Holly Shaw
Queen Lessons for Book Clubs
With its timely message, hilarious, riveting and thought- provoking stories questioning what it means to be a 'queen', this book makes an excellent next choice for your book club!
Message from Holly: At a time when I was first struggling with signs of perimenopause: brain fog, meno-belly, and a depression that stemmed from hormonal changes I noticed that doing stand-up comedy was giving me access to some power to face my challenges, face hecklers and some pretty cool training for the courage I needed to step into my 'queen years'.
At that time, after doing shows I would connect with women my age after the show who said, "oh I could never do that," meaning stand-up. But I knew that they were facing down their own hecklers in every day life and that they weren't seeing themselves the way I saw them: brave, beautiful, and inspiring. And so this book became a love letter to women everywhere, to impart what I've learned through stand-up but also reflect your own power back to you.
One thing I know about us queens is that we have the power to uplift each other and we're damn good at it. So this is my invitation to gather your girlfriends or even invite someone new you don't know that well yet and create a time to connect, giggle and discuss what you deeply fear and matters most to you. My hope is this book will be the portal and inspiration for that space.
I've lovingly created materials to help you do this - scroll down to get a discussion guide and chapter by chapter guide for deeper work - so gather and get going!
And once you do - invite me in! I'd love to come and talk to your group virtually or even in person as my schedule and time and space allows!
BIG LOVE,
Holly
General Discussion Questions
-
Stand-up comedy before reading this book, and how did they change or not change by the end?
-
What do you think of this premise that your soul evolves no matter what you do? How do you think your soul might have evolved through the activities, jobs, relationships and other choices you’ve made throughout your life?
-
Shaw introduces us to her inner archetypes: Wise Woman, Earthquake Woman and the Comedian. Do you relate to these different parts? Which ones might you add? If you could name your own inner archetypes what would they be?
-
Do you think queen is an apt euphemism for this time in life (ie. the perimenopausal/menopausal journey)? Do you relate to the way that Shaw describes this period of life?
-
The book touches on the potentially controversial subject of getting rid of the ‘Nice Girl.’ How do you feel about the differing viewpoints, and where do you fall on the issue?
-
One of the main themes of the book is attention and at one point Shaw remarks, “As you disappear from the world at large, you finally appear fully to yourself.” What do you think she means by this statement? Do you relate?
-
Shaw talks about this idea of “mimetic desire” or wanting things because someone else wants them. When are times you’ve experienced mimetic desire? When have you decidedly not followed the crowd and claimed things you liked just for yourself despite what anyone else thinks?
-
Shaw identifies five different muscles of courage she’s developed through stand-up: Boldness (includes asking for what you want), Persistence, Shamelessness, Honesty, Self-Loyalty. Were there any of these that seemed more challenging to you than others. Were there any that you were more willing to lean into than others. Why?
-
What were some of the key takeaways from this book that you can see applying to your own life?
-
After reading this is there any personal or group action you feel inspired to take in regards to this topic?
Get Your Discussion Guides
Get the Book
GET THE BOOK>>Now available on
Get the Playlist
Songs I listened to while writing the book, Queen Lessons. A journey back to self in song.