Reddit mentions of All That Is Bitter and Sweet: A Memoir

She's a late-comer to my pantheon of female heroes, but Ashley Judd has made a huge impression on me. I pretty much thought of her as a mildly successful actor until I read her memoir All That is Bitter and Sweet. Her struggles with abuse etc, and her journey to heal herself struck very true to me, and it's also one of the best descriptions of 12-step like programs that I've read.

But more than anything it's her passion for helping women and children that I've found tremendously inspiring. She doesn't just go to 3rd world countries for photo ops- she went back to school for a demanding masters program in Public Administration so that she'd have the tools in doing her non-profit work, etc. I also very much appreciated her response to media questioning of her 'puffy' appearance, and how that played out not only in our media constructed idea of 'beauty', but also talks about how sometimes the worst enemy of a women is other women.

I just find her very thoughtful, and I admire her commitment to things that she believes in.