Coloring Through the Noise

For the Woman Who’s Been Holding It Together While Quietly Falling Apart

Non-Fiction - Memoir
219 Pages
Reviewed on 04/26/2026
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    Book Review

Reviewed by Ruffina Oserio for Readers' Favorite

Jesse Sloane’s Coloring Through the Noise is a memoir that brilliantly documents her unraveling when her high-functioning VP career implodes overnight. She descends into a nervous breakdown accompanied by spiraling thoughts and shaking hands. She describes the experience as one in which her body is basically grabbing her by the shoulders, saying, “We need to talk.” Then her husband hands her a coloring book, which she initially resists as ridiculous. When she starts coloring, she realizes that completing a page per day means she can actually start, stay, and complete something despite the chaos. In this memoir, she describes her journey to healing, clarity, and restoration. This happens in five phases: regulation, understood as calming the panic; return of identity, which is the process of remembering who hides behind the titles; reclaiming joy and power by choosing herself; ownership, which is setting boundaries; and becoming.

Jesse Sloane’s memoir delivers vignettes that include unicorns, abandoned pages, and hawks, which she uses to reconstruct her sense of self. It was fascinating to discover how simple, micro-acts of completion and presence can play an important part in cultivating agency and self-awareness. Coloring Through the Noise taught me that there is grandeur in small things, especially those acts that are accomplished with intention and purpose. In this book, the author treats coloring as a “portable reset button,” and the ritual of coloring is accompanied by manifold lessons, including the fact that softness stops strength from becoming bitterness. She cautions that one doesn’t arrive at healing all at once, and while coloring became her tool, what mattered wasn’t finishing a page, but the desire to come back to it. This is one of the best allegories of healing I have read.

David Jaggart

In Coloring Through the Noise, Jesse Sloane is incredibly honest about the moment her life unraveled after losing her job. She describes that hollow feeling of being a high-functioning woman who is secretly falling apart while everyone else thinks she’s doing great. The book documents her path through the chaos of losing her professional identity and her struggle to stop the mental spirals. Sloane introduces a very specific toolkit centered on using coloring as a way to regulate stress and regain a sense of agency. She moves through different phases, from the initial panic of regulation to eventually rediscovering her joy and personal power. It’s a genuine, human look at the reality of burnout and the small coloring exercises that can actually help pull you out of it. Is it possible that the simplest tasks are the ones that save us when things become overwhelming?

Coloring Through the Noise by Jesse Sloane is a compelling memoir that offers much more than a typical self-help book. The way the author blends her personal anecdotes with simple (but meaningful) coloring activities gives the necessary context for why these specific prompts actually matter. I found the part about symbolic images, like the hawk for adrenaline, to be a clever way to handle complex emotions without getting too academic․ The development of her personal boundaries and the way she lets go of draining relationships felt very relatable․ The writing style is casual and punchy, making it easy to understand even when the subject matter becomes a bit heavy․ I didn’t expect to be so convinced by the idea of completion as a form of medicine, but it makes a lot of sense. If you’re tired of being the one who holds everything together for everyone else, grab this book and a set of markers. Well worth it.

Jamie Michele

In her inspirational memoir, Coloring Through the Noise, Jesse Sloane takes readers right into a sudden change in her professional life and the impact it had on the structure she relied on. As the uncertainty drags on, she turns to a simple act of coloring, using the pages to steady her focus and complete actions that remain in her control. Through this, she slowly starts to change how she approaches decisions, moving from waiting for a direction to setting her own course. Moments such as stepping away from a role, creating boundaries during a negotiation, and limiting engagement in an ongoing conflict show how she redirects her attention toward what she can determine. Alongside small, colorable illustrations for readers to do themselves, Sloane describes how she replaced dependence with deliberate action grounded in her own standards.

Jesse Sloane’s Coloring Through the Noise is a genuinely honest memoir, both unique in the angle of using coloring as a form of therapy and the amount of courage it took for her to put her story out into the universe. I love how Sloane embraces comforting moments, while also confronting others that were anything but. This stood out most to me when, while working through an open-door coloring page, she stopped mid-sentence when she heard herself asking if her choice was acceptable. This is passed on to readers, who see practical methods that transcend the pages. I will absolutely refrain from immediately checking messages each morning, so my first action of the day is self-selected instead of reactive. The writing is conversational and really witty. She's hilarious, and I could have spent many more pages in her company. But, for now, I have a fish to color. Very highly recommended.

Inga Buccella

Coloring through the Noise by Jesse Sloane is an interactive adult coloring book. Each chapter begins with a suggested image to color, along with the mood, a description of the author’s mindset at the time, and a summary of a life lesson learned after each one. Most importantly, the book encourages the reader to color their own picture, their own way. But the provided image is only a suggestion, and Sloane even mentions that inspiration may be found elsewhere. A career change prompted the author to reflect on her own processing, which led her to create this book. The coloring book inspires reflection, rumination, and empowerment through the act of coloring. Completion of coloring is encouraged for most of the pictures.

First, a disclosure: Since I was a young girl, I have never stopped enjoying drawing and coloring. So, when I stumbled across Coloring Through the Noise by Jesse Sloane, I was ecstatic. I thought it might be a chance for me to grow through coloring. And I wasn’t wrong! I was blown away by the organization of Sloane’s deeply felt thoughts, which she has shared and recorded, laying the groundwork for my own multi-sensory experience. My favorite aspect of this book is the encouragement it gave me to reflect on situations in my own life. Additionally, I learned never to underestimate the power of completing a picture. Every time I read a chapter, chose pencils, and filled in an image, I felt a transition from cerebral adulting to the beginning of joyfully creating. Stress and worry can be fought by creating a kaleidoscope of color. Now it’s time for you to choose your weapon. Will it be markers or pencils?

Carol Thompson

Coloring Through the Noise by Jesse Sloane centers on a woman who appears composed while quietly unraveling beneath the surface. The book combines personal storytelling with guided coloring practices, offering a structured yet flexible approach to regaining control during emotionally overwhelming periods. Divided into sections that move from regulation to identity and ultimately to ownership and becoming, the work traces her progression from survival to self-recognition. Early chapters describe moments of internal strain, such as physical anxiety responses and professional upheaval, where the author turns to coloring as a way to create small, manageable completions. These acts of finishing a single page become symbolic footholds, helping her to restore a sense of capability when the larger aspects of life feel uncertain. The structure encourages readers to engage actively, reading a short reflection and then applying it through a tactile process.

Jesse Sloane writes in a direct, conversational style, with pacing that alternates between quick, intense moments and quieter pauses. The language is grounded and practical, often using short, declarative sentences that keep the reader moving forward without distraction. This approach pairs well with the book’s structure. The integration of prompts and visual elements creates a rhythm that invites reader participation rather than passive reading, making the experience active and continuous. Readers who enjoy books that combine a narrative with guided practice will appreciate the steady progression, especially those drawn to works that focus on personal routines and small, repeatable actions. The pacing allows space for reflection without lingering too long, maintaining momentum while still encouraging pauses at natural points. Jesse Sloane’s work will appeal to readers who appreciate a grounded, candid tone.