Book Review: In the Land of Men

In the Land of Men: A Memoir, by Adrienne Miller

The title made it impossible for me to walk by this book without buying it.

Adrienne Miller tells raw, captivating, and sometimes unnerving stories from her career as she became the first woman to be literary editor for Esquire. Miller takes us through vivid stories as a young woman, climbing the corporate ladder of men's and entertainment magazines, in the 90's.

The way she recounts the culture that had little value for women, and how she struggled with her involvement in said culture. Her professional, yet personal relationships, that were growing her career but straining her in every other way.

There are moments in the book where you can feel the discomfort of the gray area Miller is in. Being a hard working, smart and ambitious woman, employed by a company and culture that places value on women’s appearances. That doesn't treat women with the respect they deserve. To walk in each day, climbing to the top, surrounded by that culture.

Are you okay-ing this outlook on women by working here?

Can one person, you a woman, change this awful norm of society?

Are you reaching your full potential when the ladder above you doesn’t value women?

Do you need to laugh at the joke, lessen your personality to come across better?

Is it necessary to act like to care less at certain comments or actions?

...Are you feeling like you don’t need to read this book to understand these questions?

One of the lines that I went to bed smiling about, turning over and over in my head, is this:

“The careful reader might perhaps notice that the author doesn’t dwell too much on women’s appearances. Men are fair game, but because I’ve spent so much of my reading life tussing with physical descriptions of females [fictional and nonfictional ones], I find that I’ve now become protective of the women.”

I clung to this, saluted it, I might write it on a post it and stick it to my bookcase. It resonated with me on a personal level of remembering the time spent on my appearance rather than my work, my notes, the slides, or other prep that should’ve been more important.

For all the times I read: tangley legged blonde, chocolate eyes and a perfect red lip, a suit jacket that clung to her just right, her elegant ankle fit perfectly into that pointed high heel…

For all those times I read and saw that depicted, this line by Miller made me punch the air with a newfound strength.

I highly recommend for anyone who writes or has an interest in the field of media and journalism. The names and history she retells is also captivating.

If you are curious about the less flashy and more personal strategy side to “The Devil Wears Prada” I got some of those vibes as I read about this amazing and ruthless media industry.

So through the subtle and not so subtle sexist trigger warnings, through the behind the scene of the media industry, through Miller’s raw thoughts - I greatly enjoyed this book! I felt myself in some of the chapters and I wanted to reach out and hug Miller or offer her a stiff drink. This story, in my opinion, feels like so many women. There’s no Olympic medal, no Everest transcended, no around the world in 80 days - It’s rather how hard Miller and we all work to succeed and stay true to ourselves. How our “everyday” of making it in this society and world is worthy of praise and an accomplishment we can take price in.

Happy Women's History Month!

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