Review: Not Afraid of Life: My Journey So Far

Not Afraid of Life: My Journey So Far by Bristol Palin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Bristol Palin has obviously led quite a sheltered life. She still has a lot of maturing to do, and this book is aptly subtitled: My Journey So Far (emphasis mine). Rather than market the book to adults, it would be better as a Young Adult selection - it definitely reads as such.

That said, I did enjoy the book. Bristol may come to regret how harsh she was when describing Levi, simply because Tripp will someday read this book. No matter what relationship (if any) Tripp has with his biological father, the fact remains that Levi donated half of his DNA to create Tripp. And if you detest the person who helped you to create this child, it's not a large leap (as the child) to wonder if you are detested as well.

I have felt sympathy for all of the Palin children since the 2008 campaign. Bristol had the unfortunate experience of her private mistake having very public consequences, and everyone in the country feeling as though it made Bristol and her siblings fair game - from accusations that her younger brother was truly her child to those that her sister Willow was pregnant as well - it seems as though making jokes at the expense of a Palin is accepted policy. Maybe it would have been better for them had Sarah been a Democrat; it seems as though the "children of the candidates are off-limits" policy only applies to Democratic candidates.

Her supposed money woes are definitely not real. No matter what she may claim, at no time was she ever in danger of not putting food on her table or diapers on her child. Her parents may have forced her to work to contribute to her own expenses, but there is no way anyone in her family would have allowed her or her child to go without. Bristol would never have needed WIC, food stamps, or a state-supported Medicaid health insurance. People who need these programs truly understand the worries she claims to have regarding money. And who knows, maybe she did worry about it. But when she talks about how much her family is always so supportive of each other, it's hard to believe she ever questioned where the next box of diapers would come from.

Something she mentions her aunt saying to her really resonated with me as well - if Bristol only wants to be left alone and allowed to live her life in peace, why is she constantly putting herself out there into the public eye?



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