Valley of the Dolls

It's 1 o'clock in the morning and I'm angry.

But, I think we can learn a few things from Valley of the Dolls.

 

 Things like....men ain't shit.

Or build your own way in life.

Or don't turn on the ones who love you.

Honestly there was a lot more going on in this book than I expected. Booze is flowing, pills are poppin', and everyone's mental health is a little bit shaky. Not to mention the insomnia, the eating disorders, the suicide attempts, and the abortions. What I think was the most interesting aspect of this book is that these topics weren't really portrayed in a negative or positive light. It felt more like they were just facts of life. It felt real. It felt like Anne, Neely, and Jennifer were real.

I can't really wrap my head around the way I'm feeling about this book right now. It's going to stick with me for a long while. I understand why some people read this and think it's just a trashy piece of literature filled with celebrity gossip. But it's so much more than that. It put the spotlight on mental illness when not many people wanted to talk about it. It shifted the focus to working women who wanted to create a life for themselves, with or without a man. It was raw and powerful. I don't know why it took me so long to read this classic novel but I'm so glad I finally did.