Winner, Literary Titan Gold Book Award

Read Jackie’s interview with Literary Titan.

Jackie King's The Ultimate Other is a deeply personal and thought-provoking exploration of identity, otherness, and self-reinvention. Through a mix of memoir, self-reflection, and design thinking, King dissects her experiences as a woman, a mother, a Jew, and a professional navigating a world that often forces her into the margins. She uses design thinking as a framework to reconstruct her life, breaking it into phases: empathise, define, ideate, prototype, and launch. The result is a raw, honest, and incredibly relatable account of what it means to find and reclaim oneself.

One of the most compelling aspects of this book is King's vulnerability. She doesn't sugarcoat her struggles, whether it's the suffocating burnout of motherhood, the financial insecurity of divorce, or the alienation of being an outsider in various aspects of her life. In one of the most gut-wrenching sections, she describes waiting nine months for her PhD results, only to be dismissed by a male interviewer who tells her she "wasn't the right fit" because she had taken time off to raise her children. The way she captures the slow, grinding erosion of confidence in spaces that fail to value women's experiences is both infuriating and deeply validating.

Another standout theme in The Ultimate Other is the power of reframing failure. King doesn't present a linear success story but instead embraces iteration, failure, and self-discovery as part of the process. She recalls her first experience as a consultant, where she undervalued her own expertise, only to have a client double her rate and push her to see her worth. These moments make the book feel like an encouraging nudge rather than a set of rigid self-help principles. King shows how stepping away from predefined expectations, whether in relationships or careers, is a necessary act of self-preservation.

Perhaps the most emotional part of the book is her discussion of generational trauma, particularly as a Jewish woman. The weight of history, her grandfather's Holocaust survival, the fear that lingers in Jewish identity, and the rise of modern antisemitism shape her sense of self in ways she is still unpacking. She describes visiting Yad Vashem and seeing the name of her grandfather's aunt, who perished in Auschwitz, carved into stone. That moment cements the idea that trauma isn't just something inherited, it's something carried, worn, and eventually understood in personal and political ways.

King's writing is sharp, introspective, and incredibly human, sometimes heartbreakingly so. She doesn't offer easy solutions but instead provides a roadmap for navigating discomfort, embracing change, and designing a life that feels authentic. If you're looking for a book that acknowledges the messiness of personal growth and celebrates the courage to redefine success, The Ultimate Other is a must-read.

Review Literary Titan