Book: The Opposite of Butterfly Hunting

[elusivek]

The Opposite of Butterfly Hunting: The Tragedy and The Glory of Growing Up; A Memoir
Evanna Lynch
Amazon.com Product Link

From actress and activist Evanna Lynch comes a raw and compelling memoir about navigating the path between fears and dreams.

Evanna Lynch’s casting as Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter films is a tale that grew to almost mythic proportions—a legend of how she faced disordered eating as a young girl, found solace in a beloved book series, and later landed the part of her favorite character. But that is not the whole story.

Even after recovery, there remains a conflict at her core: a bitter struggle between the pursuit of perfection and the desire to fearlessly embrace her creative side. Revealing a startlingly accomplished voice, Lynch delves into the heart of her relationship with her body. As she takes the reader through a personal journey of leaving behind the safety of girlhood, Lynch explores the pivotal choices that ultimately led her down the path of creativity and toward acceptance of the wild, sensual, and unpredictable reality of womanhood.

Honest, electrifying, and inspiring, this is a story of the battle between self-destruction and creation, of giving up the preoccupation with perfection in favor of our uncharted dreams—and how the simple choice to create is the most liberating action a person can take.

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(Possible spoilers)

Overall an interesting read, but I kind of think this has been a tiny bit overrated due to the author being an HP actress.

Some repetition here and there, could have been edited in a way that is only mentioned once.
While I concede that there are illnesses that has to do with the mind, and very much so one can't just decide to "snap out of it", I was also brought up in a no-nonsense household, so I will admit as much that in some parts of the book I felt a little irritated and there was a very tiny, small voice saying "brat! Get a grip!", but I endeavour to keep an open mind and be understanding as well.

I find it interesting that there is so much behind an actor before getting cast and being famous for the role. Thinking back about seeing Luna for the first time, I'd never have guessed the actress (Evanna) was a recovering patient for anorexia. In one part she had written about people saying how her face looks bloated but she had skinny legs? I tried to search for old photos of Luna Lovegood and don't find it that way. At all. I thought she looked good throughout.

I also found her awkwardness very amusing, much like some situations I'd be in. (totally paraphrasing from memory so I might get some details wrong) Being a fangirl and knowing exactly what the actor (Dan) likes, but don't want to sound like a stalker, so... end up answering something spacy. Well. Awkward. But that lends to her Luna-ness, I suppose. With Dan's comment of "She's not far from being the real Luna", I think that could have been taken as a compliment.



Phew. Finished this book finally. Now I shall start with the 2022 reading challenge. Wonder if this book fits any of the prompts so I could slowly chip away at the prompts!