From the beginning of puberty, I did really badly in school. I was super dyslexic; I was in special ed. I had a hard time reading and writing, so I thought that my self worth was in my looks, how I presented myself, and how other people perceived me.

I wasn't a very good student in elementary school and had a hard time with reading and writing.

While in the middle of writing a book, I have a hard time reading other books for pleasure.

I remember being 12 or 13 and reading 'Seventeen' and 'CosmoGirl.' They were all about self-improvement.

I really wanted to feel strong, I wanted my subjects to feel strong, but I didn't know how to do that. It's really hard for, I guess, every woman to not internalize misogyny. I just learned as I went on how to best capture my subjects without objectifying them.

If you don't know your worth, if you don't know your value, if you don't know how fantabulous you are - it's going to be hard for other people to see it. Being appreciative of self is beauty to me.