Rachel Hollis (@msrachelhollis) in tow with her husband Dave Hollis (@mrdavehollis), are Instagram sensations. They own The Hollis Company (@theholliscompany) and provide tools and inspiration for others to live their best lives, including their RISE conferences and RISE podcast. With such a following, it is easy to see why people would want to pick up their books and how all three of these books made their way onto the #1 New York Times Best Seller List.
I have read both of Rachel’s recent books; Girl, Wash Your Face and Girl, Stop Apologizing as well as her husband’s brand new book, Get Out Of Your Own Way. Do you only have time to read one? I’ll share which book is my favorite out of the three if I could only pick one.
For those of you who love things in chronological order, you know who you are – you must read books in order, you must start a television series by watching the pilot episode first and then going in order episode by episode, season by season, and you hate how Star Wars started their movies in the middle of the story. I am going to review the books in the order that they were written – just for you!
Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are So You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be by Rachel Hollis
First up is Girl, Wash Your Face which was one of the books chosen for my book club to read (specifically chosen by yours truly).
Published in February 2018, each chapter of Girl, Wash Your Face begins with a lie that Rachel once believed which was holding her back from living her best life. After stating each lie, she shares personal stories of how that lie and negative self-talk left her feeling unworthy. She proves how these lies were not serving her or anyone else who may be telling themselves the same lies. Here are some of the lies:
- The lie: I will never get past this
- The lie: I’m not good enough
- The lie: I’ll start tomorrow
She tells stories ranging from how she started her career in event planning, her relationship with her husband while they dated and into their marriage, a traumatic event that happened to her while she was growing up (I don’t want to spoil it for you!), a growing drinking problem, and her difficult experience with adoption. Since I started out my career in the events industry as well, I appreciate that she has a similar background and I can relate to her on that level.
This book is an easy read and I enjoyed the format that she writes in. I did find myself surprised at how religious she gets at times during the book. Overall, she peaked my interest and I gave her a follow on the ‘gram.
“Someone else’s opinion of you is none of your business.”
Rachel Hollis – Girl, Wash Your Face
Girl, Stop Apologizing: A Shame-Free Plan for Embracing and Achieving Your Goals by Rachel Hollis
Next, we have Girl, Stop Apologizing which was published in March 2019. I felt like Rachel’s first book laid down a lot of her background and story and then this book went right into being more tactical and practical.
The book is broken up into three parts – the first part defines excuses to let go of that are holding you back. Part two is about what behaviors to adapt to, to achieve results that will bring you closer towards accomplishing your goals. To conclude, part three is about what skills to acquire in order to take necessary action. Here are some of the excuses, behaviors, and skills:
- Excuse: I don’t have time
- Excuse: It’s been done before
- Excuse: What will they think?
- Behavior: Stop asking permission
- Behavior: Build foundations for success
- Behavior: Stop allowing them to talk you out of it
- Skill: Planning
- Skill: Confidence
- Skill: Positivity
In Girl, Stop Apologizing, Rachel offers more direct advice and goes over new skills, practices, and habits for women to prioritize themselves and their goals.
This amazing thing happens when you start to grow in one area of your life: other areas improve with it.
Rachel Hollis – Girl, Stop Apologizing
Get Out of Your Own Way: A Skeptic’s Guide to Growth and Fulfillment by Dave Hollis
Last, we have Rachel’s husband’s book, Get Out of Your Own Way. This book was published in March 2020 and is the one that I have most recently finished reading.
Dave’s book follows a similar format to Rachel’s first book, Girl, Wash Your Face, except told from a skeptic’s perspective as his tagline says. He also writes from his male point of view but in a way that women can relate to as well.
He tells stories about his career at Disney, how awesome Rachel is and how she pushes him to be his best self, about a growing drinking problem, and their difficult experience with adoption. Since I had already read Rachel’s books, it felt a bit repetitive. I also felt like he name dropped that he worked at Disney A LOT. But he did work there for many years so I understand that it is an important part of his story to tell.
I hate to say it, but at times this book felt like it was being written in Rachel’s shadow and like he wrote it because her books are successful, so his would be too. Also, rather than Rachel talking about Rachel, at times it just felt like Dave talking about Rachel.
I liked that Dave stressed that mental health is just as important as your physical health. He is very open about his journey with therapy and how it benefited him in overcoming his skeptic-prone ways. In the final chapter, he finally wrote an actionable list that I took a screenshot of on my phone and took a lot away from:
- Define Your Operating Principles
- Commit to Habits That Fuel You
- Find the Leverage to Live No Other Way
- Be Deliberate in What You Focus On
- Surround Yourself with Relationships That Serve You
After the list, he breaks down each one with examples and I felt like it was a great way to pull the whole book together. This book was a lot less religious than Rachel’s first book and he also got himself a follow from me on the ‘gram. (Side note: his tea time with their adopted daughter, Noah is adorable!)
“You never lose when you fail; you only learn from the experience.”
Davie Hollis, Get Out of Your Own Way
My favorite of the three books? Girl, Stop Apologizing is the winner for me.
Why? I felt that it was the most actionable and applicable out of the three. There was less fluff and more “do this to get that result” material which is what I respond well to.
All of these books are easy reads and break up their content into a very digestible format. Overall, there have been other books that have impacted me to take more action and that I felt had more breakthrough moments than these, but once I read one, just like you chronological-order-only folks, I had to read them all. I look forward to Rachel’s third book and continuing to follow along with their journey online. I have heard wonderful things about their RISE conference from others who have attended yet I have not experienced it myself.
Here they are not pictured on a book cover! One of my favorite nuggets that I got from Rachel Hollis was actually from one of her past Instagram posts, rather than these books. She said that when she is feeling out of sorts or when Dave is feeling out of sorts, that they have agreed that whoever is feeling stronger that day will take the lead. I really love this concept. The idea that you should be able to communicate when you are feeling “off” to your partner and can trust them to be the lead decision maker that day is really a neat concept and created that A-HA moment for me.
Let me know which of the Hollis’ books is your favorite below!