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itsgnat's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
anjasshelf's review against another edition
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cancer
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic
curious_oyster's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Pregnancy
Minor: Death, Toxic relationship, Dementia, and Death of parent
kelly_e's review against another edition
3.5
Author: Selma Blair
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 3.50
Pub Date: May 17, 2022
T H R E E • W O R D S
Vulnerable • Straightforward • Fitful
📖 S Y N O P S I S
The first story Selma Blair Beitner ever heard about herself is that she was a mean, mean baby. With her mouth pulled in a perpetual snarl and a head so furry it had to be rubbed to make way for her forehead, Selma spent years living up to her terrible reputation: biting her sisters, lying spontaneously, getting drunk from Passover wine at the age of seven, and behaving dramatically so that she would be the center of attention.
Although Selma went on to become a celebrated Hollywood actress and model, she could never quite shake the periods of darkness that overtook her, the certainty that there was a great mystery at the heart of her life. She often felt like her arms might be on fire, a sensation not unlike electric shocks, and she secretly drank to escape.
💭 T H O U G H T S
I've been on a celebrity memoir kick lately, and Selma Blair's was up next on the docket. Going in, I knew very little about the author aside from having seen her in a few movies (most notably Legally Blond - a favourite of mine). And I must say Mean Baby didn't wow me like some celebrity memoirs have.
Selma narrates her story in a non-linear manner, touching on her childhood - particularly her strained relationship with her parents, - her alcoholism and depression, her MS diagnosis, and life with her son. The first half has a fair amount of name dropping and superficial meandering, when in fact there could have been a lot more reflection and emotion. The strength of this memoir lies in her opening up about her MS diagnosis and living with a chronic illness. Yet even here there could have been a lot more depth.
I can't pinpoint exactly what this memoir was missing, but I know it was lacking something. It didn't pack the emotional punch I'd been anticipating, despite some extremely difficult and heartbreaking circumstances. It's Selma's right to remain very surface level in telling her story - but as a reader I wanted so much more depth.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• celebrity memoir fanatics
• readers wishing to learn a bit about MS
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Someone once told me that grief is love you can no longer express."
"I learned how it feels when someone else’s thoughts touch a part of you that you haven’t felt before."
"Books also taught me how to notice things, how a moment can be a whole story."
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol
Moderate: Body shaming, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Grief
Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Cursing, Vomit, Medical content, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
millywebster's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol
Moderate: Addiction, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Antisemitism, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
Minor: Pregnancy
siobhanward's review against another edition
4.0
I loved how open and honest Blair was about a lot of topics, but she did skirt around how much money she grew up with. I don't know anyone who could afford private school growing up, much less being kicked out of private school and finding a way to re-enter. I would have loved a bit more insight into how Blair felt that having that kind of upbringing impacted her as an adult, and her career.
I learned a lot about Selma Blair throughout this book and loved how she wrote it. I feel like it jumped around a bit and sometimes it was hard to figure out what was happening when, but that didn't spoil my enjoyment too much. It's a fun and interesting read, whether or not you know Blair's work well.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, and Mental illness
Moderate: Sexual content and Death of parent
Minor: Pregnancy
leighannezinsmeister's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
emilycm's review against another edition
5.0
this is one of the few, but best, celebrity memoirs i've read. and in reading it, i know it's going to stick with me. it's someone else's life story, just as every memoir may be, but there was something so innate in this one that i can't help but feel the heaviness and realness of the words as the book now sits on a shelf across from me. i think i'll be recommending this to lots of people in the years to come, and referring to some particular sections at points in my life i do not yet know how they will come.
selma's continuous, authentic threading of her experience with MS was also a very integral, moving part of this memoir. i felt moved by her voice in every sentence and moment of the journey, how she talked about her body, it was a very vivid and powerful account.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, and Rape
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Grief, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
megang519's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol
Moderate: Body shaming, Death, Drug use, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical content, and Pregnancy
Minor: Animal death and Death of parent
tiredtori's review
3.0
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal death, Body shaming, Cancer, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy