EBN A Humorous or Satirical Book: The Only Pirate at the Party by Lindsey Stirling and Brooke S. Passey

Several of the books I had put on hold at the library came in this last week, which was good. I was worried I would have to start aimlessly hunting the library shelves for books to fill out the categories on my list.

YouTube is one of those things that I've gotten into via my siblings. YouTube was born when I started college and, other than short silly videos that made me laugh, I didn't think much of it. Nearly 10 years later, I see it has really developed into an interesting internet space with some pretty stellar creators (YouTubers). Lindsey Stirling is one of several channels I follow and subscribe to. I first saw a cover she did of Legend of Zelda music, and have enjoyed watching her creations grow and develop.

While reading this autobiography, I was surprised to find out that she and I are the same age and come from similar backgrounds. We are both LDS, her dad was also a teacher who wrote on the side, her mom worked in the school cafeteria while my mom worked in the school library. She and I also grew up in very frugal households. And we both went to church universities. I loved reading about how her life developed from a typical start to an extraordinary present.

I also really enjoyed her silly and slightly irreverent sense of humor. I often find LDS authors are so nervous about misrepresenting their religion that their genuine nature doesn't shine through. Stirling doesn't seem to suffer from that problem. She unashamedly states her standards and bears her testimony of God without stifling her vibrant personality.

The chapters and moments she talks about her struggle with anorexia were appropriately serious, but were also very heartening. I think almost all teenage girls at least flirt with the idea of extreme weight loss measures. I know I did, but it was a silly teenage thing that I never thought seriously about. True eating disorders are not something you choose to have or not, they are just something that develops in the brain, usually without the person recognizing it. Because of this, many people see it as incurable, but this phrasing is so discouraging. Like someone who suffers from clinical depression, or extreme addiction, the problem never does really go away. The thoughts and desires will always sit somewhere in the back of a persons mind because it is how that brain has been hardwired, but, as Stirling shows, it can be overcome. A person is made up of a body and a spirit, and that spirit is powerful.