‘I’ve been obsessed with death since the day that I was born.” Lena Dunham declares in her new memoir “Not That Kind Of Girl.”
Dunham currently directs, produces, writes and stars in her HBO show “Girls,” a look into the lives of four young women who are living in a post-Bush, post-recession world. Dunham’s wit and humor no doubt transfers over into her book, providing a familiar backdrop.
But it’s not the humor or tone that makes this book so special, just as it is not Dunham’s “Girls” character, Hannah, but rather the bigger picture. It’s her insight and shockingly brilliant ability to see the world as it truly is and run with it, instead of try to conceal or cover it up, like many of us do.
Dunham doesn’t pull back and has the skills as a writer to be frank about it. “The summer after sophomore year of college I became convinced I, too, would die of AIDS.” She takes our hands and guides us through her life so far, taking steps through her triumphs and embarrassments alike, Dunham shares with us what it’s like to be that kind of girl.
“Not That Kind Of Girl” covers everything from first time sexual encounters to fear of mortality to the writer’s OCD and anxiety.
Lena Dunham is a painter and we are the gazers. “Don’t put yourself in situations you’d like to run away from.” Dunham writes in a letter to herself. “But when you run, run back to yourself.”
The book also touches on topics that are vitally important and need to be discussed, like the college sexual assault epidemic.
As more young women begin to share their ill-fated stories through media, so does Dunham. She walks us through her experience with rape as it’s happening. And of the morning after, she writes, “I sat in a shallow bath for half an hour like someone in one of those coming-of-age movies.”
“Not That Kind Of Girl” is a ground-breaking story that shows us the new generation of thinkers, which is paving the way for a future of intelligent, open minded young minds with feminist ideals.
“There is nothing gutsier to me than a person announcing that their story is one that deserves to be told, especially if that person is a woman,” writes Dunham. And this woman’s story definitely deserves to be told.