It's a Fugly Life (Fugly #2)(58)
I looked at Max holding his tiny daughter in his arms and my heart swelled. Life really could be so beautiful. If you just let it.
The End. (Yes. For real this time.)
Hello, My Beauties!
As always, I want to thank you for reading and hope you got something worthwhile out of reading Max and Lily’s story (fun, a laugh, some steamy-fuel, or something to think about). I know this story didn’t have the huge twists and turns (or fancy unicorns, LOL) like my other books, but I really wanted to honor the underlying meaning of the first book. I wanted this book to be the continuation of Lily’s internal story. I mean, yes, plenty of external events happen to her, but really this was about Lily figuring out how to cope with her fugly voice—the one many of us have, hate with a passion, and would like to shove down a deep dark well. (Raise your hand if you’ve ever told yourself you’re too fat or not pretty or not smart enough. Raise your hand if you’ve been telling yourself that since you were old enough to know what fat, pretty, or smart were.)
But before I get to the deeper stuff, let’s get swag out of the way! I have signed fugly bookmarks (they’re actually not f*cking ugly, they’re kinda cute!) for those who want a little keepsake. First-come basis! Just shoot me your shipping address, full name, and be sure to mention if you posted an awesome review so I can include an IT’S A FUGLY LIFE magnet for your collection as a thank you! (I’m lovin’ the pics, by the way, some of you are sending of your fridges covered in Mimi swag. Nice!) Send emails to: [email protected].
All right, now that we have that out of the way, here are some insights about the book. (And for those who love the playlist, don’t miss it at the end!)
One, while this story is primarily about Lily not allowing her negativity to degrade the quality of her life or keep her from her goals, the story was also about Lily having to make peace with herself and her fugly voice. Because she’d realized that having her face reconstructed didn’t do a darn thing for her insides, she needed to find another way to move forward. She needed to face the truth. And for her that meant accepting she didn’t really know how to be honest with herself. She made choices that masked or distracted her from the real issues and emotional pain. Opening a boutique wasn’t bad, but she knew she could do better. Patricio wasn’t right for her, yet she’d convinced herself he was.
Then Max came back and made her question everything. He represents the truth, Lily’s truth. He represents the happiness, love, and prosperity she was keeping from herself. It was difficult, scary, and painful for her to accept the truth (aka Max), but once she did, she knew it was the only way to live her life with any kind of peace or joy.
As for Max’s mom, in the first book (and this one), she represents the fugly voice. She hates Lily, she wants to destroy Lily, she wants to sabotage Lily’s chances for happiness with Max. Lily’s shrink tells her to make peace with her fugly voice because it’s there and it’s a part of her, but Lily puts up a fight. And when she violently confronts Max’s mother (really her fugly voice), she learns that she’s the only one who loses. Fugly wins again, landing Lily in hot water, arrested. And Max’s mom is happy to have brought her down. But from that, Lily learns the more attention she gives Maxine, the more power she gives her. When Lily finally makes peace with Max’s mom, Lily realizes that she can keep Maxine at a distance, know she’s there and that there’s a hell of a lot of work to be done to fix Maxine, but that she (Max’s mom) doesn’t have to get in the way of Lily’s happiness. So Lily making peace with Maxine (shaking her hand) doesn’t mean Lily likes her, but Lily gets that she can’t change reality. Maxine is Max’s mom. Lily’s fugly voice is there. Deal with it and put it in its place, but don’t ever empower it.
Finally, Lily has to accept that she makes mistakes. She’s never ever gonna be perfect no matter how hard she tries, but doesn’t need to beat herself up. At the end of the story, Lily is once again tested. More lies about Max are thrown at her, just like the first book. And once again, she believes them. She listens to her fugly voice and not to her heart. Won’t she ever learn? Won’t she ever be perfect and get everything right?
Hell no.
Yes, it would’ve made a more warm and fuzzy story if she simply hadn’t believed the press, but then we’d miss seeing something bigger and better happen. Lily knows she’s failed to achieve perfection but doesn’t tell herself she’s an idiot or a failure for her shortcomings. She simply recognizes she’s made a mistake by believing her “lovely lies” and moves on with life and with Max, her truth, her true love, and her future.
Okay, all! I hope you enjoyed this mushy, gushy note, and I hope you enjoyed the story. And now…for something completely ridiculous. God of Wine comes next. And yes, he really thinks he’ll save the world with his super abs! Haha!
With LOVE,
MIMI