How Do We Know We're Doing It Right?

Reviews / Votes

A timely collection of essays from journalist and podcast host Pandora Sykes that touch on everything from happiness to wellness; womanhood to consumerism and the anxieties and agendas that consume our lives ... Sharp and observant writing ... A manifesto for the millennial woman. * Evening Standard * A collection of essays that feel like I'm in a deep and open conversation with the person who peered inside my head and saw exactly what I've been thinking about all these years. Thorough, timely and fulsome. -- Candice Carty-Williams Sykes's essays, written pre-pandemic, could have read like a relic from a pampered bygone age with nothing bigger to worry about. Yet, instead, it feels like a cleareyed warning of the world to which we may now be returning. -- Gaby Hinsliff * Guardian * Tackles subjects that some might dismiss as trivial (texting, social media, why women increasingly want to dress like one another) with striking intellectual rigour ... refreshing for the depth and breadth of its research. Rather than making generalisations about womanhood based on anecdotes from her own life, Sykes draws on statistics, philosophy, pop culture and more to make thoughtful, considered observations. * Stylist * I absolutely loved How Do We Know We're Doing It Right?. It's like a very clever, lucid, charming friend unpacking all the messy anxieties of modern existence with tremendous intelligence and elan. Women will recognise parts of the themselves on every page, regardless of their age, whether Sykes is writing about authenticity, social media or the need to always seem busy. I found it deeply interesting and often enlightening: I kept putting it down to think about something the author had said. Read this book. It will help your life. -- India Knight If you're into the kind of book that you can greedily imbibe in a few riveted sittings (and why wouldn't you be) don't miss Pandora Sykes' debut [...] It's as witty and zeitgeisty as you'd expect from 'The High Low' co-host, but it's also thoroughly, thoughtfully researched [...] The essays avoid cliche to strike a fresh, honest note. It's highly likely you'll close this book with half the pages turned down and pictures of passages * Vanity Fair * A collection shot through with inquiring curiosity and thoughtful questioning, written with real consideration and candour. -- Elizabeth Day Brilliant - thoughtful and funny -- Dolly Alderton A brilliant, brave and highly erudite collection of essays. Pandora Sykes is emerging as a leading thinker of her generation. -- Will Storr