“Loud: Accept Nothing Less Than the Life You Deserve,” by Drew Afualo chronicles her life experiences living under the world’s patriarchy. 

The novel functions as a three-in-one memoir, manifesto and guide to the reader on how to combat bigoted and sexist men in all aspects of life. 

Afualo shares to readers how she confronts actions of sexism toward her and other women in the workplace and online.

She introduces her family in the novel and explains Samoan heritage and her upbringing which shaped her into the woman she is today. 

Afualo delves into how she began her career on the internet in 2020 after losing her dream job at a big-time sports network at the beginning of that year. 

During the pandemic, Afualo downloaded TikTok and began her career challenging gender norms and fighting off “‘terrible men.” A descriptor she uses often in the novel through her humor. 

“Getting to be mean in whatever capacity you most effectively can is a great way to let a lot of that internal rage out. I always compare myself to a venomous snake: in order to be the best version of myself for the world, I must expel my venom,” Afualo wrote. 

Throughout the novel she takes her audience back in time to her childhood and early adulthood to point out times in her own life she had become a victim of misogyny and the patriarchy, while also sharing how these things are still very present in her life today. 

Afualo discusses how women fight each other in the workplace as a result of the mass misogyny in the world. 

She also uses internet slang like a “pick-me” girl, a woman who obsessively seeks male attention and approval as examples of mass misogyny as well. 

“If the reward for being the coolest girl in the room is a sliver of attention from the world’s most mediocre men, then I would happily commit to never being cool and never being chill,” Afualo said. 

She encourages readers to nurture their self-confidence and uplift other women in retaliation for the patriarchal society we live in. 

“Remember: nothing scares a man more than a woman who knows she does not need him,” Afualo said.

Through positive self-talk, challenging bigots and never succumbing to man’s patriarchal society, Afualo believes all women can and should become as loud as she is.