Perfect Is Boring (And It Tastes Like Kale): Finding Belonging and Purpose Without Changing Who You Are

What if we accepted our struggles and stopped trying to impress our friends? In this poignant, hilarious book, the bestselling co-author of I’ll Be There (But I’ll Be Wearing Sweatpants) shares her experiments in finding our way back to each other

Jess Johnston used to feel alone in her mess. In a random burst of courage, she started sharing about those insecurities and struggles out loud, and what she found shocked her. Again and again, people replied, “Me too! I thought I was the only one!”

In Perfect is Boring (and It Tastes Like Kale), Jess reminds readers that no one’s living a perfect life, and there’s a powerful interpersonal connection that happens when we’re real about it. Maybe some people are cut out for perfectionism. (Martha Stewart? Daniel Tiger’s Mom?) For the rest of us, the secret to living a full and connected life is finding the courage to show up as our real selves and stop participating in our own loneliness.

With honesty, heart, and humor, Johnston shares the lessons she’s learning (and relearning) about cultivating an authentic life, including:

• “I count, I’m important, and I matter—even if people introduce themselves to me 500 times.”
• “I want to be the best mother that has ever mothered, but it turns out I’m a mother who has a literal meltdown because her vacuum got run over by the car.”
• “Showing up is more important than winning. Trying is more important than saving face.”