiful and fun about us - they missed out on our singular magic! Carla Sosenko's successes and humor show how to do this. We need to love and accept our bodies. As she observes, age helps, and so does finding your people. I love her shout out to the sisterhood. Not everyone who is a member of our club is loyal to it. We need each other. Carla Sosenko's encouragement and example mean so much. I especially appreciate her observations about "body commenters'! A running critique of everyone one sees is a toxic habit that many people chronically indulge in.. It is also a sure sign of an insecure bully! We don't need more toxic cruelty in this world. My wish is that every mother of boys would ask her sons to read this! Thank you for your honesty.

This book offers readers an intimate, front-row experience of the author's life, inviting us to navigate her journey with curiosity. The narrative evokes emotions—from moments that might make us cringe to instances that tug at our heartstrings or even stir feelings of outrage. The author's storytelling is imbued with wit and, at times, a palpable anger, which is understandable given the contexts she explores. Occasionally, the prose adopts a preachy tone, prompting reflection and, perhaps, debate.

While certain sections of the book may spark discussions or even disagreements, it's important to emphasize the limited representation that specific communities receive in mainstream media. In this light, the author's contribution is both significant and commendable. Her humor, self-awareness, and overall attitude shine through, painting a picture of someone many would cherish as a friend.

This book serves as a unique portal into diverse lived experiences. It will likely resonate with readers who are genuinely curious about others and want to broaden their understanding of perspectives different from their own.

Carla Sosenko wrote a raw and honest memoir about her and life and struggles she’s overcome. I think this novel can help many people understand why we feel the way about it our bodies for whatever reason and how we too can learn to de the good in them.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I think perhaps I wasn’t quite the right audience for this as while I really enjoyed the feminist themes, some of the references didn’t quite hit for me and at times it felt repetitive.

“An intimate, irreverent memoir about one woman’s experience living with a deformity, and her quest to find freedom and joy in her body.” - GoodReads

Carla Sosenko was born with Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome, a rare vascular disorder and she takes us through the memory lane of growing up as a child having to deal with the superficial nuances before she could fully comprehend the idea of being self-conscious. During her adolescent years we see her being reliant on her parents and diet culture paired with constant mental breakdowns and instability being a constant companion well into her early adulthood. We also see Carla begin to outwardly & unabashedly express herself in the (expensive) world of fashion and getting her unfiltered experiences and the harsh realities of these kinds of trickle down effects but also, in her case, the admittance of having safety nets.

She has so much wisdom and humor through everything and it genuinely filled me with so much hope for young me who struggled with my weight wearing the hoodies and unflattering clothing up until my senior year of high school. Even now into my early 20’s I find it difficult to not wear the oversized hoodie, but I’m working on it. This helped give me a new perspective.

This is my first memoir, so I was unaware of just how casual and inviting this style of writing can be and it’s become one of my favorite forms of storytelling. I’ve highlighted quite a bit of quotes towards the last quarter of the book because it was just so motivational and something I needed to hear that I almost bawled my eyes out on the plane amongst strangers. I came into this book thinking it’d be a thriller and came out motivated to do more with my life and the limited time I have on this planet and to WEAR THE DA*N SKIRT!!!!

Here are my two favorite quotes (it was so hard to choose from but I will be using these as my pep talks when I just need that extra pizzazz):

“Turns out there’s nothing particularly good about being easy or good. I would rather be good to myself. I would rather be a little selfish in the purest sense of that word. I would rather not go missing to me while in the pursuit of making myself easily found by others. In fact, I want to be harder to find.”

“If my body is part of it, it is just that: part. Assuming the most obvious answer to be the right one- my body is responsible for my anxiety- is a child’s way of understanding mental health. It lacks depth… I am all of those things. I am none of those things. The Full picture of my anxiety is much more complex.”

Mental health in general is something that I struggle with, coming from a family who didn’t believe in depression being a thing even well after I was diagnosed. It just wasn’t handled with the care that it is today and she notes that going to therapy and her diagnosis with ADHD and the struggles that that alone comes with and just learning to say no/I don’t want to when it comes to doing things. Ahhh, there’s just so much packed into this story that if you’re in a comfortable headspace to read about certain topics revolving struggles with weight and mental health I say give this a try.

This book was such a trip. Sosenko tackles many heavy topics throughout this memoir, but her dry sense of humor makes the reading experience approachable and engrossing. It’s a book that makes you react along with it - eye rolls, raised eyebrows, snickers, and all. Reading her candid perspective on how the world treats anyone outside of society’s aesthetic norms feels like commiserating with a close friend over drinks. I’m so glad I picked this up and thoroughly enjoyed it!

Thank you, Netgalley, for the ARC!

This was an interesting collection of memories/ life experiences blended together with snark, hard-won wisdom on living as an "Other" in the eyes of many, and self-help-ish advice on how and when to let things go. Sosenko's voice is engaging although I did find the essays a bit repetitive as the book progressed. I wasn't familiar with her prior to this book.

This was gritty and raw while also keeping me laughing. Im so grateful Carla shared her experiences and let me peer into her mind.

I’m not a memoir person but this was fun. They did such a good job at turning the situation and keeping it light while also not downplaying the absolute misery of going through all of those treatments. The balance was natural and clearly they have a gift at storytelling.

"I'll Look So Hot in a Coffin" is such a fun and cheeky title, and I think the writing in this reflects that sense of humor.

The author was born with Klippel-Trenaunay Syndrome, which caused "a mass of flesh on her back,­­ legs of different sizes, [and] a hunched posture." I was unfamiliar with the author or the syndrome before reading this.

She talks about her childhood, having surgeries, her relationship with her parents, her career, dates/partners, etc. There were great personal anecdotes about her interactions with others, told as sort of lessons on how not to interact with someone with physical differences.

Tonally, it was a bit unserious and had a self-help guide type feel towards the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

I'm a sucker for a good memoir, and this is for sure one of my favorites of the year. Simultaneously hilarious, deeply honest, life-affirming, and wonderfully irreverent, Sosenko's writing made me feel like I was sitting at the bar with someone much more interesting than me listening to them chat about both their greatest success and greatest failures with untold joy and a dash of cynicism. I adored the creative liberties taken here, the topical layout, and the truths about the irrelevance of how any of our bodies look on any given day that I needed to hear again. Let's be honest, I need to hear them most days. I laughed actually out loud, immediately shared excerpts with my friends, and am already itching to start a reread.

The title is what drew me to this book and the authors funny, awkward and sometimes painful musings about life, her body and dating kept me reading. The author's brutal honesty and insight into her life and relationships was genuinely funny and relatable.

With thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Random House for the copy of I’ll Look So Hot In A Coffin by Carla Sosenkoy. I don’t read lots of memoirs, and I have never read one by someone I had never heard of, but I'm glad I read this one. Sosenkoy writes humorously about her disability, other peoples’ reactions, and how they treat her, and her experiences are eye-opening. If you enjoy her humor you will love this book. I really appreciated how she explored themes like weight control and how people feel entitled to judge and comment on other people’s bodies. This wasn't always an enjoyable read (some people are awful), but I loved getting Sosenkoy’s perspective on life. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4

In this memoir, Sosenko details her life growing up with a visible deformity from a rare disorder and her lifelong journey to find happiness in her body. She’s a journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, Cosmopolitan, and more, and her engaging writing style (and her humor!) drew me in from the first page. I love that she confesses to being a work in progress and is just doing her best in terms of improving her self-image. I didn’t know anything about her going into this memoir, but now I’m so glad I got to read about her very interesting life.

Carla Sosenko's memoir via essays makes for entertaining as well as illuminating reading. Born with a rare condition known as Klippel-Trenaunay, she has dealt with the issues that go along with it, one leg larger than the other, a carapace on her back, hunched posture. But she was more fortunate than some in that her parents didn't treat her differently, but as she puts it, "....[who] gave their kid who was born with a really rare disorder a completely normal, regular-in-a-good-way life ... did most of the things you're supposed to do when you're growing up." This gave her self-esteem, a fact that she really didn't appreciate until she'd matured. Each essay relates another aspect of living "other," a fact that many can relate to, without sentment but with a lot of humor and honesty. Kudos.

3 stars

Sosenko was born with Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome, a vascular disorder which has caused her to have a mass on her back, a hunched posture, legs of different length and some other issues. She tells the story of her life and her self-image problems as well as why she went into media and about years spent fighting her weight.

When Sosenko described the physical aspects of the effects of her K-T disorder I had trouble picturing exactly what she was trying to say, plus multiple times she comments on the fact that people tell her how lucky she is to have such a pretty face (to offset her body, I guess? People are awful.) So, I searched for photos of her.

None of the photos I found show a profile or back view, but from the front Sosenko looks…absolutely normal. Granted, they obviously don’t show the different leg lengths, but I didn’t notice any hunched posture, nor did I see evidence of the mass on her back. I’m not denying it’s there, of course, just saying I couldn’t see it when looking at her straight on in photos, for what that’s worth. And she is very pretty.

There was also a bit of a disconnect for me in her descriptions of her trying to hide/blend in versus her career in media and her tendency to dress out loud. But we’re all made up of contradictions, I guess.

She seems like a great person, out there telling her truth. I hope this book finds those who need it.

Who is Carla. I had never heard of her before this book. Sometimes I like her, sometimes I don't. I would never date her but she would find that I am not her type. I learned a lot from her book and I am glad she is who she is. She is not important in my life but she is in her own and I will learn to practice what she preaches. A solid book, a story about growth.

3.5 stars!!!!

Carla Sosenko’s writing is filled with humor! She takes you on a journey through stand out moments of her childhood into adulthood, and how these glimpses into the past helped shape her into who she is today!

Some parts of the book were sad/emotional, some had me so angry for her, and others had me cheering her on for being herself in a world that is so hard on people they see as different!

I found her to be courageous, tough, vulnerable, blunt, and relatable based off her story telling!

FAV QUOTE:
“The much more important part is understanding that nothing about you—not your body, not your brain, not your feelings—is wrong. You are just you.” <——-💖

Thank you to Net Galley, the author, and the publisher for a copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review!

The author was born with a rare vascular disorder. Throughout her life this made her interactions with people difficult. There are some hard things in this book and it made me feel sad for how she was treated. This book made me think about how people react to other people’s bodies and how it affects everyone. I learned many things from this book about how to be a better friend and help those around me feel better about their bodies.

Thank you to Carla Sosenko, NetGalley and The Dial Press for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: May 6, 2025

A thought-provoking memoir for anyone interested in self-image and cultural critique. I loved Carla’s writing style and her exploration and commentary on her body, fashion, diet culture, dating, self-acceptance and more.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.