This Review contains spoilers.
“Worst case scenario, it’s you and me. That’s still a pretty good scenario, right?”
Published: 2017, by Bantam Press.
Pages: 288
Format: Hardback
Genre: Health & Lifestyle, Autobiography, Entertainment, Life Writing.
Contains: Mentions of Depression and Anxiety, Miscarriage.
Dare to Dream is a memoir which documents the life of Izzy Judd, and her journey into motherhood after heartbreaking struggles throughout her life, from anxiety as a child to fertility treatment.
This book is completely outside my usual reading, and being outside of the target audience I knew this wasn’t something that I was meant to understand; as a single, twenty-two year old lesbian I knew it wasn’t for me. Yet, as I follow the author on Instagram, I was admittedly curious. (The beautiful cover was another reason.) While reading I felt myself surprisingly relate to Izzy in places, especially those centred around her problems with anxiety and the multiple ways in which she attempted to overcome it to live a happy life.
One of the main things which caught my attention while reading was the language, it being so casual yet informative which helped me through reading situations that I couldn’t particularly relate to. The lighthearted language managed to educate me in ways which didn’t feel like I was being taught; her words were comforting throughout, and her honesty was something you don’t necessarily read whilst on heavy topics, such as, miscarriages and head injuries. However, there were places in which the sentence structure became a little too simplistic, yet it isn’t that important and didn’t hinder my enjoyment at all.
The last chapter of Dare to Dream is written by her husband, Harry Judd, which somewhat sums up the book from his point a view; a wonderful idea for those coping with fertility treatment. His story starts from the same as Izzy’s, discussing how they met and ends the same also, with the news of their second child. When thinking of pregnancy it’s unfortunately very easy to forget the partners, which is why I found it very eyeopening to read from the point of view of Harry, making me realise my own stupidity to think of only a woman’s problems, when he was another ‘protagonist’ in the story.
At the end of the book there’s two extra sections; ‘#IzzyLoves’ and ‘#AskIzzy’ – two thoughtful inclusions. The first are a collection of various things Izzy found to be helpful throughout her fertility treatment, including; dieting and supplements, to books and guides on meditating. There’s an extensive collection there, showing her research throughout a struggling time, yet also assisting readers experiencing something similar and having multiple options. The section entitled ‘#AskIzzy’ is a Q&A of various topics discussed within the book, in slightly more direct detail, allowing a little extra support for readers who may need it.
The brutal honesty throughout the book was inspiring, showing Izzy’s strength to tell her story to readers and it completely opened my eyes to topics I was foolishly naive to before.
4/5
A Little Fool Reads 