You know that crafting and sitcoms are near and dear to my escapist heart. So when I stumbled upon Sutton Foster's Hooked: How Crafting Saved My Life, I thought, Younger's Liza Miller taking on her anxiety one paint stroke at a time? Yes, please! I could especially relate when she shared how cross-stitch helped her deal with catty chorus girls. Not that I've ever starred in a play. Or cross-stitched. But I'm no stranger to retreating to my own inner world.
"And so, in order to survive the tour, I needed something to do that would ground me. Something that had nothing to do with the show or its social politics. Something that I could be in complete control of. That was how I started to cross-stitch. I call it my gateway craft." (18-19)
There's an autonomy that comes with solitary pursuits, especially creative ones, that's very freeing. And I loved that Sutton had this tool in her self-care arsenal. As I read, though, I learned that the real source of her angst wasn't mean girls, but her agoraphobic mother. Although Helen Foster fiercely supported Sutton's career, she almost never told Sutton "I love you." It was very sad and often hard to read.
But Sutton's resilience kept me going. With each Broadway show, breakup, and roadblock with her mom, she finds joy and solace in a new form of artistic expression. She's so likeable and scrappy and vulnerable that you can't help but root for her to come out on the other side. And by the time Younger airs, she does, emerging as stronger than the mosaic glass girl she once made and then shattered.
Not unlike our intrepid Liza.
4 comments:
Oh, this looks so good! She is one of my favorites too. So great that she had something to do and so creative too! Adoring your book review! Thanks for doing this! 🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷Thank you for the comments too. And yes, I had to bring Cobie back..heheeheee... Still waiting about the Dr. Appointment...moving a library is quite the undertaking..evidently..securing those items...and I guess I survived Writer's Group last night..but barely, I did have to leave early. I thought we were going to have this party atmosphere of snacks and stuff and big presentation..so I brought my own big homemade salad..Dang if we didn't get moved to the makers space and had to crouch together and there I was with my stinky eggs on top of that bid salad. I was the only one who brought my dinner. Hmmmm...I don't think I learned anything too new. Yet these rules of the game (plotting and what not) I think should be at least flexible..& yes, I now how my Ginger and she's in a pink balloon bikini because I have had to wash her hair twice. The hair was so sticky. But she is rebodied to Made to Move.
I hope you are doing well. & eating lots of Greek yogurt!
I need to find this one. Makes me think how Emily Osment taught Miley Cyrus to knit during Hannah Montana....as we know, who the truly grounded one is in that friendship. I have always loved Sutton too! So glad you reviewed this book. I have to say, crocheting kept me calm during a bomb threat once during a hospital appointment. Always great to have some yarn handy.
Delightful to see this review. Great to know more about her story and life as an actress. Thanks so much!🍀💚🍀💚 Hope your March is going well. Ugh..my allergies have started. Always something. But it has not kept me from changing it up in a few stories in my storyblogs.... All the best to your creativity!
What a neat read!! It definitely proves that we all need some kind of solitary pursuit to keep us going, as a break from the stresses in life. Crafting is certainly a good way to do that! 💗💙
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