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Beauty, Disrupted: The Carre Otis Story – A Brazenly Honest Supermodel Memoir of Fame, Addiction, and Triumph
The actress, model and former wife of Mickey Rourke tells of her rise from homeless teen to supermodel and her recovery from anorexia and abuse. Teen runaway, supermodel, and actress Carré Otis found herself in the public eye from a very tender age. By the time she was twenty, millions of people had already gazed at provocative images of her in magazine and billboard ads from Guess and Calvin Klein, on the pages of Playboy and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, and on posters for the controversial film Wild Orchid, with her soon-to-be husband Mickey Rourke. Their troubled marriage was widely reported in the media, as were Carré’s struggles with drugs and a particularly brutal eating disorder. But simply because we’ve seen someone naked on the page or exposed on the screen or in the tabloids doesn’t mean we know who that person really is.In Beauty, Disrupted, Carré Otis confronts her complex past fearlessly and with unrelenting candor. The result is a narrative of success, despair, and ultimate triumph over sexual exploitation and our cultural obsession with appearance—a narrative of beauty disrupted, reclaimed, and made more radiant through self-acceptance, inner peace, and the love of family.
339 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 20, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
December 28, 2017
Overdrive audiobook 3.5 stars
As a teenager I was obsessed with the supermodels of the 90’s and was a magazine whore, devouring the fashion pages and being in awe of all these Amazonian goddesses. I still love all that glam stuff although I have no personal fashion sense at all, hence my admiration! I like to admire from afar without having to go through the fuss myself.
So in making my admission I was interested to read about the undisclosed inner world of a model well known for her turbulent and troubled relationship with Mickey Rourke. Instead I learnt about a misunderstood fragile girl who was thrust into the world of nastiness and of exploitation and abuse at the hands of those who’s business it was to look after her. The misogynistic world of the modelling industry made this a sad and difficult read. This girl was abused so many times, her looks becoming a magnet for these depraved opportunist men. It’s appalling and I love how Carré managed to turn such horrific mistreatment into an empowering spokesperson for women everywhere. Exposing the dirty secrets of the modelling world and also in light of all the accusations of sexual inappropriateness trickling out everywhere I congratulate her for pouring out her truth even if only to serve as a purpose to warn other girls out there from falling into the same traps. Unfortunately for Carré fame came at a cost and hers was a slippery slope down a bad path, making poor decisions that would leave lasting consequences, I do love to see how she managed to identify her part in making those mistakes and then correcting her behaviour to bring in light and positivity and turning her life completely around, finding the inner peace of Buddhism at a time when she desperately needed it, it’s always a reminder that beauty, fame and fortune doesn’t always equate to happiness and a fulfilling life, as demonstrated so evidently within this book.
As a teenager I was obsessed with the supermodels of the 90’s and was a magazine whore, devouring the fashion pages and being in awe of all these Amazonian goddesses. I still love all that glam stuff although I have no personal fashion sense at all, hence my admiration! I like to admire from afar without having to go through the fuss myself.
So in making my admission I was interested to read about the undisclosed inner world of a model well known for her turbulent and troubled relationship with Mickey Rourke. Instead I learnt about a misunderstood fragile girl who was thrust into the world of nastiness and of exploitation and abuse at the hands of those who’s business it was to look after her. The misogynistic world of the modelling industry made this a sad and difficult read. This girl was abused so many times, her looks becoming a magnet for these depraved opportunist men. It’s appalling and I love how Carré managed to turn such horrific mistreatment into an empowering spokesperson for women everywhere. Exposing the dirty secrets of the modelling world and also in light of all the accusations of sexual inappropriateness trickling out everywhere I congratulate her for pouring out her truth even if only to serve as a purpose to warn other girls out there from falling into the same traps. Unfortunately for Carré fame came at a cost and hers was a slippery slope down a bad path, making poor decisions that would leave lasting consequences, I do love to see how she managed to identify her part in making those mistakes and then correcting her behaviour to bring in light and positivity and turning her life completely around, finding the inner peace of Buddhism at a time when she desperately needed it, it’s always a reminder that beauty, fame and fortune doesn’t always equate to happiness and a fulfilling life, as demonstrated so evidently within this book.
December 5, 2011
I didn't intend to read this through but sitting home with a cold gave me a good reason to skim through this memoir of a famous model/actress coming to terms with her life. It was a bit of "poor little me, don't hate my because I'm beautiful because I've been abused and taken advantage of by everyone in my past life and never took responsibility for many of the stupid decisions (and there were many) I made, but I've been reborn and have managed to mature and make something of myself" (quote is mine). And of course, I had to find out the real dirt--er, I mean story behind the movie Wild Orchid and her marriage to Mickey Rourke. All in all it was quick read about someone who became a celebrity much too soon and her way to a better life.
June 18, 2022
I liked this a lot more than I expected to. But if Karina Longworth likes a book, it's probably worth reading. I'm not a fan in general of celebrity memoirs. Carre Otis shows a lot of vulnerability and introspection throughout, not something I associate with this genre.
March 18, 2012
My husband calls me a nonfiction hater. I don't think that's true, but I definitely have a lower enthusiasm level for nonfiction than fiction. I was sitting here debating whether I wanted to give this a 3 or 4 star rating and what it came down to is that, while an enjoyable read—much more enjoyable than I thought it would be—4 stars is more for a book I think I would reread and, with nonfiction in general and this book in particular, I seldom feel the need to revisit it once it's done.
I'm familiar with Carre Otis in the way most people are; her starring role in Zalman King's Wild Orchid and her subsequent marriage to Mickey Rourke. At the time, I was fascinated with the movie, and Otis, but from where I was sitting—being largely uninterested in the fashion industry or the models that populate it—she largely disappeared from public view. So there was some morbid interest in picking up this biography, sure, because of her sensationalized relationship with Rourke, but I was also interested in (finally) seeing who Otis is as a person and finding out more about her in her own words.
On the one hand, I think that the candor and dispassion with which Otis presents her story is remarkable and brave. It would've been easy to paint herself as a victim—especially as she was inarguably victimized many times over the course of her life—but I felt like she did a good job of owning her own damage and contextualizing her own contributions to the various messes and drama in her life.
As well, it's difficult for anyone who's been through any one of the experiences she's been through—sexual abuse/rape, domestic violence, drug abuse—to come forward and talk about it, especially outside of safe spaces (like therapy) that are designed to put those events in self-useful context. For Otis to do so in such a public arena, and one that guarantees criticism, takes courage. It just does. It seems especially brave considering how clearly she internalized a lot of the criticism around her performance in Wild Orchid.
I was glad for the opportunity to place the little snippets that I knew about Otis into a greater context. I also enjoyed reading about her journey, from fragility into strength, from deep unhappiness to a much greater serenity.
I'm familiar with Carre Otis in the way most people are; her starring role in Zalman King's Wild Orchid and her subsequent marriage to Mickey Rourke. At the time, I was fascinated with the movie, and Otis, but from where I was sitting—being largely uninterested in the fashion industry or the models that populate it—she largely disappeared from public view. So there was some morbid interest in picking up this biography, sure, because of her sensationalized relationship with Rourke, but I was also interested in (finally) seeing who Otis is as a person and finding out more about her in her own words.
On the one hand, I think that the candor and dispassion with which Otis presents her story is remarkable and brave. It would've been easy to paint herself as a victim—especially as she was inarguably victimized many times over the course of her life—but I felt like she did a good job of owning her own damage and contextualizing her own contributions to the various messes and drama in her life.
As well, it's difficult for anyone who's been through any one of the experiences she's been through—sexual abuse/rape, domestic violence, drug abuse—to come forward and talk about it, especially outside of safe spaces (like therapy) that are designed to put those events in self-useful context. For Otis to do so in such a public arena, and one that guarantees criticism, takes courage. It just does. It seems especially brave considering how clearly she internalized a lot of the criticism around her performance in Wild Orchid.
I was glad for the opportunity to place the little snippets that I knew about Otis into a greater context. I also enjoyed reading about her journey, from fragility into strength, from deep unhappiness to a much greater serenity.
May 17, 2017
When it comes to movies I can be kinda weird. And one of the movies that I always liked was Wild Orchid. I loved the music (in particular the instrumental music) the setting, the feel of the movie and the interaction of Wheeler and Emily in the movie. The girl who played Emily...Carre Otis...I thought was very beautiful and striking and didn't even come across as an actress...now after reading her book I know why...she had never acted before.
In her book she documents a world of struggles and doesn't make the world of modeling seem like any kind of picnic. But she does come across as honest...
- Carre discovered that she was dyslexic at age 8. She was ridiculed by her entire class because she couldn't read a letter chart in her class. A year later she would be sexually abused by someone that she sister liked. After rebelling and acting up she would be the first student of her school to be expelled.
- A boy she dated for a Summer had a cocaine problem and then promptly committed suicide. She had been holding his stash of drugs and in numbing the pain she was almost arrested after being caught with drugs. Her father was a life long alcoholic and after dropping out of the 9th grade she ran away with an older boy.
- The boy she ran away with worked for bands but also tried to pimp her out. She was discovered by a scout for Elite models and sent to New York.
- She moved on to Paris after not getting jobs in New York and was put up with Linda Evangelista only to be assaulted by her fiancee. She went on a shoot in the Caribbean only to have the photographer there try to sleep with her. She returned to California and took on small jobs.
- She was called to meet Zalman King and Mickey Rourke for Wild Orchid. She auditioned at King's house and after a time with no experience was given the part and flown to Brazil.
- Her relationship with Rourke (as detailed in the book) was CRAZY. He was jealous, moody, possessive and even proposed to her by putting a sword to his own throat threatening to kill herself. She joined him on the set of the movie White Sands only to be shot by his gun on set and almost bleeding to death. Her life with him was a spiral of drugs, crazy, trying to escape and then more crazy.
- She talks about using Buddhism to reorient herself and her life. She met her current husband in of all things a book store.
Some fascinating reading...
In her book she documents a world of struggles and doesn't make the world of modeling seem like any kind of picnic. But she does come across as honest...
- Carre discovered that she was dyslexic at age 8. She was ridiculed by her entire class because she couldn't read a letter chart in her class. A year later she would be sexually abused by someone that she sister liked. After rebelling and acting up she would be the first student of her school to be expelled.
- A boy she dated for a Summer had a cocaine problem and then promptly committed suicide. She had been holding his stash of drugs and in numbing the pain she was almost arrested after being caught with drugs. Her father was a life long alcoholic and after dropping out of the 9th grade she ran away with an older boy.
- The boy she ran away with worked for bands but also tried to pimp her out. She was discovered by a scout for Elite models and sent to New York.
- She moved on to Paris after not getting jobs in New York and was put up with Linda Evangelista only to be assaulted by her fiancee. She went on a shoot in the Caribbean only to have the photographer there try to sleep with her. She returned to California and took on small jobs.
- She was called to meet Zalman King and Mickey Rourke for Wild Orchid. She auditioned at King's house and after a time with no experience was given the part and flown to Brazil.
- Her relationship with Rourke (as detailed in the book) was CRAZY. He was jealous, moody, possessive and even proposed to her by putting a sword to his own throat threatening to kill herself. She joined him on the set of the movie White Sands only to be shot by his gun on set and almost bleeding to death. Her life with him was a spiral of drugs, crazy, trying to escape and then more crazy.
- She talks about using Buddhism to reorient herself and her life. She met her current husband in of all things a book store.
Some fascinating reading...
July 15, 2023
I picked this up after listening to You Must Remember This’s episode about Wild Orchid. I was not prepared for this wild ride. My heart ached for this little girl acting out with alcohol when she was just barely a teen. Her early modeling career was filled with scary sexual assault situations. But it was her years long abusive relationship w Mikey Rourke that almost broke me. Thankfully she also was on a spiritual path and the book ends on a high note. At the very end she mentions going to see the Wrestler with her current husband and being happy for the renaissance Rourke’s career. But then follows it up by saying she felt betrayed again when he began talking about their relationship in his interviews. By that time, they had split up more than 10 years earlier. She was a 19 when she met him. But he was a grown ass man. Why would he feel the need to rake all that in the public sphere so many years later. She’s remarried with two kids living out of the public eye. Leave her alone—-like forever— already! He stole like 10 years of her life, work, friends, family with his controlling bs. I usually don’t write this much in reviews. But the way she told her story was so raw and vulnerable. It made me feel a little over invested!
August 8, 2015
Considerably grimmer than I'd expected—abuse, drugs, more abuse, desperation. It makes for a difficult story that is sometimes more interesting than others...perhaps because abuse and self-destruction go in cycles, the book sometimes felt repetitive. Multiple mentions of 'but it would still be years before I left', etc.
Aside from this book and what I found on Wikipedia, I really know nothing about Otis, Rourke, or any of the other people depicted in the book. Otis may or may not be holding back, but she gives the impression of shooting straight—more than one Very Famous Person is mentioned in a less-than-flattering manner (to say the least). I give her props for being so forthright about her past struggles, including ones that I imagine were/are very difficult to have out in public.
It does seem that the book lost some of its focus towards the end—or rather, that she wanted to move on and spend a lot of time talking about Buddhism and how much better her life is for it, so she zipped through some things pretty quickly. Discussion of her eating disorder is limited to, more or less 'oh and then I realised that I'd have to deal with this massive Thing that I haven't mentioned at all until now, so I did and it was hard but I persevered and came out stronger' (not a new phenomenon to have it dealt with this way, but tiresome nonetheless).
Also worth noting that modelling seems to be part of the grimness of the book—that some of Otis's experiences with it were so awful that they tainted any joy she might have found in modelling otherwise. I don't know if that's true; she really talks very little about modelling itself, focusing that part of the book more on her struggle to get jobs and work despite Rourke and so on. Not clear what direction she ended up going, work-wise, after modelling...but I hope she's happier for doing other things.
Aside from this book and what I found on Wikipedia, I really know nothing about Otis, Rourke, or any of the other people depicted in the book. Otis may or may not be holding back, but she gives the impression of shooting straight—more than one Very Famous Person is mentioned in a less-than-flattering manner (to say the least). I give her props for being so forthright about her past struggles, including ones that I imagine were/are very difficult to have out in public.
It does seem that the book lost some of its focus towards the end—or rather, that she wanted to move on and spend a lot of time talking about Buddhism and how much better her life is for it, so she zipped through some things pretty quickly. Discussion of her eating disorder is limited to, more or less 'oh and then I realised that I'd have to deal with this massive Thing that I haven't mentioned at all until now, so I did and it was hard but I persevered and came out stronger' (not a new phenomenon to have it dealt with this way, but tiresome nonetheless).
Also worth noting that modelling seems to be part of the grimness of the book—that some of Otis's experiences with it were so awful that they tainted any joy she might have found in modelling otherwise. I don't know if that's true; she really talks very little about modelling itself, focusing that part of the book more on her struggle to get jobs and work despite Rourke and so on. Not clear what direction she ended up going, work-wise, after modelling...but I hope she's happier for doing other things.
July 17, 2023
Mamma mía, semejante vida me ha dejado un poco arrasada. Al menos hay esperanza.
June 17, 2014
Pros:
-Super easy read.
-A tabloid story stretched out to 300 some pages. If you're into that type of thing.
-She talks briefly about overcoming body image issues.
-$0.99 in Amazon
Cons:
-A tabloid story stretched out to 300 some pages. If you're not into that type of thing.
-She talks ONLY BRIEFLY about overcoming body image issues.
-It's a tabloid story stretched out to 300 some pages.
-It's a tabloid story.
The thing about this book is.. it's not badly written. It definitely doesn't deserve a Pulitzer, but the writing's not an abomination. The reason why it didn't get a lower score is because the writing was so easy. Also because it's a decent story about someone who overcame huge difficulties and became an activist of some sort. It's slightly inspiring. I'm obviously underwhelmed..
The reason why it didn't get a higher rating: I had different expectations of the book. COMPLETELY different. I first heard of it via the HuffPost, and how it was publicized gave me the impression that the book revolved around her past eating issues and overcoming that, and how she's turned herself into a positive role model. It touched me profoundly to read an interview where she mentions letters she received from prepubescents asking for beauty and weight loss advice and how she wishes she would have told them the truth--that her supposed "beauty" was a result of a regular diet of coke and coffee--instead of prescribing yogalatejazzercise or some other weird hybrid.
By far, one of THE best quotes in the book:
While giving birth to her second child sans epidural: "She's coming out of my asshole!!!"
Not a horrible book. I just had different expectations.
-Super easy read.
-A tabloid story stretched out to 300 some pages. If you're into that type of thing.
-She talks briefly about overcoming body image issues.
-$0.99 in Amazon
Cons:
-A tabloid story stretched out to 300 some pages. If you're not into that type of thing.
-She talks ONLY BRIEFLY about overcoming body image issues.
-It's a tabloid story stretched out to 300 some pages.
-It's a tabloid story.
The thing about this book is.. it's not badly written. It definitely doesn't deserve a Pulitzer, but the writing's not an abomination. The reason why it didn't get a lower score is because the writing was so easy. Also because it's a decent story about someone who overcame huge difficulties and became an activist of some sort. It's slightly inspiring. I'm obviously underwhelmed..
The reason why it didn't get a higher rating: I had different expectations of the book. COMPLETELY different. I first heard of it via the HuffPost, and how it was publicized gave me the impression that the book revolved around her past eating issues and overcoming that, and how she's turned herself into a positive role model. It touched me profoundly to read an interview where she mentions letters she received from prepubescents asking for beauty and weight loss advice and how she wishes she would have told them the truth--that her supposed "beauty" was a result of a regular diet of coke and coffee--instead of prescribing yogalatejazzercise or some other weird hybrid.
By far, one of THE best quotes in the book:
While giving birth to her second child sans epidural: "She's coming out of my asshole!!!"
Not a horrible book. I just had different expectations.
April 13, 2023
After listening to some of her life via the podcast You Must Remember This, the host Karina Longworth suggested this book as one that covers the early 80s modeling culture and this wasn't wrong. Carre manages to tell her story and keep it mostly compelling the entire time. From her young life to her time as a star model, there are so many ups and plenty of downs as she works to be successful and later fight off her demons.
As I got to the end I could see how much of the story was now seen through the lens of her Buddhist Faith and the whole story of he life is molded to reach her moments of enlightenment and overcome her addiction and abusive relationship with Mickey Rourke. With memoirs that come to a revelation on a personal journey, it can sometimes get to be boring and 'sappy' after the major time of struggle but this book doesn't fall completely into those tropes. I would say the Buddhist perspective helps this because she is able to really speak to her struggles even after she gets away from Rourke and the use of drugs.
It is maybe a little long at times. I listened to the audio version and it did drag a little as it came to the conclusion but there was a lot for her to really wrap up
As I got to the end I could see how much of the story was now seen through the lens of her Buddhist Faith and the whole story of he life is molded to reach her moments of enlightenment and overcome her addiction and abusive relationship with Mickey Rourke. With memoirs that come to a revelation on a personal journey, it can sometimes get to be boring and 'sappy' after the major time of struggle but this book doesn't fall completely into those tropes. I would say the Buddhist perspective helps this because she is able to really speak to her struggles even after she gets away from Rourke and the use of drugs.
It is maybe a little long at times. I listened to the audio version and it did drag a little as it came to the conclusion but there was a lot for her to really wrap up
March 24, 2014
Amazingly, I actually finished this book, even thought I disliked it throughout. Carre Otis was one of the super models of my adolescence, so I thought it would be interesting to read about her life. While it was eye-opening to learn about exactly how horribly models were (possibly still are?) treated by the fashion industry, and what a hideous monster Mickie Rourke was (and no doubt still is), Otis's narrative reveals itself to be the same as we hear from many celebrities: misunderstood and outcast as children, they rebel and break away from their families, take up risky lifestyles, enter into dysfunctional relationships with abusive people, wallow in destructive behavior patters for a time, treat the people who truly love them badly, find salvation, loose salvation, find it again, and write a book about it. Perhaps I'm too well-adjusted and normal to appreciate a "battling-my-own-deamons" narrative. Overall, I found the book uninspiring.
November 20, 2021
No particularly well written, but then again it would be unfair to expect that wouldn't it, given what this book is--a memoir by a (former?) model, suffering from dyslexia to boot? Some of the repetitive expressions, and oh yes, the overuse of the f-word didn't work for me. But I will say 0 that she is not as bad an actress as the press projected her to be--since she (it was read by Otis herselfmanaged to credibly change personae while reading.
I can't remember anymore what spurred me to get this book in the first place--it isn't really my kind of thing to read about. Young girl, abused in many ways and from a far too young age, to be sure, but also altogether too free with alcohol, drugs etc. Its a miracle really, how her body survived that much chemical abuse all those years.
I can't remember anymore what spurred me to get this book in the first place--it isn't really my kind of thing to read about. Young girl, abused in many ways and from a far too young age, to be sure, but also altogether too free with alcohol, drugs etc. Its a miracle really, how her body survived that much chemical abuse all those years.
September 19, 2018
I read this (coincidently enough) while I was in an abusive relationship recovering from my (then) boyfriend viscously assaulting me.
It was so bad I couldn’t get up out of bed for days. Luckily I had this book and Tera Patrick’s “Sinner takes all “ to keep me company, and take my mind off things....
It showed me that anyone could be a victim, and find themselves in a relationship like this. It doesn’t matter if you are famous, rich and beautiful. It doesn’t matter if your abuser is your best friend or a famous movie star. It doesn’t matter because it’s not your fault- and you can get out ...
It was so bad I couldn’t get up out of bed for days. Luckily I had this book and Tera Patrick’s “Sinner takes all “ to keep me company, and take my mind off things....
It showed me that anyone could be a victim, and find themselves in a relationship like this. It doesn’t matter if you are famous, rich and beautiful. It doesn’t matter if your abuser is your best friend or a famous movie star. It doesn’t matter because it’s not your fault- and you can get out ...
November 6, 2018
Carre Otis shares with us her extraordinary rollercoaster life of despair and hope, abuse and recovery, destruction and ultimately, rebirth of herself. My heart sinks when reading many of her early violently destructive abuses involving opportunist men, various drugs and the oppressive modelling industry. She has shown us great honesty, strength and wisdom to fearlessly pursue the life you want for no one else but yourself. A salute!
August 26, 2024
A riveting tale, but much of it quite sad on the road to stardom as a model through a route of abuse, and international fame through relationships with controlling abusive assholes.
She spins it into a happy ending, but the years of pain, trama and self-loathing were difficult to hear, but also hard to put down.
She spins it into a happy ending, but the years of pain, trama and self-loathing were difficult to hear, but also hard to put down.
March 26, 2017
Entertaining, Heartfelt & Inspiring
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but it delivered on so many levels. I appreciated the honest reflection and the spiritual journey was an unexpected but welcome surprise. This story is as close as you can get to walking in another's shoes. Filled with compassion and powerful insights. The kind of book I'd want my daughters to read.
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but it delivered on so many levels. I appreciated the honest reflection and the spiritual journey was an unexpected but welcome surprise. This story is as close as you can get to walking in another's shoes. Filled with compassion and powerful insights. The kind of book I'd want my daughters to read.
December 28, 2023
I came here for dirt on Mickey Rourke and got so much more out of this book. Amazing read. The Modelling world sounds scary and traumatic. Sad what these girls are forced to do to stay thin. I wanted to just hug Carrie otis so hard at the end of this book.
February 28, 2024
I was not interested in reading Carré Otis's memoir until listening to Karina Longworth's recent podcast series, and I'm glad I did. She has been through so much, and is open and honest about herself, about people in her life, and struggles, many struggles.
October 13, 2017
It was interesting to read. I had always read about her and Mickey's relationship. Later about her resugence as a plus size model.
March 2, 2018
Amazing reading!!!
Beautifully written! I couldn't put the book down. I would definitely recommend this book to someone who enjoys reading autobiographies.
Beautifully written! I couldn't put the book down. I would definitely recommend this book to someone who enjoys reading autobiographies.
October 18, 2022
An extremely open and honest biography of a woman, now standing tall, having found her place and voice, and her long way to get there.
March 15, 2023
I liked her honesty but she's been through some pretty awful trauma.
August 27, 2024
It was inspiring to learn about how much she went through but then she came out through the other side with wisdom, stronger and healthier. Most importantly, happy. Also, she's a good storyteller.
November 19, 2014
Beauty, Disrupted was a better read than expected. Although Otis has really only modeled, married a dysfunctional star and overcome addiction and eating disorders, which are definitely accomplishments, she's more of a supporting player on the stage of life. Her story, however, is compelling and ultimately an encouraging turnaround.
Dyslexic in a dysfunctional family, Otis struggled through childhood and adolescence only to drop out and run away at sixteen. Fortunately, she is able to become a model avoiding the street life of many runaways. After she is cast opposite Mickey Rourke in the controversial Wild Orchid, Otis embarks on a abusive, drug fueled marriage in her early twenties that nearly destroys her career.
Eventually, finding her center in Buddhism, she finds fulfillment and eventually love, settling into family life in Colorado.
I found this memoir well written and a quick read. I was rooting for Otis and ultimately optimistic about her future. Although she does not devote as much of the book to her body image issues, I really related to her resentment of the annoying and intrusive comments one must endure during pregnancy. Why DO people feel free to touch pregnant women's body parts. Would you do that to a woman who wasn't pregnant? Seriously! I also think this would be a good book for young girls who are aspiring models or have body image issues as Otis seems to have overcome her demons and provides a sobering perspective on the "glamorous life".
Some reviews objected to the fact that this was really an elongated tabloid story, but really, isn't that why we read it as well as tabloids? One shouldn't expect "War and Peace" here and if one just reads it as a more upbeat than usual celebrity memoir, it is a compelling story.
Dyslexic in a dysfunctional family, Otis struggled through childhood and adolescence only to drop out and run away at sixteen. Fortunately, she is able to become a model avoiding the street life of many runaways. After she is cast opposite Mickey Rourke in the controversial Wild Orchid, Otis embarks on a abusive, drug fueled marriage in her early twenties that nearly destroys her career.
Eventually, finding her center in Buddhism, she finds fulfillment and eventually love, settling into family life in Colorado.
I found this memoir well written and a quick read. I was rooting for Otis and ultimately optimistic about her future. Although she does not devote as much of the book to her body image issues, I really related to her resentment of the annoying and intrusive comments one must endure during pregnancy. Why DO people feel free to touch pregnant women's body parts. Would you do that to a woman who wasn't pregnant? Seriously! I also think this would be a good book for young girls who are aspiring models or have body image issues as Otis seems to have overcome her demons and provides a sobering perspective on the "glamorous life".
Some reviews objected to the fact that this was really an elongated tabloid story, but really, isn't that why we read it as well as tabloids? One shouldn't expect "War and Peace" here and if one just reads it as a more upbeat than usual celebrity memoir, it is a compelling story.
February 19, 2012
i was surprised how much i liked this book, the writing style was much better than i expected. i think my only complaint was that sometimes there wasn't enough detail to a story/recollection to really give a deep sense of what happened and other times there were too many trivial details. i did feel it was edited well over all and i enjoyed carre's "voice" as narrator. my only picky complaint was that she never gave a real description of HOW she learned to model or how she knew what poses to do or any of that specific detail i would have loved to read more about. her career details were often vague and years would pass without a mention of what she was actually doing during that time. i think the emphasis on this memoir was her personal healing from abusive situations and her spiritual awakening, which i thought she did a great job of not over doing (the spiritual stuff). her relationship with mickey rourke was interesting and sad too. i am almost the same age as carre and felt some similarities to my own upbringing and early relationships having come from the same generation. i was obsessed with supermodels growing up so i am definitely biased toward wanting to read more about their "real" lives.
June 13, 2012
I loved her message on what is going on with body image and women these days. As the population becomes more obese, there is an unbelievable emphasis on thin for women...and not just thin: extreme thin. She calls attention to a world where a tall size 6/8 model is considered a plus size. CRAZY! I would like to see an expose on what is really going on in the world that creates all of the thin perfect bodies in Hollywood. If it is anything like Carre experienced, the drugs are rampant.
I'm not crazy about the writing and at times it seems disjointed but I am glad she had the courage to write the book, tell her story, and name names (including the ridiculousness of the Oprah Magazine not using her for a particular shoot because she didn't fit into the too-small model clothes -- size 6 --for the plus-sized shoot!)
As we move into the future, the self-mutilation that women are inflicting upon themselves with the quest for thin, youth and perfection is frightening. When will somebody begin to seriously write about how we seem to be on the path to normalize plastic faces and inflated/deflated/injected bodies? What are the long-term effects of extreme diets, botox, injectibles?
I would have liked to read more about her true healing.
I'm not crazy about the writing and at times it seems disjointed but I am glad she had the courage to write the book, tell her story, and name names (including the ridiculousness of the Oprah Magazine not using her for a particular shoot because she didn't fit into the too-small model clothes -- size 6 --for the plus-sized shoot!)
As we move into the future, the self-mutilation that women are inflicting upon themselves with the quest for thin, youth and perfection is frightening. When will somebody begin to seriously write about how we seem to be on the path to normalize plastic faces and inflated/deflated/injected bodies? What are the long-term effects of extreme diets, botox, injectibles?
I would have liked to read more about her true healing.
November 18, 2012
I would give this 3 1/2 stars if able to*. I read this model memoir at a rapid pace. Ultimately, it left me feeling sad. Carre Otis survived a terrible childhood that included rape and abuse, became an insanely successful model, endured more rape and abuse, and became a drug addict. She also fell madly in love with Mickey Rourke. It seems like quite a few of her recollections are hazy and she skips a lot of details. Suddenly, she'll mention having dogs, but doesn't mention getting them, or writes about how much she chain smoked, but never mentions quitting...anyway, I can't imagine her memory is all that clear after years of hardcore cocaine and heroin abuse. This lends to several gaps in her storytelling/recounting of her life. After getting sober in Mexico thanks to a Rourke sponsored detox, she became addicted to Tibetan Buddhism. Otis seems like a decent person and now has a new, sober husband and two kids, so it's nice to know she is doing okay. It is really quite sad how much the modeling industry, fame and money can lead a person to such tragic consequences. She is really quite lucky to have survived. *Bonus 1/2 star for a random Tupac Shakur cameo.
September 28, 2013
At first, after reading the first few chapters, I thought this was another "poor little rich girl" story. She made one bad decision after another, and after awhile you begin to think she is just not all there in the head. Well, it was hard to just make it half-way through the book without passing judgement. But, once making it to the half-way point, is when the book finally turned around and became really interesting. It became more real and I couldn't put it down. I know that writing a memoir is hard work. Exposing so much of your past and laying it bare for the whole world to see, judge, mock, etc. That takes a type of strength that I wish I had. Maybe I will when I'm her age. Even admiration is a judgment.
October 31, 2014
So much of the author's childhood and teen life was parallel to mine... I kept thinking during the whole thing that OMG we should be friends... Then of course she became a supermodel who got screwed over by her ex and I became an office worker who got screwed by my ex, but I digress...
Couldn't put it down, it was odd reading something so similar to my own past. Now I don't have to write mine. Plus, seeing the brutal reviews of this book make me certain I never would be able to handle the criticism and judgment if I ever did. Ha
Couldn't put it down, it was odd reading something so similar to my own past. Now I don't have to write mine. Plus, seeing the brutal reviews of this book make me certain I never would be able to handle the criticism and judgment if I ever did. Ha
January 22, 2014
I meant this book as a kind of break from high brow readings, and it is; plus some interesting revelations about the ugly side of modelling as an industry whose commodity is beauty. There is an interesting journey of what it means to be a celebrity in modelling and Hollywood and the connections all this has with drugs, rape and the Mafia. The journey leads Otis to a simple but deep conclusion: Happiness is far from being too complicated or too expensive.
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