When I first read the synopsis for Christina Strigas' new book “Chrissyisms,” I didn't know what to expect. It seemed to be a book of her Tweets, some random thoughts, and short personal stories. When I opened the book and flipped through it to take an initial peek, I saw that there were many pages consisting of huge bolded letters saying things like: “It's exhausting being a woman” and “Face it you're on your own,” and I thought: THIS is the way to display the words so they really sink in! I'd never seen a book that had paragraphs of anecdotes and advice interspersed with quotes written in huge lettering like that, and I loved it! Next, I read the introduction which is a letter from Christina to her readers, and she said: “I know the way I think is different. I know the way I feel everything is not the same as everyone else...I don't want to write a best seller. I gave up on that dream as soon as I made it. I want to share my meraki, my soul, with you.” Those sentences alone had me immediately hooked and intent on reading every single word.
“Chrissyisms” consists of the raw, honest and incredibly brave thoughts of a creative and insightful woman. Some of the passages read as essays and others have the format of a poem. Still, others are uniquely laid out as lists, such as my favorite: “What I learned from Prince.” Those words are located on the the left side of that part of the book in large bolded letters, and the right side of the book is simply a list of words going down in one column that includes: Smart, Sexy, Poetic, Purple, Patience,” and “1999” - just to name a few. There are also many lines that I consider “Classic Christina,” meaning that they are the kinds of lines she writes that make me love her poems so much. The lines which mix the simple ordinary things in life with the magic of experiencing life as a creative person. In “Chrissyisms,” one of my favorite lines is: “Poets want to stay home and write, wearing the same shoes and forgetting to eat.” That's what life is like for a creative woman who has a ton of responsibilities but also has no choice but to make time for her art.
“Chrissyisms” is a book where you learn a lot about Christina's life, both past and present. She shares her inner thoughts with us about love, family, work, and even Google! But at the center of it all is a desire to keep on expressing herself, to share it with others, and to keep on writing. On the right side of another part of the book are the large bolded words: “I need to write to survive.” On the corresponding left side of the book is a beautiful poem that explains precisely why all of us writers need our writing to survive: “I only need a notebook and pen to convert my tears into words. They come from the pink sky at night and yellow sky in the morning. They whisper, wake up/we are waiting for you.” If you are already a fan of Strigas, I highly recommend “Chrissyisms” to you. If you are unfamiliar with her work, then definitely pick up this book because Strigas is a writer you want to take a chance with. Just as another of her bolded pages say: “Keep evolving, life is boring being the same person.”
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