Eat Cake. Be Brave. Book Review

Hilarious and heartbreaking, Eat Cake. Be Brave is one woman’s inspiring journey of learning to stand up for herself in a world of naysayers, by the creator of the “Red Ribbon Week” video, which has over 150 million views.

Eat Cake. Be Brave.

My name is Melissa Radke, and there is a very real chance you have no idea who I am or why I wrote a book. But admit it, you’re curious!

Even though millions of people seem to like watching my videos bemoaning the trials of parenting, marriage, French braiding, faith, and living life as an anti-aging female, you may still be wondering who let me write a book.

I mean, books are written by people who have been interviewed by Gayle King and say things like, “You see, Gayle, I was having a root canal and I literally died in the chair. I saw heaven. Also, when I came back to earth I could speak Mandarin.”

Yeah, that didn’t happen to me. No Mandarin. Though I have been known to break out in song! (My voice was once described as a “ray of light in a dark world” . . . but I think my dad was being a little dramatic.) Although if Gayle King were to ever ask me I would tell her: “I wrote this book between taking my kids to the local pool and picking out flip-flops at Old Navy, and the only metaphysical moment I experienced came right after I looked directly into one of those mirrors with 10x magnification.”

I wrote this book because when I turned 41 I made a decision to be brave. To live brave, bolder and freer. You see, I thought our lives were supposed to change when we turned 40…but mine didn’t. Yet every piece of it changed when I turned 41; when I set out to prove that it wasn’t too late for me, that careless words wouldn’t stunt me and rejection would not stop me. And maybe, just maybe, it will take you reading about the journey I took to finding my sense of self-worth in order for you to rightfully believe in yours. This book is about how all the years of my life led up to the one that changed it. So, cut a big slice and raise a fork.

Here’s to bravery.
Here’s to courage.
Here’s to cake.
(And not the crappy kind, like carrot.)

My Thoughts

Have you ever been in that moment of change, feeling scared and nervous, questioning whether you have made the right decision or not? Then something falls on your desk or in the mail, and justifies every decision that you made?

That. This book was that shining moment for me. Melissa had me laughing, crying, heart sore and at the end so full of hope and inspiration it was unbelievable.

Melissa is a truly gifted writer – this story is told in such a manner that you feel as though it is a conversation with your best friend. The friend who leaves you in stitches and makes you laugh so hard you worry you have peed your pants. Her brilliance, honesty and kindness shows through each word and page.

Like so many of us, she didn’t have the easiest time in life. She was made fun of for her weight (by her peers, by those in the music industry and by those who should have known better), she felt betrayal and she felt loss. She suffered with depression, infertility, financial insecurity, marital problems and still has come out with this positive outlook on life. I am sure it wasn’t easy to make it to that point that she is at now and as she shows us throughout the book, it wasn’t a clear path. She had to make conscious decisions to love herself, be kind to herself, to forgive and to give herself the power to be brave. So many times throughout her story, I felt that it mirrored my own in so many ways. I felt her pain as my own – she is honest, real and raw. You feel every emotion, every decision as if it was your own.

Eat Cake. Be Brave. is the definite must have book of this year for all women – whether they are in their teens or adulthood. It is that reminder we all need to love ourselves, to forgive others for their own unkindness, to be strong when we feel we can not and to push ourselves every day. One of the lines that stood out to me the most as at the beginning of the book, when she spoke about inhaling. That every inhale is the start of a new opportunity and new chance to be brave. That has become my motto and has encouraged me to push my own comfort zones – accept the job that I never would have prior, to sign up for different courses that are not what I am good but to also love my family deeply and to let them know how much I love them. This was a beautiful story from start to finish by an inspiring woman who I wish I could just call up and have a cooking/baking afternoon with her and her family!

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Melissa Radke‘s online videos, at print, have reached over 57 million people on her Facebook page alone in a little over a year. Radke’s “Upside Down French Braid” video has close to 10 million views and her “Red Ribbon” video has been viewed over 100 million times across multiple websites and media outlets. A Texan born and bred, Radke spent 15 years of her life in Nashville, Tennessee, where she worked as a studio session singer for Recording Artists after graduating from Belmont University. Since becoming a parent, she moved her family back to her East Texas hometown because the barbecue is better and the babysitting is free.

You can connect with her on her website.

Book Trailer

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.