REVIEW: Coline Monsarrat — You Are Not an Imposter (BOOK)

Colin Jordan
3 min readNov 23, 2023

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“What would you think if someone came to you tomorrow and said they could take a pill and lose all their extra weight in a day without any effort?” writes Coline Monsarrat, in her new book titled You Are Not an Imposter — Overcoming Imposter Syndrome: Unlock Your True Potential So You Can Thrive in Life. “You would just think that they were nuts. So use the same thinking patterns when thinking about yourself. Instead of blaming yourself for taking a long time to do anything in life, whether it is losing weight or fighting the imposter inside you, look back at everything you have accomplished and enjoy the ride. What I have learned during my journey is that it is actually a combination of mental patterns that group together to form the imposter syndrome. By debunking each of them, one after the other, you will be able to break them, so you can finally thrive in your life.”

RELATED URL: https://www.youarenotanimposter.com/

She also writes, “As you read these words, I can only imagine your eyes rolling while thinking about the time it took me. You have picked up a book on how to conquer imposter syndrome and intend to fix it as fast as it takes a rocket to reach space. In the end, you have already realized that imposter syndrome has been affecting your life for many years, and you have no time to waste. I understand you as I was the same. We all want a quick fix for everything. Industries have made billions using these false beliefs that we can change everything we want at the click of a button or by popping something out of a box. We do not have time to be patient. We want everything now. But I am sorry to break it to you: No great things in life come easily. Real change takes time and effort.”

By being able to marry the personal with the professional, Monsarrat is able to create something compelling concurrently on an intellectual and emotive set of levels. There’s never the sense of there having to be a tradeoff of one with the other, and because of that the messaging of the book is that much stronger. Monsarrat treads a fine line here, one that is very easy to cross to the detriment of the presentational and communicative qualities. But because she’s able to make the emotional a good analogy for the statistically-backed, there’s never a hiccup in this regard overwhelming the ship.

AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/You-Are-Not-Imposter-Overcoming/dp/1959814028

“During my journey, I have cried, faced regrets, and felt angry about how stupid I had been, to name a few difficult moments,” she writes. “But none of these feelings can counter the laughter, peace, and pride that these events have brought me. If there is one piece of advice to give you as you start your own journey, it is to stop lying to yourself and examine yourself as an outsider. Don’t be afraid of what you will find and realize along the way as this self-awareness will set you free. My fight against imposter syndrome started against my will in January 2020. The events that took place back then forced me to look for answers. I had reached such a high level within the spectrum of imposter syndrome that my life depended on confronting it. I had to change if I did not want to have my name written on a stone.”

Colin Jordan

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Colin Jordan

Graduate: McNeese State University, Avid Beekeeper, Deep Sea Diver & Fisherman, Horrible Golfer