Book Review: 138 Dates by Rebekah Campbell

 138 Dates

by

Rebekah Campbell

 

The true story of one woman's search for everything

 

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

 

Imprint: A&U New Zealand

 

Publication date: 2nd July 2021

 

Genre: Non Fiction / Memior

 

Pages: 416

 

RRP $29.99AUD 

Format read: Paperback

 

Source: Courtesy of the publisher via DMCPR Media.

 

About the book

 

 On the outside, Rebekah Campbell has an enviable life. She is founder of hot Sydney startup Posse.com, writes a popular blog and gives inspirational talks at conferences for female entrepreneurs.

But when she turns off the light each night, she is alone and terrified of the future. She knows that what's important to her isn't money or startup glory or social media followers. She wants love. She wants a family.

And she is stuck. She hasn't been on a date in ten years. She's too embarrassed to list herself on the internet and can't bear the risk of getting rejected.

She decides to act. She'll take the tactics she's learnt building companies and apply them to finding a man. Her epic journey will take her on dates with 138 different men in Sydney, New York and San Francisco, while at the same time confronting the immense challenges of launching a business.

She'll face exhaustion, humiliation and heartbreak; she'll meet some strange and dangerous characters. And she will strip herself of the ego and expectations that have been holding her back. She will not stop.

138 Dates proves that the end is always worth the effort.

 

My review

 

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. Not being the target audience and all.

 

If you follow Rebekah on social media you know how this turns out but this little spoiler didn't affect my reading pleasure.

 

Rebekah is open and honest as she takes on finding love as she would a business venture, organising do's and don'ts lists and practically interviewing her dates. 

I did find her quite judgemental and not very warm when she was on the dates. She was all business.  

I admire her tenacity as she goes on 138 different dates and I enjoyed all the descriptions of the different restaurants and meals she had. 

 

As she combines looking for love with the stress of running a start-up, Rebekah talks a lot about her business and work although I still feel she played down how stressful and time consuming starting your own business is.

 

I really enjoyed this candid and entertaining look at dating in your mid thirties and the call out not to give up on your dreams. However, I feel the real take out was Rebekah's acceptance of herself. It's hard to find love when you don't love yourself.

 

My rating 4 / 5  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

 About the author

 

Rebekah Campbell is the co-founder of Hey You, a mobile app used by more than one million Australians to order and pay at cafes. She has kept a blog about her experiences as an entrepreneur which was named 'Best Business Blog' by Smart Company and became a New York Times column in 2012. Rebekah writes a monthly opinion piece for AFR BOSS Magazine and has contributed to MamaMia, Women's Agenda and Stuff. She is a high-profile public speaker who spoke at TEDx Sydney and numerous events for Business Chicks. Rebekah was named a Woman of Influence in 2015 and APEC Young Woman Innovator. She is currently the host and curator of the City of Sydney's virtual event series 'Reboot', supporting 18,000 Sydney business owners to recover from the impact of COVID 19. Rebekah's personal passion is her everything which she finds at the end of this book.