I picked up Rebecca Quin’s book, “Not Your Average Girl,” recently and didn’t know what to expect. The book is an autobiography of Quin, also known as WWE’s Becky Lynch. I knew who she was and what she did but wondered how she could turn her story into over 400 pages of anecdotes. Arguably, Quin’s career peak came at a dull point in WWE. Business was down, so how good of a story could Quin tell?
Not only did she tell a good story, but she also connected with the reader on a personal level and left them with plenty of lessons and quotes. Quin’s journey is a triumph of how one should never let one’s doubts and questions hold one back.
Quick recap
Quin starts when she was a child in Ireland. Quin was a rebellious child with parents who supported her. A mom who had a long career as a flight attendant and a dad who was described as a “dreamer”. Quin started to wrestle prematurely as a teen with her older brother. Her older brother and the other wrestlers at the wrestling school were better than her originally but she improved. Quin eventually climbed up the ranks and made it to Japan where she made a name for herself.
Over the years Quin lost her love for wrestling. After wrestling in various promotions, Quin suffered an injury that she used as an excuse to quit wrestling, move to the USA, and pursue acting.
After several years she returns to wrestling and lands a WWE tryout. Her tryout goes well and she is offered a spot in NXT.
Once again she climbs the ranks and eventually gets called up with two of the three other “Horsewomen”. Fast forward years and she transforms herself into “The Man”, a confident, rebellious character who fans can’t boo, similar to Stone Cold Steve Austin.
As The Man, Becky Lynch becomes a legend, a certified Hall of Famer, and the first of three women to main event WrestleMania. She also met her now husband, WWE’s Seth Rollins while at the peak of her career, and in 2020 they had their first child.
My takeaways
I had no idea Quin’s story was as up and down as it was. I was a child when I first saw her in NXT and I just assumed she was a rookie like everyone else. However, Quin had a storied career in Europe and Asia despite never making it to the “Big Leagues” in the States.
Quin, despite playing such a confident and sometimes cocky character online, suffered from a lot of things I also struggle with. Quin had anxiety about whether she was good enough every step of the way, and a severe imposter syndrome once she made it to the peak of her career.
However, none of It stopped her. I think that is the key takeaway from this book. Negative thoughts, doubts, and imposter syndrome are going to arise. Setbacks will happen. But you cannot let those things stop you from accomplishing your goals. Not everyone will get blessed with a second opportunity the way Quin was, and I think that could be an overlooked aspect of this book.
Quin’s ability to continue to bet on herself allowed her to conquer things she imagined, but never really believed could happen. For example, numerous times throughout the book, Quin says she would main-event Wrestlemania. However, when it was happening, Quin questioned whether she or the people around her believed she was capable enough. It’s a testament to the power of the mind. Even if our wildest dreams come true, our minds can find a way to counteract them. But we can’t let it.
My favorite part of the book is the regret she speaks about. With such a triumphant story, it’s intriguing to see her regret some of her decisions along the way, specifically the way her relationship with some of her coworkers changed and how she wished she spent more time with her father before his death. Quin peels back her skin to let the readers see the heart and the feelings that affect her.
My favorite quotes
“You worry about you and let everyone else figure their stuff out.” This quote stuck with me because as a person who overthinks, sometimes I have to worry about what I have going on and leave everyone else’s problems with them.
“God loves a trier.” Whether you are religious or not, everyone can relate to this one. Perfection is impossible but effort is key. Sometimes the best thing you can do is to try your best.
My rating
I give this autobiography a 5-star review. Quin keeps the reader engaged and drawn in with her writing style. She is a natural-born writer and told a story of a 20+ year career in a relatively short amount of time. Once I got into the book I couldn’t it down. The language of the book, the story, the conclusion, and the resolution all felt natural and Quin even included images at the end to allow readers to visualize the events she spoke about.
I enjoyed the book and I highly recommend it. I hope other readers learn the same lessons I did.
Did you read it? What did you think about it? Let me know in the comments.