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It's Not Necessarily Not the Truth: Dreaming Bigger Than the Town You're From
America knows Jaime Pressly as Joy Turner, the feisty cheatin' ex-wife of Earl Hickey on the NBC hit show My Name Is Earl . Like her character, the Emmy Award-winning actress is, at heart, a smart, vibrant, small-town Southern girl. In this humorous and honest book, she recalls her journey from Kinston, North Carolina, to Hollywood, California, to motherhood, and the fortitude it took to make her dreams come true, including separating from her troubled past, overcoming her own bad choices, and dealing with success when it finally came her way. Pressly speaks openly of her extremely colorful family and of her growing understanding of how their lives have been shaped by larger forces, including prejudice, power, privilege, love, loss, and longing. She shares how the lessons she learned from their lives impacted her own journey and helped her succeed where so many others have failed. Inspiring, heart-wrenching, and laugh-out-loud funny, It's Not Necessarily Not the Truth offers a slice of American life sure to touch the hearts of readers everywhere.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2008
5 people are currently reading
86 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
September 11, 2009
Okay. I think that to "write" an autobiography, one needs to have lived a life worth reading about. I thought Jaime Pressly's story would be one filled with drug abuse, poverty, scandalous affairs sprinkled with folksy southern charm. Basically it is a story about a girl who moved to California, worked as an actress and finally landed a nice TV role. Not much to tell.
January 29, 2024
Book 4 of 2024
This was was sitting on my shelf for sometime. Why not, I gave it a read. For a while, I thought I might put it down. I don't always like vernacular, and I'm not usually interested in some of the more trivial ins and outs of a particular family. But, it's Ms. Pressly's book and story. It did pick up some once she moved west but even then, the stories are told in a more general sense. I tend to think the better memoirs are full of the nitty gritty.
So it's an okay story in that this is a gal who grew up in some no-name North Carolina town, yet she made it into the modeling and acting world. I mostly remember her from Joe Dirt, which was not mentioned in the book. A little is said about her character in My Name is Earl. I never got into that one so it was a little tough to care too much. But mostly, the story is just like the subtitle: not being confined to where you're born. In that regard, it's an okay story. I have no doubt there are better stories between the lines of this book. Probably, that's where an even better story was.
This was was sitting on my shelf for sometime. Why not, I gave it a read. For a while, I thought I might put it down. I don't always like vernacular, and I'm not usually interested in some of the more trivial ins and outs of a particular family. But, it's Ms. Pressly's book and story. It did pick up some once she moved west but even then, the stories are told in a more general sense. I tend to think the better memoirs are full of the nitty gritty.
So it's an okay story in that this is a gal who grew up in some no-name North Carolina town, yet she made it into the modeling and acting world. I mostly remember her from Joe Dirt, which was not mentioned in the book. A little is said about her character in My Name is Earl. I never got into that one so it was a little tough to care too much. But mostly, the story is just like the subtitle: not being confined to where you're born. In that regard, it's an okay story. I have no doubt there are better stories between the lines of this book. Probably, that's where an even better story was.
December 25, 2018
In my view, this is an interesting, well-written, and thoughtful memoir (as well as a comfortable/ easy read) -- with 'dashes' of humor/ sharp wit sprinkled throughout... The author's descriptions (of her various life experiences/ scenarios) are creatively crafted -- and Ms. Pressly knows how to skillfully convey vivid images through the written word... I definitely recommend it (both for current fans of this talented comedic actress, as well as for those who've never heard of her/ her name before).
November 30, 2018
Funny and I love to hear a person's own story.
November 4, 2011
I saw Jaime Pressly on Letterman, peddling her book, and he asked her if it was a memoir. She said no, she was too young for that, but that it was just a book of stories. Well, I LOVE memoirs, and was a bit disappointed. I am a fan of hers, partly because she's southern, and I totally dig southern. The beginning left a lot to be desired, and I almost gave up on it, after realizing the most interesting thing she'd written was that she went to high school with Jerry Stackhouse. I love love love me some Jerry Stackhouse. Anyway, I kept going, and glad I did. After that beginning, it got really good, and was a pretty fast read for me. I love that you can hear the southern accent while reading it. I love that she's honest about her own shortcomings, and is, in fact, just a regular girl who decided to follow her dreams. As it turns out, it was, indeed, a memoir. Even if it's just the first 30 years worth.
October 1, 2009
Not exactly sure why I decided to read this. I don't dislike "My Name Is Earl" and Jaime Pressly, but I wouldn't call myself a fan either.
But after initially rolling my eyes when I learned that Jaime Pressly had written a book, I read some positive reviews and decided to give it a shot. I was pleasantly surprised. The best parts are at the beginning when she recounts her Southern upbringing (chock full of Southern-isms as an added bonus). It lost its way when she went off to California to "make it," but Pressly still wove in stories from her North Carolina roots to keep the read moving along.
Not a great read and some will deem it hokey, but I thought it was genial and sincere. A good read for the Lifetime/Hallmark Channel set. I might even recommend this to certain young adults who aspire to become a model/actress as much of the story is set during her teenage years.
But after initially rolling my eyes when I learned that Jaime Pressly had written a book, I read some positive reviews and decided to give it a shot. I was pleasantly surprised. The best parts are at the beginning when she recounts her Southern upbringing (chock full of Southern-isms as an added bonus). It lost its way when she went off to California to "make it," but Pressly still wove in stories from her North Carolina roots to keep the read moving along.
Not a great read and some will deem it hokey, but I thought it was genial and sincere. A good read for the Lifetime/Hallmark Channel set. I might even recommend this to certain young adults who aspire to become a model/actress as much of the story is set during her teenage years.
November 17, 2009
It's a celebrity memoir, which implies certain things. I grabbed it at the library because I like the celebrity, Jaime Pressly, who plays Joy on "My Name Is Earl". Reading this book reminded me why I don't generally care to meet famous people. I would prefer to enjoy the art or work that a famous person produces, rather than try to enjoy their personality. Reading a celebrity memoir is like trying to enjoy their personality rather than their work.
March 8, 2010
I kind of thought there might have been more to this one. It's not bad--- stories of the actress's childhood and early days in Hollywood, written for her newborn son, but there are large holes in the story (she was in a show I liked about ten years ago and she doesn't even mention it by name). The writing was oddly uneven--- sometimes very high-minded and correct, sometimes dialect. I think some of the seams were showing from ghostwriters, etc. Diverting but not broadening.
October 3, 2011
Felt unpolished and haphazard to me. The idea that we are alive in and live on in our stories is beautiful, but I don't think it was fully realized in her book. The best part of it was the last chapter... the letter to her child.
"Knowing somebody well really only means you've gotten so close to them that the lines in their personality separating good from bad are too blurred for you to even try to judge them anymore. Some people also call that love."
"Knowing somebody well really only means you've gotten so close to them that the lines in their personality separating good from bad are too blurred for you to even try to judge them anymore. Some people also call that love."
February 25, 2014
Jaime has a lovely writing voice, and it was fun (and sometimes sad) to read her stories from her youth and her North Carolina. This book allows you to see Jaime the human, rather than just Jaime the glamorous, gorgeous movie star. However, something about it felt incomplete, perhaps because it is written in a circular, story-telling fashion rather than a linear progression.
Having said that, I enjoyed the book, and wish she would write more books.
Having said that, I enjoyed the book, and wish she would write more books.
February 19, 2016
Reviewed for ALA's "Booklist" magazine -- appears in the March 1, 2009 issue. If you have a subscription, you can read my review at BooklistOnline.com at:
http://www.booklistonline.com/It-s-No...
This review can also be read on Amazon.com at: http://ow.ly/YuVpy
http://www.booklistonline.com/It-s-No...
This review can also be read on Amazon.com at: http://ow.ly/YuVpy
June 2, 2009
Meh. This memoir was ok. It wasn't difficult to read and mildly entertaining in a few places. For me the memoirs need to be by interesting people who have contributed a lot to society or their relative profession. Personally, I am not very familiar with Jamie Pressly's work and her book didn't do much for me. Maybe someone who is more of a fan would find this interesting.
December 4, 2009
I couldn't get into this...and I really wanted to. I knew some of her story already and maybe that was a detriment to my liking the book. I just didn't care to dedicate anymore time to it when I had some other must-reads in the pile.
July 22, 2012
This isn't any big shocker, no dirty secrets revealed, it's almost not really an autobiography. It's more a collection of stories from her life, in kind of chronological order, as "told" to her newborn baby boy. It was an interesting read for a summer afternoon.
June 8, 2009
YAWN! The first chapter was horribly banal...stopped there.
March 30, 2009
...I couldn't get into this book. I wanted to like it, but I just couldn't get into the styles and the stories. Seemed scattered to me.
May 18, 2009
I love this actress. She has played some hilarious characters and I thought the book would be just as funny. It was interesting, but def. not hilarious.
June 17, 2009
started it, couldn't get interested!
January 9, 2010
I am not a fan of Jaime's, but it was a fairly entertaining book.
April 27, 2010
Had to read this one. Love her character on My Name is Earl, love the fact she bases it on people from my old neck of the woods. Scarily accurate :)
Want to read
March 19, 2009she grew up in rural North Carolina and made it big
May 10, 2009
surpisingly good
February 11, 2010
This was boring. Boring! I didn't expect that.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews