Unburdened: A Memoir

by Dorit Kemsley

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

From The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Dorit Kemsley comes a candid memoir in which she reveals the unscripted moments that shaped who she is today.

Dorit Kemsley has spent years cultivating a persona that exudes elegance, ambition, and confidence. But behind the designer labels and otherwise picture-perfect image lies a story of resilience, transformation, and self-discovery. Now, for the first time, she's telling this story in full.

Before the cameras started rolling, Dorit was raised in a Jewish home in Connecticut, shaped by her family's international roots. But her early interest in fashion soon took her around the world for school and work, which later brought her back to New York City to launch her own global resort-wear line. Along the way, a charming Brit—the man she once thought was the love of her life—swept her off her feet . . .

With the effortless charm of a best friend, Dorit reminisces on her early seasons as a Real Housewife, navigating new motherhood in the spotlight. She reveals the true stories behind #PantyGate and #PuppyGate and the ups and downs of her friendships with cast members across nearly a decade on the show. She delves into the fears and traumas she has long kept private, including the dissolution of her marriage to Paul "PK" Kemsley, the terrifying home invasion that shattered her sense of security, and the pressure of living under constant public scrutiny.

With candor, humor, and the kind of perspective earned only by a woman who has lived as a wife and mother onscreen for nine seasons and counting, Dorit recounts the lessons she's learned, the mistakes she's made, and the strength she's discovered in starting over.

Genres: Audiobook, Memoir, Nonfiction, Biography, Biography Memoir, Celebrity

Audible Audio

Published June 2, 2026

Reviews

[Alright Hey (Matt) · Rating 1 out of 5]

said so much without saying anything at all.
honestly needed a lot more from this and it left me learning almost nothing new about Dorit. it felt a bit AI slop in parts like she’d written it then run it through chat gpt. The repetitive nature of sentences was excruciating to get through, describing the same thing three times in a new way. It felt like when you do a project in high school and need to hit a word count.

lots of filler, not much substance. skip it! don’t waste your time.

[Kim Tucker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Were people ghost writing this in your bathroom, Dorit?

[Elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading:
This book was very much like Dorit. A lot of words were spoken but not a lot was said.

I do enjoyed getting a backstory on her, but it didn’t really do much. It wasn’t great but it also wasn’t bad

Before reading:
Knowing Dorit, this will be a very long book. Girl can’t keep a story short to save her life lol

[Cormac · Rating 1 out of 5]

dorit did not have a ghostwriter. dorit was just using chatgpt and saying "ghostwriter" because it sounds more glamorous. which is such a dorit thing to do.

every sentence is so… staccato. it reads like this:

Dorit sat down, ready to write. Not distracted. Not tired. Focused. The kind of quiet creativity that blends bold storytelling and sharp insight.

Then, something shifted. It wasn’t one moment, but a subtle buildup. Blank pages. A blinking cursor. Like she’d been handed a test she didn’t study for.

Just when she thought she might give up, she felt it. A quiet resolve. Nothing crazy — just clarity. The type of courage that comes when you least expect it.

One key after another, Dorit typed it out. The letters that would change everything: "AI writing assistant"

[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?

[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.

[Tony · Rating 2 out of 5]

Firmly believe that AI wrote this. Bless her heart.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t know why people are hating on this book. You know what you are getting when reading a housewives memoir. I loved learning about Dorit’s family history. Is it AMAZING?! No. But take it for what it is and enjoy!

[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. 🙈

[belle]

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

[Sofia Santos · Rating 2 out of 5]

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

[Alexandra]

1. A shame that Goodreads won’t upload the cover photo that was so impactful to RHOBH Season 15.

2. In true Dorit fashion, this is a book full of words that don’t actually say anything.

If you were to ask Dorit what color the sky is, her response would be something like: Not quite like that of the ocean but a more certain, stable, and guarded presence that reminded me of the aligned force instilled in me from childhood. It’s how my family functioned. We were a unit. Not acting as one but truly believing it. And it’s not about the beauty of the color. It’s about an absorbent sense of peace and self portrayed through the color.

While beautiful sounding, we never actually learn what color the damn sky is and therein lies the problem with this book.

[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. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[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.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I preordered this book while watching RHOBH and wanting to support Dorit. I regret it. There were some interesting tidbits in the book but most of them I had already been familiar with. The writing was absolutely atrocious and so painful. I am so sorry. I felt like I was very literally reading the exact same sentence over and over. Was this book even edited? How could it be so short and be so repetitive?! It was so painful to read. It also felt like Dorit was explaining herself and reliving the seasons of RHOBH to make sure we knew that she was right. It felt like she was some incredible human and she needed to make sure we knew that. I also really really do not care about your analysis on the other cast members. I was about to DNF because I was just repeating every sentence one million times. Glad it’s over. Do not recommend.

[Caitlin Gentry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the audio book version read by Dorit. Liked getting more of the back story behind the show. Slow and confusing in order at times but overall well written and engaging for fans of RHOBH.

[Alexa Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this, I don’t understand why people were so hard on her. Her stories were candid, but not long winded 🤩 she shared more than what you get on housewives annnd the cheesecake part - lol I can relate!

[Cecilia Cicone]

Absolutely wild for a real housewife to publish a memoir that’s AI slop. Utterly unreadable.

[Gina *loves sunshine* · Rating 4 out of 5]

I usually don't go in and read so many reviews before I read a book - but the 2.9(??) rating just made me do it. Like why so low? was the book really that bad? Are we rating the story? the person? always hard to tell in a celebrity memoir.

Now that I have read it - I think I have even more to break down than the book LOL. Now, I'm kinda fascinated by the strong hate for this book? Like, I do not understand what readers were looking for? This is a memoir about a lady on a real housewives tv show!!!!! A show that takes the life of a female individual, their family, their looks, their personality quirks, and puts it under a microscope...then shapes it all to tell us an entertaining story. And you get mad because she wants to tell her side and try to explain how she's just a regular human trying to navigate it? What more did you want. She's not the TV character in this book...she's the actual person.

Again, I am always happy when celebs put out a book because some try their hardest to explain how they navigate the crazy entertainment industry. And thats always the story I'm looking for. Like who are you really?!? Cause it's not the person the "news" portrays. So tell me something interesting!! I found this book to be more honest then a lot of the previous celeb memoirs I have read. Definitely shared a lot of emotions regarding various personal journey's.

BH is one of the remaining reality shows I still will watch. Although I don't take the time to watch as much tv as I used to - so I haven't gotten around to watching the latest season yet - which I think this book became an issue in?!? Anyway, I think I'll make this a bit long winded in honor of the author hahahaha!! I thought she gave nice insight into her growing up years. Certainly taught me a few things about how far out of the Hollywood realm she really started. I definitely had some preconceived thoughts about her based on her character portrayal on the show. I did always love her fashion and how everything she wore was a statement - which she did well!! and now after listening to this I understand her a whole lot better. Her behavior makes more sense. I thought she did a good job of just telling her story without bad mouthing too much. Her tell it like it is was more refreshing in the book than how she blasts it out on the show. I actually like her a whole lot more than I did last week!!

[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.

[Amanda H · Rating 1 out of 5]

I kind of knew going in I was going to find this book flaccid in its sincerity or information and lackluster in its narrative. What I didn't realize was that this book was just going to be a rehashing of her diary videos during filming the seasons. The description of the break-in and home invasion were a copy/paste of what we see on film. The whispered delivery was not evocative; but annoying as hell.

The only interesting bits I found were about Dorit's parents' history.

Most of the narrative in this book was contrived and made it sound like these are the ways Dorit wishes to portray herself; but what we actually see on film is the clear opposite of what she writes. I think that was the most frustrating part: there was no reflection, no clarity; just deflection and defense and spinning it so she was the victim of production or the press or other people going against her; as if she had no hand in anything that went wrong in the world around her.

I listened to this audiobook at 2.20x speed and it felt like normal speech at that point. I don't know if Podium slows down even normal human speech for 1x, but that was GLACIAL otherwise. Dorit is long-winded on a normal day, don't slow her down to make it even more excruciating.

Anyway- I wasted a day listening to this and feel dumber having done so. 1 star I guess.

[Roseiby J]

Sorrryyyyyy i really tried but i cant lol. Cheers to my girl for releasing a book but I’ll stick to watching her on the housewives.

[Austin (Book Club For One) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lemme just say....this was the chicest memoir I've read! I just love Dorit and could listen to her being longwinded about housewives, her marriage, and learning how to finally become unburdened. New York Times Best Seller for a reason and better than ever!

[Meredith Pilat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well Written but Classic Dorit

I’ve watched every season & every episode of RHOBH so I obviously know the events Dorit describes in her book.
However, she leaves out lots of context- for someone who accused others of attacking her w/ lack of context, I find this really hypocritical.
She talks about the end of her marriage & how she tries to protect PK & her children. She leaves out that she announced to the world that he was an alcoholic. That was horrific to do to anyone, much less the man she was married to for 10+ years. That’s why Kyle wdnt take sides- she tht it was wrong as well.
When talking about how hurt she was over Kyle saying she exaggerated their friendship, Dorit leaves out that she read Kyle’s text message to the world, once again. That’s why there’s a permanent rift. It’s called a real lack of trust. But Dorit, ofc, omits that sequence of events.
Erika? After the way she treated her at their dinner while in Italy, she was upset that Erika didn’t go to her book cover release?? You’ve got to be kidding me.
She cant take accountability for her actions.
Dorit is always the victim, & that came across loud & clear in the book.
Did I enjoy it? Yes, to a point.
If I didn’t know the REAL stories behind her stories, I wd have liked it more.
It’s her memoir so I’m assuming she was finally able to tell a very one sided version of events, & she did.

[Charlotte Baynham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don’t judge me - I liked it!

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really excited to learn more about Dorit’s life and her backstory. She does share parts of it, and I especially loved reading about the connection she had with her grandmother. The level of detail in those memories was beautiful and made those moments feel very real.

I just found myself wishing the book had leaned more into those aspects of her life and a little less into her experience on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. I understand why she included so much of it, and for many readers that’s probably what they wanted. But it almost made me wish there were two separate books: one that gave her perspective on what really happens behind the scenes of RHOBH, and another that was simply the raw, intimate story of Dorit herself.

As someone who genuinely enjoys her on the show, I was hoping to come away with a deeper understanding of who she is outside of reality television. She’s one of my favorite Housewives. Even when her stories take the scenic route, I’ve always felt that’s because she genuinely cares and wants people to fully understand what she’s trying to express. I was hoping this memoir would spend more time with that side of her.

[Ceci Perez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Audio booked this one. I could write a whole book to review this book, but this book just doesn’t deserve that. I will say two things:

In her book, Dorit told tale about a monkey that her family rescued when she was a kid. The monkey loved himself so much that when he saw himself in the mirror, he masturbated. Given how late Dorit is to everything because of her glam squad and the resulting social media photo shoots, it’s clear that she learned a hell of a lot from that monkey.

Also, if Dorit’s Olive Garden rip-off Buca di Beppo lemon room were a book, this book would be that book.

[Erika Bazzle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 (with lots of love)!! I don’t know why people were expecting a Pulitzer Prize winning piece from this notoriously long-winded housewife?? The book was perfectly true to Dorit. Emotional, heartfelt and slightly strayed from every point she was trying to make. I deeply enjoyed learning about where her family came from and I loved her overall closing message about hope and reinvention.

[Jenn Esposito · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Dorit so so much, but I feel like a learned more about what she was feeling in more situations than I actually learned about her. I did love learning how she got into fashion and how she learned to speak so many languages. Forever a fan.