Submitted by Duchessofearlgrey t3_xwcbb2 in books
It honestly flew beyond my expectations. I’m wary of reading celebrity memoirs. The handful of memoirs written by celebrities in the past that I have read were lauded in their reviews and recommended by people I trust, yet I’m always left feeling disappointed. At best, they have felt like a money grab. The last one I had picked up was so narcissistic and preachy that I told myself I wasn’t going to bother with it again. That’s it, I’d learned my lesson. Apparently I didn’t though, and I’m glad I didn’t.
This memoir written by Jennette about her abusive childhood experiences and her journey to acceptance and healing was poignant yet somehow still retained just enough of Jennette’s sense of humor to avoid being outright depressing. It wasn’t preachy. It wasn’t whiny. It wasn’t attention-seeking. It was candid and refreshing.
I could go on for awhile about the interesting things I’ve learned about the entertainment industry as a whole or how shocking some of the abuse she endured from her mom and other adults in her life was. I won’t. I don’t want to ruin anything for anyone.
My biggest takeaway from the book was that it is okay to acknowledge that you love someone and still think that they are a bad person. It is okay for you to not want or accept that negativity in your life. I think a lot of us fall under the age-old mentality that family is most important or family is everything, but someone being related to you by blood does not mean that they are inherently good for you or that you need to keep them in your life. It doesn’t mean that you owe them anything. I needed to hear that and I don’t think I’m alone.
I also just want to suggest to anyone who is interested to listen to the audiobook because Jennette herself narrates it and there is just something special about listening to someone read about their own experiences.