I’ll say one of the good things that came from Rona and this quarantine is the fact that I am reading more. I have no excuse now to pick up a book and read it from cover to cover. I have quite a few books that are just waiting for me to read them, get lost in the story and get inspired. I picked up More Than Enough after hearing so many great things about it. I honestly had no clue who Elaine Welteroth was (I know so sad) but I was about to get to know her.

I will say this right now, if you have not read this book, you need to go order it like right now. I’ll wait for you to come back after ordering this book because I feel this is such a must read for any woman, especially a black woman. I couldn’t put this book down once I got into it. The way Elaine draws you into with her storytelling and her words was just amazing. I wanted to know what happened next after each chapter and just get to know about Elaine even more.

If you were in the dark about Elaine like I was, she is best known for being the second African American editor in chief in the 107 year Conde Nast history over Teen Vogue. She is also a judge on the popular show Project Runway. She discovered her career path during her internship at Ogilvy and Mather through the Multicultural Advertising Intern Program while attending California State University. It was like when that light bulb finally comes on after roaming around in the dark for so long. When I got to that moment in the book, it made me think about myself in college and my career path I tried to pave out. I was dead set on what I wanted and no one was going to tell me no but unfortunately I was not prepared as Elaine was to follow my dreams. She knew what she wanted, set out a plan to get there and let nothing stop her or any barrier get in her way. When obstacles arose, she found a way to get around them. She had plans A,B,C and D set out in case something didn’t work which is something I regret doing.

It was interesting to read about how she worked so hard to get into an internship at Essence but turned it down to work at Ebony. It seemed like it was right path for her to take when she came across Hariette Cole, who at the time was Ebony’s editor in chief. She began to find her work ethic, find her voice, went through her first salary negotiation and just started to take her career by storm. After Ebony was Glamour and then Teen Vogue. I don’t want to give too much away because I want you read this book but her work ethic really inspired me so much. I loved how Elaine fought for her worth and didn’t take anything less. She knew her worth and knew how much of an asset she was.

Elaine took us through how she found her identity, her first love and heartbreak, the dating world, triumphs, minor setbacks, health issues and just her life. It seems like from birth, she was destined to be great and do great things. Again, I couldn’t put the book down lol. The story kept building after every chapter and I just wondered what was going to happen next and so on. More Than Enough was just so easy to read, overall inspiring and well told story.

“Women aren’t taught to get comfortable with making people uncomfortable” had to be one of my favorite quotes along with the one pictured above. There were so many great quotes and one liners in there but those two stuck out to me the most. This book truly inspired me and had me really in deep thought about my life and my career that I’m still trying to find. This book is for women in all walks of life if you are fresh out of high school and venturing into college, if you are at your first internship, struggling with the work environment, trying to figure out your life or just need some inspiration. You need this book in your library.

What are you currently reading right now or recently read? I’m looking for some more books to read lol. See you guys Thursday! We’ll be talking about skincare!

***~Drea Notes~***

The weather this past weekend was so beautiful. I literally sat outside in my backyard for the most part. It was so relaxing and much needed.

Just as I was feeling I better and in a better mental headspace, the news of more murders of unarmed black men. It is really becoming too much and wondering when we will be seen as equals and as human beings. It just hurts my heart to see this continuing to happen in my community.#blacklivesmatter

I’ve been itching to film some full on, beat to the gods makeup tutorial because I miss it lol. Since things are starting to open up, I feel in the mood now for creating some looks so be on the lookout.