The Literary Lollipop – My Foot is Too Big for the Glass Slipper by Gabrielle Reece (with Karen Karbo)

The Literary Lollipop

I’ve shared my opinions before about celebrity authors but, for some reason, Gabrielle Reece is different. She can get away with it. First, I should confess that I’ve been a fan of this amazonian volleyball player since my high school days. Though I wasn’t into volleyball – my serves stunk – Reece was the first time I saw a tall, athletic, sturdy woman look beautiful. When I was younger, I was obsessed with the idea of being thin, that being “slender” would somehow bring everything into my life that was missing. Unfortunately, I was fighting against my natural size. At five foot ten/eleven, with fairly muscular legs, I wasn’t going to fit into a size two anytime soon. It wasn’t until I saw Gabrielle Reece look tall and fabulous, making muscle look awesome and achievable, that I started to change my tune. Way back in the 90s, I saw this exact magazine cover, and suddenly realized that I didn’t want to look like a waif. I wanted to be strong. Scratch that. Strong as H-E double hockey sticks.

As a fellow tall girl, I can sympathize; my feet are size eleven. Shopping for shoes is a bitch. So, when I popped into the bookstore over the weekend and saw Reece had written a book, I couldn’t resist. Truly. Rarely do I plunk down the cash for a hard cover, but it was worth the entire $18. I absolutely loved this book. It’s funny, informative, and I was thrilled to discover that Reece’s opinions on relationships and fitness are quite similar to my own.

Recently, Glass Slipper has been causing an uproar on daytime television. One excerpt gets interpreted out of context, and suddenly Reece is being accused of being anti-feminist, and setting the whole movement back by fifteen years. Total rubbish. After reading the entire book, I was shocked that one sentence was isolated out of so many other blunt, powerful thoughts on marriage. The whole “submissive” comment got blown completely out of proportion. For example, she doesn’t advocate becoming the next Betty Draper:

Laird is as good at showing me this type of attention as he is at surfing, but I’ll tell you this: if, in a few years’ time, it was all me, all the time, with the Shiny Eyes and the Interludes and the compliments, and I’d made sure I’d communicated my thoughts and feelings on his lack of commitment and got no response, I would seriously reevaluate.

Even more blunt:

And remember, the queen may be fair and the queen may be just, but if you cross her, she will cut off your head. The title is sitting there waiting for you. And if you choose to take it on? You will live interestingly ever after.

Never does she advocate the “submissive” behaviour as characterized by all the hoopla surrounding this overblown controversy. Reece is just as badass as you might think, and she’s not afraid to show her colours. She’s simply trying to remain civil and human and authentic within the dynamics of her family, but never at the price of health or identity.

Highly recommended for parents, athletes, anyone thinking of getting married… or, general fans of Gabby Reece. She’s got a charming potty mouth, so look out! Enjoy.