Review
“It’s a terrific book!” (Kathie Lee Gifford, The Today Show )
“Poignant...hysterical...While there are plenty of books with women ‘taking a year,’ don’t dismiss this one.” (Forbes.com )
“In this lighthearted and often funny memoir, Hancock...brings her experiences to vivid life and, through her interest in and compassion for Eleanor, is kinder to herself; there is plenty to entertain and inspire.” (Publishers Weekly )
“A charmingly candid memoir of the year a young journalist spent conquering her deepest fears.... Inspired, white-knuckled fun from start to finish.” (Kirkus Reviews )
“Whether she is confronting terrifying sharks in a diving cage or her tangled feelings about her boyfriend Matt, she demonstrates how thrilling it can be to face your fears. I double-dare you to read this book!” (Booklist )
“Eleanor taught Noelle that, first and foremost, Courage Takes Practice. Her yearlong quest to face her terrors, great and small, is moving, enriching, and hilarious—we readers are lucky to be along for the ride.” (Julie Powell, bestselling author of Julie & Julia )
“Noelle Hancock makes an eloquent case for spending a year with Eleanor Roosevelt, but an even more persuasive one for spending 300 pages with Noelle Hancock. Her book is a fresh and funny delight.” (Andy Borowitz )
“Noelle Hancock joyfully shows us the exhilaration of confronting fear, whether that fear is jumping out of airplanes or having a committed relationship with another adult—or reading something longer than a tweet.” (A.J. Jacobs, New York Times bestselling author of The Year of Living Biblically )
“Beneath the hilarious and heart-racing adventures of Noelle Hancock’s year of fear is a wise and heartfelt book about becoming the person you’ve always wanted to be.” (Jill A. Davis, New York Times bestselling author of Girls' Poker Night )
“I honestly loved this book. It had all the qualities of great sex; intense, funny, and parts of it were so uncomfortable my palms were sweating.” (Jim Norton, New York Times bestselling author of I Hate Your Guts )
From the Back Cover
After losing her high-octane job as an entertainment blogger, Noelle Hancock was lost. About to turn twenty-nine, she'd spent her career writing about celebrities' lives and had forgotten how to live her own. Unemployed and full of self-doubt, she had no idea what she wanted out of life. She feared change—in fact, she feared almost everything. Once confident and ambitious, she had become crippled by anxiety, lacking the courage required even to attend a dinner party—until inspiration struck one day in the form of a quote on a chalkboard in a coffee shop:
"Do one thing every day that scares you."
—Eleanor Roosevelt
Painfully timid as a child, Eleanor Roosevelt dedicated herself to facing her fears, a commitment that shaped the rest of her life. With Eleanor as her guide, Noelle spends the months leading up to her thirtieth birthday pursuing a "Year of Fear." From shark diving to fighter pilot lessons, from tap dancing and stand-up comedy to confronting old boyfriends, her hilarious and harrowing adventures teach her about who she is, and what she can become—lessons she makes vital for all of us.
