Simply More: A Book for Anyone Who Has Been Told They’re Too Much

by Cynthia Erivo

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

In this vulnerable and enlightening book of life lessons, globally renowned performer Cynthia Erivo draws from her singular experience to show us how to embrace being “too much” and to live up to the fullest iteration of ourselves.

It is never too late to build the life you’re seeking.

Cynthia Erivo learned the music to Wicked a decade before she needed it, not knowing those same lyrics would change her life. Now she has performed those songs on the world stage, showing us there is always time to keep discovering ourselves. And to illustrate that it’s often the parts of ourselves we are told to bury that make us shine.

In a series of powerful, personal vignettes, Cynthia reflects on the ways she has grown as an actor and human and the practices she’s learned over years of performing and reminds us all we are capable of so much more than we think.

We all have hopes and dreams that we want to bring across the finish line. We all falter and take missteps. In this book, Cynthia draws from her experiences running marathons, both real and metaphorical, onstage and onscreen, to show how each challenge can help us. She urges readers to lean into the wisdom of their bodies, to understand and strive for a physical and mental balance. Because when we chase our deepest desires, each small step leads us closer to where we want to go.

Genres: Audiobook, Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Self Help, LGBT, Biography Memoir

189 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 20, 2025

Reviews

[Jack Edwards]

This is... aggressively 2014 coded. It's more of a series of regurgitated, platitudinous mantras than a book... except they've all been said before. Even the analogy of comparing craft with running was already done by Murakami 18 years ago.

The redeeming part for me was when Erivo speaks about her role in The Colour Purple -- it's such a tender and insightful deep dive into a character from soneone who has spent so long in that person's shoes. I wish the whole book had been formatted like that, alas.

2.5⭐️

[Bence]

holding all the space for the contents of this book 😌💚



----

Having closely followed Cynthia Erivo's career for the past decade, reading this book felt very satisfying. I feel immensely grateful to exist in the same timeline as her. Not only is she sharing her abundant gifts with the world, a tremendous service on its own, but she also encourages us to do the same. I finished this book feeling inspired and determined to do so, and I'm sure whoever picks it up will feel the same.

[CJ Opal]

There was a part in this book that had me raging. I had to stop listening and really sink into the feeling before I could continue. There are times when we fail ourselves, when we let the world at large, the powers that be, the assholes in charge, tell us who we are and what we're worth. Looking back and reflecting on those moments in her own life, and deciding to never let it happen again, Cynthia gives us the blueprint to overcoming a world that wants to belittle you and find inner peace. It's not a destination, but work we have to do every day to remind ourselves that it's okay to be more than what is expected or desired by others.

[Erin Craig]

Possibly my most favorite read of 2025.

[Lex]

2.5 ⭐️ I wish I had liked this more but I’m afraid that was a nothing burger with nothing sauce.

Erivo seems like the kind of memoir author who wants to have something significant to say without actually having anything substantial to pull from. There is little depth to her writing, and her flowery moments rely on this strange self-reflection angle she squeezes in needlessly to the end of most chapters.

Her prose is very casual and conversational, which I’m sure would be nice listening to the audiobook but in print felt like it missed the mark that her flowery “you are not alone” message tried to make.

I admired her touching on her abandonment from her father and the racism she experienced in drama school, but most difficult aspects of her life feel brushed over - necessary to mention but reluctant to actually dig into them. I noticed this most with her talking about her sexuality, and how it was and perhaps still is a point of contention in her family. As someone whose family also didn’t react well to my coming out, I felt for her and admired her growth from that moment. However the moment felt rushed and under discussed, perhaps a page of writing, while she spends pages explaining her character in the Colour Purple and how the applause felt on broadway. To which I think… why did you write a book?

Honestly this read like a woman with incredible talent who felt compelled to market off the Wicked hype and didn’t actually have much to talk about. It feels like she’s trying to be as Humble As Possible and prove that she has struggled to earn her piece of the pie. It’s very possible that she is truly this humble, but humility being the only force behind a memoir left me fairly unimpressed.

[Lauren]

This was just a bunch of mantras… I wish Cynthia had included more of her own life in this.

[Kendra Burns]

4.5 A good memoir/self-help book about being okay with yourself when other people are trying to push you down.

[Carrie]

This book. This book touched my heart and soul in so many ways. As someone who has heard I’m “too much” more times than I can count in my lifetime, this book hit home. Cynthia’s journey is one we can all learn from. This book is a wonderful reminder than none of us are “too much”, we are all Simply More. May we all be our loud, dramatic, emotional, beautiful selves.

[Jujubereadin]

*Audiobook.

Seems funny that I was left wanting more from a memoir titled Simply More. I mean each chapter was between 3-7 mins long and I'm not exaggerating. The whole thing felt like an outline that was never fully fleshed out. Cute for what it is (and what it is is self-help platitudes sprinkled with details of her life), but if you're looking for a fuller picture of Cynthia Erivo's life, I'd recommend waiting for a more expanded version that may come in her older age.

[Hilary Kate]

4⭐️🎧 quick and enjoyable! Cynthia has incredible insight and depth. I only wish there were more of her story! A nice mix of memoir and encouragement.

[Michelle Park Baamonde]

I enjoyed listening to Cynthia narrating the audiobook. I wish we got more of her story and less of the self-help advice, but I like how she shared her experiences and outlook on life. I have been a Wicked fan since seeing the show almost 20 years ago and anticipating the release of Wicked: For Good, so her memoir coming out the same week with parts where she reflected on her Wicked experience from drama school to the present day has me even more excited to go see the film.

[Ash]

Cynthia is one of my favorite people on Earth. Wicked changed my life. She is so magical and wonderful. Hearing her inner thoughts in this book and getting to know her really changed me, for good. 😊 she’s very expressive, talented, and so helpful with her words. This book is a book for all of us. To come home to ourselves.

[Hailey Deltano]

I absolutely loved listening to this book. Cynthia’s prose is stunning and hearing her own words in her voice is definitely the way to go. it’s a cross between a memoir and self help book. She talks about her life and struggles as a young performer, and at the end of each chapter she asks questions of the reader to help put everything into perspective. there were many times where I fully bawled my eyes out because of how much I related to her. 10/10 absolutely beautiful!!

[Archie Harding]

3.75 stars. Her voice is just so beautiful and poetic it was so relaxing to listen to the audio book

[Jessica Zgoda]

Mid at best! I’m typically a huge fan of autobiographies but this felt impersonal and cocky. She didn’t dive deep into the items that would make her more relatable and instead just gave blanket mantras to live life by. Felt like a money grab in a post wicked world

[Randi Himes]

Cynthia Erivo is beauty and grace; kindness and love.

I listened to this on Audio because Ms. Erivo narrates herself, and it was extraordinary. Definitely recommend.


"I say thank you a lot. And that is a full prayer."

[Emma Griffioen]

I don't know if it's because I did this on audio, but she said the title way too many times. I was hoping for more information about her life, but overall, this book read more like a mentorship and self-help book to me. Still good, and a quick afternoon audiobook.

[bri 🧸]

oh cynthia i love you so very much

[Molade]

I’m really not a fan of self-help/lesson-filled memoirs and didn’t realize that’s what this was initially. I do love Cynthia and am grateful for the snippets of her journey she chose to share with us.

[Alice]

I could listen to Cynthia speak for hours because her voice is so soothing but i’m gutted to say, this didn’t hit the mark. It came across quite pretentious and felt un-relatable at times.

[Sari Eisen]

Wow sorry but she is so obnoxious. This whole book I was waiting for any story to be meaningful or detailed or deep but it was just a series of facts of her life that she would circle around and then turn it into some cliche lesson and ask the reader a question. Don't ask the reader questions at the end of every chapter. Not to say her life didn't have any hardship because of course she had her struggles, but this whole "feel bad for me" mindset isn't really warranted. There's an entire chapter (albeit 1.5 pages) dedicated to her describing her pajama sets. Cynthia is incredibly talented and I wouldn't ever argue with that, but I was looking forward to learning about her experiences doing the Color Purple or on the Wicked set and all I gained was a list of questions that belong in a "how to build your New Year's resolution" Buzzfeed article.

[Bradley]

I wish there was Simply Less of this godawful book

Another self promotional piece of trash from a delusional narcissistic celebrity completely out of touch with reality

Do yourself a favor and skip this drivel

[Lindsey Zolot]

Be still, my HEART. Perfectly written and read.

[Manita Taylor Lauren]

I truly admire Cynthia, not just her as a performer, but as a person. She’s authentically herself. And she shares her wisdom and glimpses into her life so generously in her book.

[Ana]

holding space for the 11 people waiting to borrow this after me on Libby 👉🤏

[Michaela]

love you girl would listen to you speak or sing literally anything!

[Pantelis Andreou]

The day she gets that EGOT status, i’m gonna celebrate like crazy. The definition of angel on earth.

Wish this was longer though. I was on the last chapter and i felt sad that it was that short.

4.5/5

[Lindsay (pawsomereads)]

No ratings for memoirs from me but I really enjoyed this! It was a really quick read and I loved listening to the audiobook narrated by Cynthia herself. This book was comprised of short little vignettes or essays explaining little life lessons that Cynthia has learned and felt were important enough to share with us. It gave a little bit of insight into her earlier life and also gave a bit of insight into Wicked. I'm sure everyone reading this would have loved for her to dive a little deeper into this portion because of how beloved the movies are. It gave just enough of a peak behind the curtain to give the audience an understanding of how difficult and special that process was, but I'd definitely take a whole other book just about the filming of Wicked. Definitely recommend for an easy yet introspective and inspiring read.

[Tori Davis]

This short and sweet memoir felt like a conversation with a friend. So much of her experience has no crossover with my life yet so much felt validating and relatable. I also loved learning some little fun facts about her

[Rachel Nguyen]

wait cynthia cooked!!!! I loved this so much, it was like having coffee with a new friend who is full of wisdom and stories of a full, complicated, wonderful life :)