Adult Braces: Driving Myself Sane By Lindy West Source Purchased
Published by Grand Central Publishing on March 10, 2026
Rating:
Through Shrill, the book and then the Hulu series, Lindy West became an inspiration. To this day she is stopped on the street and hailed as a beacon of empowerment by women who felt badly for not conforming to the categories deemed acceptable—thin, straight, compliant. But behind the scenes, Lindy never felt like she was the self-actualized woman fans made her out to be. When she found herself in the throes of a deep depression, with her marriage and sense of self-worth hanging in the balance, she knew she needed to make a change.
In ADULT BRACES, Lindy shares the story of her rock bottom, and of the solo cross-country road trip she took to claw her way out of it. With her trademark candor and sense of humor, she examines her post-Shrill emotional implosion, her shifting feelings about traditional marriage, and her search for her long-lost self. She also tracks the highs and lows of her journey, from eye-opening natural wonders and kitschy roadside attractions to lackluster excursions and campground epiphanies. The result is an engaging and laugh-out-loud narrative of becoming as Lindy transforms from a passenger into the active navigator of her own life.
I love Lindy West’s writing (I’ve read all her books and subscribe to her newsletter) and her podcast, so was absolutely excited to read more from her.
So many people were talking about this book when it came out, and what I saw were mostly think-pieces about the polyamory, Lindy’s husband’s behaviour, and whether she could still hold herself out as a feminist. But I feel like the more sensationalized pieces missed out on mentioning that this is a good book!
Lindy really puts herself and her relationships (with her husband, her parents, herself) out there in a way that is super vulnerable. And if you like Lindy’s writing, you’ll hopefully agree with me that this is also a funny read! I am such a fan of her writing and enjoy pretty much anything she’s written, so it’s no surprise that I thought this was a great book.
While I wish there had been more of a look at her relationship when she got home and how she felt about the new situation, I feel like this book was more about the journey to her decision to return home to her husband and his girlfriend, and not necessarily what happened after she got there.
I also recommend Scaachi Koul’s Slate article / profile of Lindy. I was excited to see two writers whose work I love in discussion. After this came out, the over the top nasty emails Scaachi got from Lindy’s husband and girlfriend were really surprising to me, considering I thought the article was fairly positive. And if anyone’s writing led to backlash against Lindy’s husband, wasn’t it Lindy’s own book, which described her husband’s behaviour?
Anyway, the book itself was a great read, there is much more to it than polyamory (even though that seems to have been the only angle most people talked about), and I think if you’re already a fan of Lindy’s work, you will enjoy reading this one.
