Title: The Beautiful Blonde Library Angel
Author: Phillip Parcheminer
Publisher: Xlibris
ISBN: 978-1-7960-3385-4
Genre: Memoir
Pages: 207
Review by: Ella Vincent
Pacific Book Review
The Beautiful Blonde Library Angel is an intimate and heartfelt look at a man’s struggles with social anxiety. Phillip Parcheminer has written a memoir that will enlighten readers.
The Beautiful Blonde Library Angel looks at the life of a man who has a difficult time keeping friends or a job because of his crippling anxiety. However, he finds solace in his life through writing and watching beautiful women from afar in a library he often visits. Even though he rarely finds the confidence to talk to the women, they inspire him to appreciate beauty and to continue his fledgling writing career. Parcheminer also begins to gain confidence through his love of music and French culture. He writes bracingly about his troubles with his parents and his struggles to gain independence.
The Beautiful Blonde Library Angel is a searing look at the devastating toll anxiety can have on a person’s life. Parecheminer writes with bracing honesty about how his social anxiety disorder has hindered his ability to form lasting relationships with the crushes in his life. He also writes so vividly about how the loss of two close family members impacted his life.
While The Beautiful Blonde Library Angel has bleak moments, there are moments of joy as well. Parcheminer writes eloquently about the music and TV shows he loves that helps him cope with his anxiety. He also writes relatable stories about celebrity crushes like Shania Twain and Jennifer Love Hewitt that helped him gain the confidence to try to approach his real-life crushes. Parcheminer writes so beautifully about wanting to be independent and find true love. While pop culture and his support group help him cope with life’s disappointment, readers will root for Parcheminer. When Parcheminer writes about how simple pleasures like a cold Pepsi calm him down, readers will easily empathize.
The Beautiful Blonde Library Angel would be best for readers who suffer from social anxiety and want to read about another person coping with the disorder. The book would also be best for readers who want to learn about people with anxiety, like John Elder Robison’s Look Me in the Eye, or Erika Hillard’s Living Fully with Shyness and Social Anxiety. This book could be read in mental health support groups or to people who are dealing with social anxiety alone.
The Beautiful Blonde Library Angel is an eye-opening look at the world of a person coping with social anxiety. Parcheminer has written a book that will greatly educate readers about mental health issues.
