Review: I'm Fine and Neither Are You by Camille Pagan

This book was everywhere it seemed, at least in my little corner of the internet. I hadn’t planned to read it but when I received a copy, I put it right on my list. Everyone was talking about it and yet I still went into this book blind. 

I really enjoyed I’m Fine and Neither Are You. I flew through it; it had the type of structure that encouraged you to keep reading because you needed to know what happened next. I’m also all for stories about women and the societal standards we face. 

I know Pagan was inspired by the opioid crisis happening in the United States right now. I think this is an important topic to tackle and though there were pieces of story I found unnecessary, on the whole I recommend this book. It has fantastic representation: a Latinx woman married to an Indian man, with two mixed race children. Representation MATTERS in literature and a great way to encourage diverse literature as a white person is to read and support authors who are POC. 

Synopsis: Penelope Ruiz-Karr is completely, totally overwhelmed in her life. She’s a mother, wife, and full time bread winner for her family. The pressure is getting to her and yet she won’t ask for help, because women can do it all right? When a shocking death puts life into perspective, Penny launches a project to save her marriage and more importantly, herself. But when that project begins to reveal more than she bargained for, will it end up destroying the life she worked so hard to build? 

I’m Fine and Neither Are You is a book a lot of women can sadly relate to. I’m not a wife or mother yet and I already feel societal pressure to do and have it all. There are some days I don’t know how to keep up. I think this is just as important of a read for young women as it is for women Penelope’s age. I learned a lot and it showed me the importance of checking in with myself, my goals, and what I want my future to look like. 

Have you read this book? I’m really glad I didn’t pass on it!