Your Difference Is Your Strength

August 28, 2023
Readers can transform “from mere misfits to triumphant trailblazers” by embracing their full, flawed selves, according to this upbeat guide from former punk rocker Ferraro (Manifesting). Branded “different” since she was young for reasons ranging from her “unconventional” body type to her “wacky creativity,” the author recalls how in grade school she perused biographies of “creative geniuses” and was startled to learn all of the innovators featured were misfits who’d harnessed their one-of-a-kind skills to change the world without waiting “for others to catch up.” Readers can do the same by holding fast to “life preservers” that shore up their confidence (as a kid, Ferraro used writing as “a place of creative expression... in which I could feel healthy pride”); capitalizing on such misfit “superpowers” as independence and “being underestimated”; and claiming one’s space at school, work, or home, whether by chairing a PTA discussion or speaking one’s mind to a family member. While Ferraro’s thesis isn’t exactly groundbreaking and makes for some hollow-sounding platitudes (“I’m here to tell you that YOU are the person you’ve been waiting for”), she buttresses her advice with genuine encouragement and makes salient points about how the world needs its oddballs and underdogs, as they “show everyone else how to do things differently.” This is ideal for those seeking a shot of confidence and permission to be themselves.