Happiness
![Emma Lovewell - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B0BNSTR6LY.jpg)
Live Learn Love Well: Lessons from a Life of Progress Not Perfection
A memoir chronicling Emma Lovewell's incredible path to physical―and mental―fitness that traces her journey to becoming a beloved Peloton instructor and inspires readers to live, learn, and love well
"Emma's spirit and spark are contagious . . . a great reminder that feeling whole, healthy, and balanced takes work but is always worth the effort."-Joanna Gaines, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Magnolia Table
Emma Lovewell is a star instructor at Peloton, a global fitness brand and media content company, but her journey to success began with a simple realization: Change is inevitable, but growth is optional. She chose to grow. In Live Learn Love Well, she shares the moments in her life that shaped her into the woman she is today―from growing up in a modest home amidst the affluence of Martha's Vineyard, to struggling with her biracial identity and fitting in, both in the white community and the Asian American community, to health setbacks and relationship challenges, to moving to New York and striving for a career in dance and fitness.
Just as Lovewell is more than a fitness instructor, she's learned that wellness is more than merely a physical condition. She shares the moments where mental fortitude shaped her outlook on the world and how the idea of "progress, not perfection" became a guiding principle.
Filled with surprising insights, charming anecdotes, and never-before-shared moments, Live Learn Love Well is for anyone who feels stuck or overwhelmed, who worries there's too much to change to even get started, or who simply needs a little inspiration to make tomorrow better than today. Lovewell's stories, along with her easy-to-initiate tips, will give readers the confidence to know that even the smallest modifications can have truly outsized impacts on their lives and wellness.
"Emma's spirit and spark are contagious . . . a great reminder that feeling whole, healthy, and balanced takes work but is always worth the effort."-Joanna Gaines, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Magnolia Table
Emma Lovewell is a star instructor at Peloton, a global fitness brand and media content company, but her journey to success began with a simple realization: Change is inevitable, but growth is optional. She chose to grow. In Live Learn Love Well, she shares the moments in her life that shaped her into the woman she is today―from growing up in a modest home amidst the affluence of Martha's Vineyard, to struggling with her biracial identity and fitting in, both in the white community and the Asian American community, to health setbacks and relationship challenges, to moving to New York and striving for a career in dance and fitness.
Just as Lovewell is more than a fitness instructor, she's learned that wellness is more than merely a physical condition. She shares the moments where mental fortitude shaped her outlook on the world and how the idea of "progress, not perfection" became a guiding principle.
Filled with surprising insights, charming anecdotes, and never-before-shared moments, Live Learn Love Well is for anyone who feels stuck or overwhelmed, who worries there's too much to change to even get started, or who simply needs a little inspiration to make tomorrow better than today. Lovewell's stories, along with her easy-to-initiate tips, will give readers the confidence to know that even the smallest modifications can have truly outsized impacts on their lives and wellness.
Editorial Reviews
"Wise and motivating, Live Learn Love Well is a memoir about the journey toward wholeness. Prepare to be inspired!"―Elin Hilderbrand, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Hotel Nantucket
"Emma Lovewell shares lessons from her life with humor, heart, and classic Emma relatability. Reading thisfelt like catching a little spark of Emma in my hands and left me feeling energized and inspired."-Cody Rigsby, author of XOXO, Cody
"Emma's vulnerability and storytelling is a wonderful backdrop for the wisdom and inspiration in this book. Part memoir, part advice, this left me with some wonderful life lessons."―Eve Rodsky, New York Times bestselling author of Fair Play and Find Your Unicorn Space
"Imagine a road trip with your effortlessly cool, yet inviting best friend, who leaves you ready for adventure and at peace with imperfection. Live Learn Love Well gets us excited to turn the next page of our own stories."-Robin Arzón, New York Times bestselling author of Shut Up and Run, Strong Mama, and Strong Baby
"Emma shares with us a sense of comfort, strength, and courage to "make it" as a marginalized female on your own, how to dream big and to keep following your deepest calling."-Candice Kumai, 7x bestselling author of Clean Green Eats, Spirited: A Modern Guide to Ancient Wisdom, and Kintsugi Wellness
"Inspiring, relevant, and authentic to the core, this book is for anyone who wants to cultivate inner strength and embrace their whole self."-Tunde Oyeneyin, New York Times bestselling author of Speak
"Emma Lovewell shares lessons from her life with humor, heart, and classic Emma relatability. Reading thisfelt like catching a little spark of Emma in my hands and left me feeling energized and inspired."-Cody Rigsby, author of XOXO, Cody
"Emma's vulnerability and storytelling is a wonderful backdrop for the wisdom and inspiration in this book. Part memoir, part advice, this left me with some wonderful life lessons."―Eve Rodsky, New York Times bestselling author of Fair Play and Find Your Unicorn Space
"Imagine a road trip with your effortlessly cool, yet inviting best friend, who leaves you ready for adventure and at peace with imperfection. Live Learn Love Well gets us excited to turn the next page of our own stories."-Robin Arzón, New York Times bestselling author of Shut Up and Run, Strong Mama, and Strong Baby
"Emma shares with us a sense of comfort, strength, and courage to "make it" as a marginalized female on your own, how to dream big and to keep following your deepest calling."-Candice Kumai, 7x bestselling author of Clean Green Eats, Spirited: A Modern Guide to Ancient Wisdom, and Kintsugi Wellness
"Inspiring, relevant, and authentic to the core, this book is for anyone who wants to cultivate inner strength and embrace their whole self."-Tunde Oyeneyin, New York Times bestselling author of Speak
Short Excerpt Teaser
One
Cultivate Gardens for Greater Happiness
Life can move at breakneck speed, and it can be hard to keep up. It often feels like the older I get the faster time goes, and I find myself getting whiplash if I don't remind myself to slow down and just breathe. There are many days where my schedule is packed full and I'm hustling to fit everything in. Did I remember to put my clothes in the dryer? Did I finish my playlist for my upcoming 90s Rock Ride? On my commute to the city there are meetings to schedule, calls to return, and emails to answer before I arrive at the studio for a live ride. I'm sure that most of us are well acquainted with the feeling I'm talking about: It's "overwhelmed" meets "where do I even begin?" This is the challenge that comes along with wanting it all . . . everything can start to overflow, and it can feel like too much. Sometimes slowing down to "smell the roses," combined with a bit of careful pruning, is needed to make it all work smoothly. Every spring, as I start to plan my next garden, I find myself standing in the garden center surrounded by beautiful plants and flowers. I want to buy everything. I also know that if I want my garden to thrive, I need to make careful choices about what I decide to plant. Gardens flourish best when they are carefully cultivated, and as I fill my trunk with my final choices, it hits me again that planting a garden is a template for living a well-balanced life. Gardens and life benefit from planning, consistency, energy maintenance, and the ability to set limits. Sometimes the most important thing you can do is say, This isn't working, and it's got to go.
As you probably know, I could talk about gardening all day every day, but I will spare you the full barrage of my enthusiasm and instead attempt to impart a few crucial lessons from one of my favorite hobbies. Though I had a rocky start with my feelings about gardening, I have come to see that so many of the choices that make a garden thrive are applicable to life writ large, and I often find that things I've learned from tilling the soil go well beyond the garden walls-they help me live with purpose and passion (and can help you too, even if you never pick up a shovel!).
When I'm deliberate about my plant choices and soil maintenance, all the planning, digging, watering, and constant care eventually result in a bounty of fresh vegetables and flowers. It's like I've conjured my own little miracle out of the earth. When my friends and family gather at my table for a late-summer meal, the vases of brightly colored zinnias, the fresh grilled zucchini, the string beans, the jars of cucumbers I've quick-pickled, and the heirloom tomatoes are the result of all my careful decisions. It's not only what I put into my garden that made it flourish, but also what I took out.
As I said, my relationship with gardening wasn't always the full-on lovefest you now see on Instagram. For me, gardening was a practical skill that I slowly leaned into loving as an art. When I was a kid, helping my mother with the garden was not only an unpleasant chore but one I was sometimes embarrassed by. I saw the dirt, the constant weeding and watering, the little containers of beer we put out to kill slugs, and the horror that is the smell of homemade compost as pungent reminders that we were different from other families. The worst gardening-related task came every night after dinner, as sure as homework. I'd hear my mother call out to me from the living room.
"Emma! Take this out to the compost."
I'd groan and slowly walk into the kitchen, knowing my mother was going to hand me the unpleasant remainders of my family's dinner. Vegetable ends, scraps of meat (if we ate meat that day), and anything else that was no longer edible were tossed together. Imagine a repulsive salad made from garbage. I'd take a deep breath, grab the unreliable flashlight, open the back door, and walk cautiously across the backyard toward the compost pile. It wasn't just that I found this task gross, I was also worried about what I'd encounter in the ultra-pitch-dark that covers Martha's Vineyard. Skunks and racoons were common, bugs were aplenty, and snakes were a real possibility. I knew monsters weren't real, but this didn't stop me from worrying that some horrifying sea creature had crawled out of the ocean and slithered into my yard and was waiting for a little girl like me to come by so it could swallow me whole. And because my mother didn't mess around, she composted everything (yes, you can compost meat and dairy if you're brave). While this meant less waste and more compost for the garden, it also meant that the smell was next-level awful. As I got closer to the pile, trying not to gag, the smell grew more...
Cultivate Gardens for Greater Happiness
Life can move at breakneck speed, and it can be hard to keep up. It often feels like the older I get the faster time goes, and I find myself getting whiplash if I don't remind myself to slow down and just breathe. There are many days where my schedule is packed full and I'm hustling to fit everything in. Did I remember to put my clothes in the dryer? Did I finish my playlist for my upcoming 90s Rock Ride? On my commute to the city there are meetings to schedule, calls to return, and emails to answer before I arrive at the studio for a live ride. I'm sure that most of us are well acquainted with the feeling I'm talking about: It's "overwhelmed" meets "where do I even begin?" This is the challenge that comes along with wanting it all . . . everything can start to overflow, and it can feel like too much. Sometimes slowing down to "smell the roses," combined with a bit of careful pruning, is needed to make it all work smoothly. Every spring, as I start to plan my next garden, I find myself standing in the garden center surrounded by beautiful plants and flowers. I want to buy everything. I also know that if I want my garden to thrive, I need to make careful choices about what I decide to plant. Gardens flourish best when they are carefully cultivated, and as I fill my trunk with my final choices, it hits me again that planting a garden is a template for living a well-balanced life. Gardens and life benefit from planning, consistency, energy maintenance, and the ability to set limits. Sometimes the most important thing you can do is say, This isn't working, and it's got to go.
As you probably know, I could talk about gardening all day every day, but I will spare you the full barrage of my enthusiasm and instead attempt to impart a few crucial lessons from one of my favorite hobbies. Though I had a rocky start with my feelings about gardening, I have come to see that so many of the choices that make a garden thrive are applicable to life writ large, and I often find that things I've learned from tilling the soil go well beyond the garden walls-they help me live with purpose and passion (and can help you too, even if you never pick up a shovel!).
When I'm deliberate about my plant choices and soil maintenance, all the planning, digging, watering, and constant care eventually result in a bounty of fresh vegetables and flowers. It's like I've conjured my own little miracle out of the earth. When my friends and family gather at my table for a late-summer meal, the vases of brightly colored zinnias, the fresh grilled zucchini, the string beans, the jars of cucumbers I've quick-pickled, and the heirloom tomatoes are the result of all my careful decisions. It's not only what I put into my garden that made it flourish, but also what I took out.
As I said, my relationship with gardening wasn't always the full-on lovefest you now see on Instagram. For me, gardening was a practical skill that I slowly leaned into loving as an art. When I was a kid, helping my mother with the garden was not only an unpleasant chore but one I was sometimes embarrassed by. I saw the dirt, the constant weeding and watering, the little containers of beer we put out to kill slugs, and the horror that is the smell of homemade compost as pungent reminders that we were different from other families. The worst gardening-related task came every night after dinner, as sure as homework. I'd hear my mother call out to me from the living room.
"Emma! Take this out to the compost."
I'd groan and slowly walk into the kitchen, knowing my mother was going to hand me the unpleasant remainders of my family's dinner. Vegetable ends, scraps of meat (if we ate meat that day), and anything else that was no longer edible were tossed together. Imagine a repulsive salad made from garbage. I'd take a deep breath, grab the unreliable flashlight, open the back door, and walk cautiously across the backyard toward the compost pile. It wasn't just that I found this task gross, I was also worried about what I'd encounter in the ultra-pitch-dark that covers Martha's Vineyard. Skunks and racoons were common, bugs were aplenty, and snakes were a real possibility. I knew monsters weren't real, but this didn't stop me from worrying that some horrifying sea creature had crawled out of the ocean and slithered into my yard and was waiting for a little girl like me to come by so it could swallow me whole. And because my mother didn't mess around, she composted everything (yes, you can compost meat and dairy if you're brave). While this meant less waste and more compost for the garden, it also meant that the smell was next-level awful. As I got closer to the pile, trying not to gag, the smell grew more...
