Ten Steps to Nanette: A Memoir Situation by Hannah Gadsby
CW: Assault, Child Molestation, Rape, Graphic Description of Injuries, Descriptions of Isolation, Mentions of Suicide and Suicidal Thoughts, Body Image Issues, Mental Health Struggles, Descriptions of Trauma, Drug Abuse, Financial Struggles, Dark Historic Events, Hate Crimes, Bullying, Microaggressions, Melanoma Treatments
5/5
To clarify before I continue, I am autistic and queer. Neither of these are what drew me to Hannah Gadsby initially. Nanette had been released on YouTube and circling Facebook was a clip in which she described Van Gogh self medicating on paint. In college, my minor was art history, something I love just as much as Gadsby. Nanette came out in 2018, 4 years before I received my diagnosis, 3 years before my suspicions. Without even realizing it, Hannah Gadsby had become a special interest* for me. I watched her nudity in art series and her series on the history of Australia, I watched Douglas as soon as it went on Netflix, and I jumped at the chance to see Body of Work (touring now!). Although I had to wait in line to listen to the audiobook, I read it as soon as I could! My experiences are very different from Gadsby's, but I relate to her a lot anyway. Reading 10 Steps to Nanette has taught me more about myself, brought me validation, and scratched my special-interest-itch.
As this is a memoir, non-fiction, I'll refrain from telling you the "plot". I absolutely believe that you should read it for yourself. Gadsby is funny, she'll make you laugh even at the darkest of moments in her past. She'll also straight up lie to you, and you won't mind it. I also highly recommend that you choose to audiobook this one. Not only is the Australian accent a treat, getting to hear the words delivered by the person who wrote them enriches the experience. Do watch Nakedy Nudes ahead of time if you can, as she does reference it a couple of times. Finally, I would not recommend reading this if you are unfamiliar with Hannah Gadsby. This book is meant to be read by her fans. It gets really dark and uncomfortable at parts. The familiarity helps.
Throughout the book, the reader is given bits of world and Australian history. I appreciated this greatly. The things I knew about helped ground me in the right part of history, everything else I was grateful to learn. The history facts are a mixture of big changes in Australia and little fun facts. Although the parts about Australia's gay laws were important and dreadful, they weren't surprising. What was surprising was when Gadsby laid out the events that resulted in Australia getting gun control just before I was born. I made a very jealous and annoyed at the U.S. face. Then she said that any sane American would be jealous. She had me there! Truly knows her audience. She even acknowledges that some will be audiobooking!
I have only one true complaint** about 10 Steps to Nanette. It is clear that Hannah does a good job of making sure people do not respect Picasso, which is important. What she does not make clear is that his Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907) cannot be the start of Modern Art. She doesn't necessarily say that it is, but she never retorted that it wasn't when mentioning that people have labeled it as such. It is proto-Cubism and can be labeled as the start of the Cubist movement, but Modern Art is an era. Modern Art is defined by the concept that anyone can make art, not just the rich and trained. Although an exact start is not agreed upon, the invention of the paint tube (1841) and Salon de Refusés (1863) have far better claims. The former because it allowed people without paint-making skills to use paint and keep it for longer amounts of time. The latter because French royalty decided to show art that had been rejected by a panel of judges, indicating that they were all artists.
This book was quite worth the (admittedly not very long) wait! Gadsby's life has been very eventful in good ways, bad ways, and many ways in between. The memoir is Gadsby bearing much of her soul to those willing to listen. She provides insight into her mind, her body, and Nanette. She does her best to make things easier for the reader, such as making us laugh when we might not expect to. However, Hannah, I do apologize for laughing at all your knee injuries! I promise I take them seriously too! Still there are times where you might want to put the book down, take a break, or stop altogether. She has not had an easy life. I only hope that it's better, much better, from here on out.
To somewhere between paraphrase and exactly quote Hannah Gadsby, "Stop expecting autistic people to be exceptional. It is a basic human right to have average abilities." You might expect that Gadsby is very skilled and thriving in general just because she is famous, but she is very relatable to me, a fellow autistic. Sensory problems, executive dysfunction, sounds can cause emotions, selective mutism, and so much more. I am glad this book is out there, I needed to read it. Now I can only hope that this review will end up in Roger Gadsby's binder… little reference joke there.
*Special interests differ from hyperfixiations but often present in similar ways. Hyperfixiations are new interests that get burnt through at a quick rate. Special interests become a core part of what someone likes in life. Both will often be accompanied by info-dumps, you're welcome!
**This book should not be read at the same time as you are eating. I smartly decided to pause the audiobook yesterday right after the accurate coleslaw description and just before starting to eat Friday's lunch. Be smart, make the same choice.
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