I Wanted Fries with That

August 26, 2019
In this wry debut, Fish, a college ombudsman, offers useful, if overly chatty, advice on how to stand up for oneself. “You need the courage to live life,” she notes in her introduction. “This includes learning to ask for what you want and need.” Fish then delivers her advice in a series of anecdotes grouped into three sections centered on oneself, a specific other person, and larger social issues. Fish includes many helpful tips and provides sample scripts for in-person, phone, and email situations that readers can personalize for issues such as returning items without a receipt and dealing with phone-obsessed spouses. She is refreshingly honest about many factors that can impede effective self-advocacy, including race, age, class, and outward appearance. Unfortunately, the advice is often obscured by a stream of jokes, digressions, and overly detailed explanations, many in the form of footnotes—such as when she takes pains to explain Sanka coffee, the meaning of “uff-da,” and how her Auntie Marcy has gifted her an annual People magazine subscription since she was 13. Despite these many distracting asides, readers looking for advice on raising concerns effectively will find this guide to be a valuable tool.