Powerful ideas from top nonfiction
Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 5,500+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.
Start your free trial
Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Listen to the Intro
More Than Enough summary
Elaine Welteroth
Claiming Space for Who You Are (No Matter What They Say)
3.6 (36 ratings)
30 mins
10 key ideas
Audio & text
What is More Than Enough about?
More Than Enough (2019) is part memoir, part manifesto. It details the triumphs and travails of Elaine Welteroth’s journey to success, beginning with her small-town childhood and ending with her decision to leave her seat as editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue. But it’s more than an inspiring success story. It also offers wisdom, tips, warnings and encouragement to anyone who’s ever been told that they aren’t enough just the way they are.
About the Author
Elaine Welteroth is a journalist, author and editor. In 2016, at age 29, she rose to the position of editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue, making her the youngest editor in publisher Condé Nast’s history and the second woman to hold such a position within that institution. Before her historic promotion at Teen Vogue, she held editorial positions at Ebony and Glamour. More Than Enough is her first book.
Table of Contents
More Than Enough
summarized in 10 key ideas
Audio & text in the Blinkist app
Key idea 1 of 10
With the support of her parents, Elaine learned to embrace and be proud of her race at an early age.
Elaine remembers the day she realized she was different.
She was three years old, and her preschool teacher had just given her and her classmates an assignment: using images from magazines, make a collage representing your family.
Even at that young age, Elaine had inklings of her otherness. Newark, California, the tiny town where she was raised, was overwhelmingly white. Sure, there were a few first-generation Asian, Mexican and Indian families, but a cultural melting pot it was not. Elaine’s family simply didn’t look like anyone else’s.
Her father, Jack, was white. Her mother, Debra, was black. And Elaine’s older brother, Eric Charles, was – like little Elaine herself – caramel-taffy brown.
In the classroom, surrounded by busy white toddlers, little Elaine tried to find images that looked like her family. Finding a dad was easy enough – sort of. She found a white, suitcase-carrying businessman (Jack actually worked as a carpenter). Finding a black mom and a brown brother proved much harder.
So she did what any little girl might do: she copied her classmates and used images of white people.
When her mother saw Elaine’s handiwork, she delivered one of her classic lines –“Houston, we have a problem” – and sat Lainey down at the kitchen table. It was time to have the Race Conversation.
With the help of her mom, Elaine redid her collage, this time using more accurate cutouts from Ebony and Essence magazines. When they were done, they taped the collage up by Elaine’s bed as a reminder. Elaine wasn’t, and never would be, white; she was black – and that was something to be proud of.
Elaine was lucky. Her parents provided unconditional love and support. She may have felt out of place in the classroom. But back home, she was taught that she was perfect, that she was enough, just the way she was.
Want to see all full key ideas from More Than Enough?
Key ideas in More Than Enough
More knowledge in less time
Read or listen
Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
Find your next read
Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
Shortcasts New
We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.
Best quote from More Than Enough
I think the better ending to this story is . . . Elaine leaves Condé Nast. – Ava DuVernay
—Elaine Welteroth
Who should read More Than Enough
- Aspiring journalists
- People who’ve been told they aren’t enough
- Dreamers struggling to realize their dreams
Categories with More Than Enough
Books like More Than Enough
What our members say
Sven O.
It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.
Thi Viet Quynh N.
Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.
Jonathan A.
Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.
Renee D.
Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.
Start growing with Blinkist now
25 Million
Downloads on all platforms
4.7 Stars
Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
91%
Of Blinkist members create a better reading habit*
*Based on survey data from Blinkist customers