Kathleen Smith - The Fangirl Life

Kathleen Smith shows us how to direct our pursuits in fandom into IRL accomplishments without losing touch with our inner fangirls.

Cori Melvin, Geek Girl Brunch, @geekgirlbrunch

The Fangirl Life has helped me in ways I didnt even know I needed. The lessons Kathleen teaches in her pop culture peppered pages can be applied across all aspects of your life, not just those fangirl tendencies. Kathleens friendly and approachable writing style makes this a fun and invaluable life tool.

Emily Farquharson, founder of GeekGirlPenPals.com, @geekgirlpenpals

As a lifelong fan in many fandoms, I found The Fangirl Life to be a fun ride into the life of ALL types of fans. Hardcore fan or casual lover, chances are you will find things in this book that make you laugh out loud as you recall encountering them, or being them! I can easily see fans from fifteen to fifty and beyond needing this book in the must have section on their shelf or shrine (lol!) of collectibles.

Amy Hood, writer/reporter, @OnceUponAFan

The Fangirl Life is an inspiring handbook for fangirls of all ages as they blossom into the BAMF fanwomen theyre destined to become. It teaches us how to apply the tools we already have to aid us in our paths to world domination while still staying true to our character and our passions during the process. The Fangirl Life is full of feels-inducing references that will resonate with everyone whos ever been invested in a fandom, and its a must-read for anyone needing that extra confidence boost to help them maximize their potential in the journey that is life!

Kristin Hackett, superspacechick.com, @SuperSpaceChick

A self-help book about the fangirl life that sent my inner BAMF a-flutter. The struggle to adult while binge-watching two TV shows, drooling over Claire Underwoods wardrobe and Julianna Marguliess eyebrows, and keeping up to date with eight TV shows just got a little less real.

Jess Aston, @JoRowlingNet

As a fangirl, having the knowledge that we all exist in this crazy obsessive world together helps coping with the feels our OTPs leave us with. Kathleen Smith perfectly encapsulates what its like to discover a new obsession and watch as it eats away at you, but she does it in a way that shows us all that were not alone in this fangirl world.

@RachelLeishman, rachsolo.tumblr.com

If youve ever wanted two fictional people to kiss more than youve ever actually wanted to kiss someone yourself, The Fangirl Life is for you. And you are not alone!

@ShipperJunkie

Ive never read anything like The Fangirl Life. This book is witty, insightful, informative, and thoughtfully delivered. It captures the experience of fangirling in a way that fangirls can appreciate and that those who are unfamiliar with the concept can picture for themselves. It provides a window into a world that gets a bad rap and a lifestyle that is misunderstood and underappreciated.

@delenasdragon

In this witty and sympathetic debut, therapist Smith offers wise advice on being a devout but well-rounded fan and even turning obsession into inspiration for ones own life... turns normally intimidating therapy-speak on its head.

Publishers Weekly

An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC

375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014

Copyright 2016 by Kathleen Smith

Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.

Tarcher and Perigee are registered trademarks, and the colophon is a trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.

Illustrations by Camilla Fiocchi. Copyright 2016 by Kathleen Smith

eBook ISBN: 9781101983706

L IBRARY OF C ONGRESS C ATALOGING- IN- P UBLICATION D ATA

Names: Smith, Kathleen, 1985 author.

Title: The fangirl life : a guide to feeling all the feels and learning how to deal / Kathleen Smith.

Description: First edition. | New York, New York : Perigee, 2016.

Identifiers: LCCN 2015041656 | ISBN 9781101983690

Subjects: LCSH: Young womenSocial life and customs. | Young womenPsychology. | Fans (Persons)Psychology. | Identity (Psychology) | Mass Media and culture. | Subculture.

Classification: LCC HQ798.S5695 2016 | DDC 305.242/2dc23

First edition: July 2016

While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers and Internet addresses at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors, or for changes that occur after publication. Further, publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

Cover design: Nellys Liang

Cover illustration: Camille Fiocchi

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For my parents, who welcomed television into our home like an old friend.

T he best day of my life was the day I stood on the top step of the Lincoln Memorial wearing nothing but stuffed animals. Depreciated Beanie Babies, squeaky chew toys, and fuzzy baby rattlers cascaded down to my knees in a dress secured by my fathers finest fishing line. Abe Schmabe, I thought as I grinned like an idiot and posed with another Japanese tourist from the line that had begun to form. An elderly woman poked at a mooing cow on my dress, not comprehending that my ensemble was an ode to the Lady Gaga costume made by Rachel Berry on Glee, but I didnt mind, because I had arrived.

Every star will tell you there was a moment when he or she knew that they had made it. Perhaps my moment should have been the day I got accepted to Harvard or the day I sat across the room from my first therapy client. But I was twenty-five years old, and I had just given up wearing pants for a year because of a fictional character. And on that lovely October day in the most powerful city in the world, I hot glued a unicorn to a headband and let the world see for the first time what I really was: a fangirl.

What exactly is a fangirl? If youre waiting for a sloppy urban dictionary quote, you wont find it here. A fangirl is simply a lady fan. If you want to get technical, the nineteenth-century origin of the word fan is somewhat disputed. Its either an abbreviation of the word