Unburdened: A Memoir

by Dorit Kemsley

From Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Dorit Kemsley comes a candid memoir in which she peels back the layers of her life and shares the unscripted moments that shaped who she is.

Genres: Audiobook, Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography

256 pages, Hardcover

Published June 2, 2026

Reviews

[Kim Tucker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Were people ghost writing this in your bathroom, Dorit?

[Desi · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a die hard Housewives fan, I was curious to see how Dorit's book would end up, as it was a storyline in the most recent season of RHOBH. Unfortunately, this was just a book that did not need to be written and seems like a (needed) money grab.

All that to say, I just didn't enjoy the storytelling, and I'm really wondering if an editor was even involved. If I never hear the word "everything" again, it'll be too soon. It was SO overused. "It was everything." "They were everything." "It meant everything." There were so many other ways that the emphasis could've been used and the fact that not a single person flagged it for overuse is wild to me. It drove me nuts.

Having an understanding of how Dorit speaks naturally, I think the ghostwriter did a decent job getting her thoughts across, but there were some words/phrases that I really thought to myself "yeah, right" because they just stood out as being really unnatural.

Personally, I don't think Dorit had enough to talk about for a memoir and I would've liked to se this written on the other side of her divorce to give a full circle moment. Leaving us in the middle of it as this being a memoir just really left the story unfinished in a not great way. Comparing this to other Housewives' or celebrities' memoirs, there's just no comparison. I wouldn't recommend this.

I listened to the audiobook, which was slightly better than I expected.
Story: 2/5
Audiobook: 3/5

[Amanda Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh, Dorit, was this book really necessary?

[Tony · Rating 2 out of 5]

Firmly believe that AI wrote this. Bless her heart.

[Kaleigh Campbell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very disappointing. I have a soft spot for Dorit, but this was very self-indulgent (even more than I had expected) and lacked new revelations. A two star might be generous.

[Stephanie Wilen · Rating 2 out of 5]

My guilty pleasure is RHOBH, so when Dorit's memoir was announced I knew I had to read it. I enjoyed the chapters about her family's history, her time in Italy and learning how her and PK met.

However, the writing itself was god awful. This is not meant to be mean as it's public knowledge a ghostwriter was used. It seemed like it was copy paste out of ChatGPT. Dorit would have done a better job writing it herself. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[belle]

the only thing i learned that i didn’t already know is that she did a pantomime show????

[Jessica Stracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to this on audiobook. Learnt some stuff about her family history but most of the book is already stuff she has shared on the show ! I love this girl she has faced so much in this life … there is so much to learn from this lady and there are some little nuggets of wisdom in this book but I did wish it was more intimate ! I feel she has been through so much and her old friends and husband have exited her life so you can see why she’s guarded because of the show changing the narrative on her constantly changing her words and twisting meanings . Hopefully her next book will be more intimate and have more depth but overall an easy read and love that she talks about the hard stuff ! Dorit is gorgeous inside and out and of all the housewives I do think she gets the most memorable bc of her style and her don’t give a shit attitude ! She just lives in Dorit land and she loves it there and why shouldn’t she ? We spend all of our life with ourselves so you should love being in your own presence! You should love the way you feel about your relationship with yourself! I’m constantly working on that ! She’s nailed it !!

[Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve always been a fan of Real Housewives, so thought I’d give this book a go. I normally don’t rate books this low, but this one really isn’t worth your time. One of the problems is that it’s so short you don’t find much out about Dorit that you don’t already know. I enjoyed hearing about her parents and grandparents, and wished she’d spent more time talking about her family history and herself, but we jump from her being 19 and working in a store in Italy then a restaurant to her marrying PK. She mentions that she had her own money and PK was literally bankrupt when she met him, but there’s nothing to explain how she got where she was. We jump straight to Real Housewives and all she mentions is the red dress, puppygate, and the robbery. The writing style is also not great. She said in the show that she had a mother and daughter duo helping her, but the constant repetition, one word sentences, and paragraphs ending with ‘it wasn’t this, it was that’ makes it look like she just chucked it into ChatGPT. I’m sorry to be so negative, but I just hoped for more.

[Olivia Karch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first half of the book learning about Dorit’s life before housewives/PK and her family background. It seemed like halfway through she gave up on that structure and switched to just rehashing the last few seasons of RHOBH and telling her side of the conflicts we all already watched play out. That was less interesting to me. I had low expectations going in, but I thought she did a great job reading the audiobook! I would definitely recommend listening to it vs reading it.

[Vee Mason · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audio, which made this book better. I was expecting vapid and devoid of substance, but was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t that bad.

However, there were way too many comparative descriptors, and too many things were explained as “changing everything.”

I don’t know that I learned much more than what Dorit shared about herself and her life on the show, but she was spot on about the show blowing things completely out of proportion, Camille Grammar and Kyle Richards. She did right by her children by presenting P.K. in a positive light.

A good, light summer read/listen.

[Caroline Quiett · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was honestly pleasantly surprised by this book. I think the most interesting pieces were related to her family history and what they’d gone through, but I enjoyed learning more about about Dorit. Like most memoirs, is you like who it’s about, you will like the book.

[Thea · Rating 4 out of 5]

It wasn’t my favorite Housewife book, but it was a good, quick read. There wasn’t a lot in the book, that she hasn’t already shared.

[WonderWomanNZ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
Listening to this memoir was… an experience. I have been working my way through the casts books.

Dorit has never been one of my favourite Housewives, and Season 15 definitely didn’t help her case. But I went into this audiobook open‑minded, curious, and ready to learn something new, and to be fair, I did learn a few things about her that I didn’t know before. I also forgot just how long she’s actually been on RHOBH.

One thing that stood out immediately is how articulate she is. On the show, in confessionals, and now in the audiobook, she knows how to speak, how to present, and how to craft a sentence.

Where it didn’t land for me was the writing style. The book is overly descriptive, like someone took an English teacher’s “describe the smells, the sounds, the sensations” advice and dialed it up to an extreme. Instead of pulling me into the moment, it pushed me out of it. It felt like sensory overload for scenes that didn’t need that level of detail, but hey that is Dorit.

The timeline also jumps around a lot. We go from her early life, to Housewives, back to her past, forward again, then sideways. It’s not confusing, but it does make the narrative feel scattered rather than cohesive.

While I appreciated learning more about her and hearing her tell her own story, the combination of heavy sensory detail and the back‑and‑forth structure was hard. The timing of the book is good for her, I guess, with all the controversy and clashes this season, whether you like her or hate her, I can see people picking this up simply because she’s been so front‑and‑centre in the drama and curiosity.

[Patti L · Rating 4 out of 5]

I honestly had mixed expectations going into this book, but I always find a Bravo Housewife book somewhat intriguing. I listened to the audio book read by Dorit and I found her story to be interesting and honest. I came away with a better understanding of who she is and her unquestionable love and pride for her family was refreshing. This book was her voice and the truths dug deep without bitterness or spite. The description of her break in and her emotional state both during it and the aftermath felt real to me and conveyed the traumatic experience and shame should be placed on anyone questioning the validity of it. I also think it was important for her to include stories of her parent’s origin since that is where she gets her strength.

Overall, I now like Dorit more as a person and can understand how it is easy to judge a “reality character”. Maybe the Housewives is not a good fit because I think she has a genuine heart and good sense of humor. Plus her style is fantastic!

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

I appreciated the family history and background that she shared in Unburdened. I learned a few things about her upbringing and family that I found interesting. However, much of the book focused on the later seasons of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, which wasn't what I was hoping for. I also felt that she laid it on a bit too thick when discussing Kyle, and it came across as though she was still holding a grudge. That said, I appreciated that she didn't spend much time bad-mouthing PK and generally seemed fairly restrained in how she discussed him. Overall, while there were some insightful moments, too much of the book centered on revisiting past conflicts and cast dynamics rather than offering new personal insights.

[Morgan Miller]

I was so excited to listen to Dorit’s book, and I hate to say it was a let down. I really thought I would love hearing her story, but it jumped back and forth so much that it was hard to follow. I will say what she wrote about her break in was extremely emotional, and I give her so much credit for being so vulnerable. Other than that, jumping to this season of RHOBH seemed unnecessary. I don’t know…

[Jennifer Radack · Rating 1 out of 5]

It’s rare I don’t finish a book or give a 1 star, this book accomplished both. It is like ChatGPT wrote the book, and that is an insult to ChatGPT
If it was possible to lose brain cells reading a book…this is it. Pure trash can’t believe it was even published. The only reason I even bothered to write a review is to save others from wasting their time. 🙈

[Lindy Beaman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be well composed and really interesting. Hearing about Dorit’s background, especially that of her grandparents and parents, was very informing and added a lot of context to who she is outside of the vapid nature of reality TV. I hope she’ll write more in the future.

[Lynn 🌟 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audio book, because I like hearing people tell me their stories. i'm saying this (and I like dorit and I watch the show), I think you should read the book.It might be a better way to consume it.

[Katie Wolbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh, I watch housewives and this was basically a summary of her time on the show.

[Christi Bee · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5⭐️ Not that I had high hopes. But this was not a well written or “enlightening” memoir. Glad I borrowed a copy and didn’t buy it!

[Amelia Wall Warner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure why everyone was mean about this- this book seemed honest, self reflective, and careful. Nice work!

[Sofia Santos · Rating 2 out of 5]

in typical Dorit fashion, a whole lot of words to say a whole lot of nothing ❤️