More Than Enough

March 15, 2019
The former editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue tells the story of her rise in the world of media and high fashion.The child of a black mother and Irish Catholic father, Welteroth grew up in the largely white middle-class suburbs of Newark, California. She knew from childhood that she "wanted to be the boss." Yet by the time the author reached puberty, her growing self-doubt began to fester. Though popular, she did not have the straight blonde hair--and more to the point, the whiteness--of girls who were the "Thing" among her peers. She also discovered that as a biracial girl, she did not have full "membership" among black students. Although she felt out of place and somehow never quite "good enough" or "worthy enough," Welteroth eventually found the models who helped shape her path in college. The first was a young biracial female professor who encouraged the author to embrace her blackness. Internships with a Los Angeles entertainment PR firm and then a major New York advertising company followed. Ambition ignited, she courted the attention of Ebony creative director Harriette Cole and was rewarded with a job at the magazine, where she came into contact with powerful black women like Serena Williams and Michelle Obama. She then took a junior editorship at Glamour followed by positions at Ebony and then Teen Vogue. There, she caught the attention of Vogue editorial icon Anna Wintour, who helped promote her to Teen Vogue editor-in-chief. Under pressure to increase the magazine's revenue, Welteroth came into awareness of her true mission: to celebrate diversity in a predominantly white fashion and media industry. The author's impressive career trajectory makes for fascinating reading, but what makes the book especially worthwhile is its depiction of an emergent social and political consciousness so strong that it eventually led her to abandon corporate media for the "joy of dancing into [an unknown] future."An inspiring memoir by a dynamic groundbreaker.

COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

June 1, 2019

Welteroth's debut memoir is an insightful, eye-opening chronicle of her rise from wide-eyed intern to editor in chief of one of the top U.S. fashion magazines. Born to an African American mother and white father, Welteroth explains how feelings of "otherness," high ambition, and love of fashion led to a revelation at age 19, when she realized she wanted to be a fashion magazine editor. The author achieved this goal by her late 20s, becoming the first and youngest African American editor at Condé Nast, assuming the role of editor in chief of Teen Vogue in 2017. However, her rise to the top was fraught with perils, including racial bias, fractured romances, and pay disparities. She recounts these challenges, along with her struggles with finding a reliable life partner and creating a work/life balance. While the title may lead some to consider this a self-help book, it's not; at least not in the traditional sense. VERDICT An inspiring memoir of a remarkable journey that shows of the power of faith, friendship, family and dreams.--Leah Huey, Dekalb P.L., IL

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2019
Welteroth’s inspiring debut follows her personal and professional trajectories as she unpacks her ascent to becoming editor-and-chief of Teen Vogue in 2017 and details her experience as a black woman in media. From humble beginnings as a “brown girl boss” running a makeshift hair salon out of her Newark, Calif., cul-de-sac home, Welteroth built an illustrious editorial career as she worked her way up through increasingly substantial roles at Ebony and Glamour magazines. She tackles intimate details of her past—family skeletons (such as years of dealing with her father’s drinking and depression), heartbreaks, and solidifying her sense of identity—with an equal mix of personal vignettes and existential musings. Welteroth’s many revelations of romantic missteps, including a relationship with a Wall Street banker that ends calamitously after she receives an email about his philandering, and career pitfalls and triumphs, as when she is recruited from Glamour to Teen Vogue, are delivered in a conversational voice: “I was beginning to carve out space for conversations about identity and race at the magazine... and the intersection between fashion, culture, and later, politics.” Explaining her many experiences being “othered,” by coworkers at largely white Condé Nast magazines and just generally out in the world, Welteroth offers a narrative of empowerment to any reader who has had similar experiences. This affecting tale of claiming one’s space and refuting biases will encourage readers to believe in their own worth and demonstrates Welteroth’s mantra of “First. Only. Different.”

Starred review from April 15, 2019
In this inspiring memoir, journalist Welteroth outlines her meteoric rise to success. Welteroth was raised in northern California, the confident, driven child of a Black mother and white father. As early as grade school, she was sure of two important truths: she was born to be the boss, and the fact of her race would be with her every step of the way. Detailing her professional journey, Welteroth tells of the break she caught at 20 that launched her into journalism; the mentor who steered her into an editorial position at Ebony; her first job in the mythical Cond� Nast headquarters; and the implicit biases she encountered along the way. At 29, Welteroth became editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue, charged with diversifying and electrifying the wilting magazine. Threaded throughout are tales of her more personal life: toxic relationships, burnout, and a struggle to claim space for herself and deserving, under-represented others. With lyrical prose resonant of Jacqueline Woodson's, Welteroth shows what it truly means to be a leader: to elevate others and challenge systems of oppression, without ever sacrificing a job well done. Now writing for television and judging on Project Runway, Welteroth is proof that living the dream is an ever-changing, ever-satisfying journey to behold.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)

June 1, 2019

Welteroth's debut memoir is an insightful, eye-opening chronicle of her rise from wide-eyed intern to editor in chief of one of the top U.S. fashion magazines. Born to an African American mother and white father, Welteroth explains how feelings of "otherness," high ambition, and love of fashion led to a revelation at age 19, when she realized she wanted to be a fashion magazine editor. The author achieved this goal by her late 20s, becoming the first and youngest African American editor at Cond� Nast, assuming the role of editor in chief of Teen Vogue in 2017. However, her rise to the top was fraught with perils, including racial bias, fractured romances, and pay disparities. She recounts these challenges, along with her struggles with finding a reliable life partner and creating a work/life balance. While the title may lead some to consider this a self-help book, it's not; at least not in the traditional sense. VERDICT An inspiring memoir of a remarkable journey that shows of the power of faith, friendship, family and dreams.--Leah Huey, Dekalb P.L., IL

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.