Mean Baby: A Memoir of Growing Up

by Selma Blair

The first story Selma Blair Beitner ever heard about herself is that she was a mean, mean baby. With her mouth pulled in a perpetual snarl and a head so furry it had to be rubbed to make way for her forehead, Selma spent years living up to her terrible reputation: biting her sisters, lying spontaneously, getting drunk from Passover wine at the age of seven, and behaving dramatically so that she would be the center of attention.

Although Selma went on to become a celebrated Hollywood actress and model, she could never quite shake the periods of darkness that overtook her, the certainty that there was a great mystery at the heart of her life. She often felt like her arms might be on fire, a sensation not unlike electric shocks, and she secretly drank to escape.

Over the course of this beautiful and, at times, devasting memoir, Selma lays bare her addiction to alcohol, her devotion to her brilliant and complicated mother, and the moments she flirted with death. There is brutal violence, passionate love, true friendship, the gift of motherhood, and, finally, the surprising salvation of a multiple sclerosis diagnosis.

In a voice that is powerfully original, fiercely intelligent, and full of hard-won wisdom, Selma Blair’s Mean Baby is a deeply human memoir and a true literary achievement.


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Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Biography, Biography Memoir, Autobiography, Mental Health

320 pages, Hardcover

First published May 17, 2022

About the author

Selma Blair Beitner is an American actress. She played a number of roles in films and on television before obtaining recognition for her leading role in the film Brown's Requiem (1998). Her breakthrough came when she starred as Zoe Bean on the WB sitcom Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane (1999–2000), and as Cecile Caldwell in the cult film Cruel Intentions (1999). She continued to find success with the comedies Legally Blonde (2001) and The Sweetest Thing (2002), and achieved international fame with her portrayal of Liz Sherman in the big-budget fantasy films Hellboy (2004) and Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008).

Her other notable film credits include Storytelling (2001), A Guy Thing (2003), A Dirty Shame (2004), The Fog (2005), WΔZ (2007), Feast of Love (2007), The Poker House (2008), Dark Horse (2011), In Their Skin (2012), Ordinary World (2016), Mothers and Daughters (2016), Mom and Dad (2017), After (2019) and A Dark Foe (2020).

On television, she starred as Kim in the American remake of Kath & Kim (2008–2009); as Kate Wales on the sitcom Anger Management (2012–2014); and as Kris Jenner in the first season of the FX drama series American Crime Story (2016). In 2010, Blair narrated the audiobook The Diary of Anne Frank, earning a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children.

Reviews

[Elyse Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audiobook…. read by Selma Blair
…..9 hours and 43 minutes.

I knew next to nothing ‘about’ Selma Blair — other than seeing her in the movie “Cruel Intentions”.

Life stories are interesting to me — [I love people]
Selma was easy to love —
Her heartfelt struggles— her pain so real.
I felt sad that Selma had Multiple sclerosis. (thinking of my many friends who also have M.S. ).
yet Selma’s ownership & responsibly for who she was: labels, alcoholism, depression, and self-doubt…..
were the training wheels that supported her until she could ride with confidence and pride.


I learned a lot. I fell in love with Selma, her mom, her son, her dogs, lovers, close friends, supporters who believed in her — ‘got’ her.

I enjoyed her writing, her voice, her stories, her awkwardness, her passions, her sincerity, sweetness, and bad-ass-ness style …..

Selma’s tender heart is easy to embrace unconditionally.

Note:
I WOULD NEVER HAVE GUESSED IN A MILLION YEARS …. the meaning behind the book’s title.
…..no spoilers …. but my goodness……
It sure wasn’t what I thought it stood for.

I like Selma Blair
I liked this book.
….Bittersweet-tragically beautifully-wonderful
throughout —
….Grief and loss is felt throughout—
….Love embraces everything throughout!!!

[eleanor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Selma Blair's memoir is the first memoir I've read in years and it reminded me of what such books can achieve. This book is a masterclass, not just in writing, but in storytelling and what it means to truly pour your heart into your work. Mean Baby feels like a love letter to Blair's younger self, who dealt with the disease she so often references without ever really knowing the cause of her debilitating health issues. It feels like a love letter to her late mother, with whom she shared a complicated relationship and played an endless game of tug-of-war between disapproval and pride, right up until she died. Most of all, it feels like a love letter to her son, Arthur, who she describes as a kindred spirit in that he is a "mean baby", just like her. Mean Baby is all of these things and more. Packed to the brim with gorgeous prose and flowing paragraphs chronicling Blair's childhood, time in Hollywood, and adult life as her struggle with MS worsened, this book holds nothing back, bold in all the right ways, and brave in the most important ones. Blair shares even the most humiliating of her experiences, in part because they are critical to the story she is telling, but also because all except for close friends won't know what was truly happening behind the scenes. Mean Baby is entertaining, witty, and well-written, but more than that, it is heartfelt; a lifelong puzzle missing a piece that Blair eventually finds in her son—and, in some ways, her MS diagnosis, two things that go hand in hand in the change she has experienced in the past third of her life. Blair's struggle with MS might not have been fully realized until adulthood, but the scars the illness has left on her past are all too apparent to the reader, who knows years in advance that the chronic pain she suffers from is not in her head. The reader has the unique experience of being able to view Blair's life through the lens of her disease, seeing just how drastically it affects everything that she does, be it the depression she suffers from or the alcoholism that arises as a result of her desire to escape the pain. It's incredibly interesting to see it from this objective point of view, detached from how Blair describes herself feeling at the time; the reading experience becomes so much more nuanced as a result. Blair has made bad decisions throughout her life, just as anybody has, but in this way, the reader is able to see where those decisions might have arisen, even if Blair herself didn't realize it at the time.

Above all else, Mean Baby is the story of a mother's love for her son and how Blair broke the cycle of poor parental relationships plaguing her family. Already, the moment Arthur is born, the reader can feel Blair's love for him as if it were a physical thing, tangible and real, and in some ways, it is: Blair's symptoms are reduced when carrying him up the stairs to bed; her body loosens up when they cuddle, relieved of the ever-present stress it is forced to endure daily. These facts stand out in sharp contrast to Blair's relationship with her mother, Molly, and how deep the issues between them ran. Mean Baby paints a picture of a relationship riddled with perpetual disapproval, the admiration that Blair felt for her mother permanently unreciprocated, despite her success on the Hollywood scene. Molly constantly criticizes her, even going so far as to express disappointment at the magazines Blair sends to her with her on the front. This cycle, Blair reveals, originates with her grandfather, PopPop, and his own disapproval of her mother. This generational cycle of pain follows Blair through her life and her desperate attempts to satisfy her mother's expectations, how she turns to alcohol as the realization hits—she cannot satisfy them, because her mother's expectations of her are the exact ones placed on her by PopPop. Blair cannot satisfy them because her mother cannot satisfy them. It's a moment that could be disheartening but isn't—if only because of the wit and wisdom with which Blair tackles the subject in the present, giving herself (and readers who might experience similar relationships with their own loved ones) the kindness she sought out when she was younger.

As Blair states in the book's final pages, she is not the end-all-be-all of MS cases; nor is her experience universal. Someone with MS might identify with her story, while others might not. But Mean Baby is not just a story dedicated to her illness; it is a story of many things—of loss, of grief, of love, of recovery from the dark places that we believe we will never come back from. It is the story of Blair's triumphant battle not against MS, but against the demons that have followed her all throughout her life. Blair is not the end-all-be-all; however, she is a champion that readers will want to root for through every misstep and breakdown. Because in truth, all of us can see a bit of the mean baby in ourselves. But, like Blair, we all have the capacity to escape the childhood roles decided for us—to break out of the generational mold laid out before our birth and grow into our best selves. Blair, at least, is on her way there, even if she hasn't arrived at her destination yet.

[Han · Rating 3 out of 5]

My opinion for every memoir I read is that I will never not feel uncomfortable rating a memoir. When I rate them, I am not rating the life or experience someone went through, but on the writing and delivery.

Selma Blair is someone I remember seeing growing up as beautiful, and an interesting character in both Cruel Intentions and Legally Blonde. When I saw this memoir, I was first intrigued by the title, and about the girl behind the camera. I was shocked to discover mean baby meant more than I thought it would, and the girl behind the camera has a lot more to her than I initially assumed.

This memoir can get very emotional and not just by the topics brought up, but because the author puts her feelings and tears on the pages (and if you are listening to the memoir, she cries while reading certain paragraphs many times).

There are many plot points that end up only semi-resolved or are unresolved, but that is very real because a lot of moments and points in your life will end up just the same. It’s reality.

There are a lot of celebrity friendships and name drops I loved to see which were Kate Moss, Britney Spears, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Reese Witherspoon, Drew Barrymore, and many more.

My overall issues with the writing for this book is because of the continuous repetition and because the timeline is very confusing. To be honest this is her life story, but moments felt more like page fillers than anything else. The timeline didn’t need to be linear, but the time skipping was so often that I had no idea where we were often.

My heart truly goes out to Selma Blair for all her suffering whether medical, reputation wise, addiction wise, relationship wise, etc. She is still so lively, spunky and caring. She is very loving and is loved by those who surround her and support her.

P.s. I promise I do not mean this in a negative way, but the author herself points out that she is a cancer, and I love it because if you know or understand even a little about zodiacs, you can tell.

Would I recommend this and to who:
Yes and no - only to fans of memoirs and audiobooks
Paperback/Hardcover/Audiobook/E-book:
Audiobook
How did I discover this:
Libby!!
Pace:
Medium

Quotes:
“Every person on this earth needs just one person who sees them and roots for them. Deeply, truly. One person. It's what we all need to get through. The more the merrier but let's start with one.”

“Books also taught me how to notice things, how a moment can be a whole story.”

“That’s life. It’ll blindside you, that thing you didn’t know about. Especially when it’s been there all along.”

“Someone once told me that grief is love you can no longer express.”

Triggers:
Addiction, Death, Chronic illness, Rape, Sexual Assault and Harassment, Suicide attempt, Self-Harming, Mental illness, Eating disorder, Medical content, Grief, Toxic Relationships, Ableism, Animal death, Abuse, Swearing, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Body Shaming, Injury, etc.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook ..
I am not a huge fan of Selma’s as I’ve never really seen many movies of hers, but i was interested in her life growing up nearby in Southfield, MI and also because of her MS struggle.
This book is about her youth and family, her friends and romances as a young adult and coming to fame, her struggle with alcoholism and rehab, her pregnancy and postpartum difficulties with her son Arthur.
Very interesting… but, her crying tone to her voice came and left so quickly in so many spots that it kind of got irritating 😅
I enjoyed it overall.

[Rachel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I felt like there was not enough connective tissue here. She skips around between topics and timelines and doesn’t flesh out some throwaway anecdotes she buries in other stories. Why include them at all?

I also felt like there wasn’t a ton of introspection. Just one example of many—Her repeated discussion about how her family was modest, her mom “had” to work, simple steak dinners etc was at odds with her tales of getting a Burberry coat in the second grade and her mother’s incredible wardrobe. Maybe her mom wasn’t buying clothes every day and bought them to last but she was also spending thousands on each item. Maybe they were the poorest family in a wealthy community but they clearly had a lot of money. Or if they really were middle class, did her mother not actually have that wardrobe?

A lot of her stories didn’t make a lot of sense when you really thought about them. She does seem to have had a difficult life so maybe she doesn’t remember them clearly and doesn’t realize that they don’t add up? I would have hoped an editor could had helped her.

[Nina (ninjasbooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another star I knew nothing about, even if I’ve seen her on the TV. Well-written and interesting.

[Jess Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really, really wanted to like this book - and this person. I, too, have MS and was thankful to have awareness for the very strange disorder that it is. Honestly, the only reason I stuck with the audiobook through her frequent and seemingly melodramatic crying jags to the end was in the hopes that there would eventually be some self-actualization as she moved into motherhood and grappling with her diagnosis.

There’s some. I honestly found the parts where she talked about the value she gets from alcohol abstinence and her recovery lovely and moving. Unfortunately, the rest of this just read to me as a bratty kid who has grown up into an only slightly less bratty adult.

To be fair, this was not a person with an easy life - her mother was truly toxic, but in a way that Selma doesn’t seem to yet really understand and instead idolizes. She was the victim of multiple sexual assaults and has a severe chronic illness that went decades without diagnosis. A lot of grace is deserved.

But there’s just not much *to* her. She seems mostly to value things that are seen as traditionally “beautiful” - couture, Saarinen design, a “strong red lip,” thinness, the $1000 Burberry coat her mother bought her as a child - and is unapologetic about the idea that things or people who aren’t expensive or beautiful are unimportant. Even her closest friendships seem based on how much those people delight in her and further her career or opportunities - Lagerfeld, Carrie Fisher - not, seemingly - in a real connection or give and take.

She keeps begging in the book for people to see her, but I’m not sure there’s a lot to see. She seems totally unaware even into adulthood of how her actions affect those around her - who BITES people?!?! Who goes a month beyond a due date before seeking medical care?!? And she’s blissfully unaware of her privileges from childhood through adulthood. Even her role as an MS “advocate” seems flimsy - she’s done a lot of interviews about her own experiences, but she doesn’t seem to translate that into tangible service or advocacy for anyone other than herself.

I’m of the firm opinion that no one owes us their stories. Her stories are hers to tell and she has every right to include what is most meaningful to her, whether they are insightful or shallow, demonstrate growth or simply growing up. What I don’t quite understand from this book is why any of us should care.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book ultimately left me feeling kind of frustrated. I enjoy Selma as an actress, and love that she is a voice for MS. However, the important sections of this book (the kind of emotional abuse by her mother and her dealings with MS and alcoholism) weren't really expanded upon, and the less important bits (odd anecdotes about boyfriends and friends and directors) took up so many pages without really saying anything. I also feel like she really struggled to admit how privileged her upbringing was. When your mom spends a thousand dollars on a Burberry coat for you, that's an enormous privilege.
This book also ends up being so anecdotal that it would perhaps be better advertised as an autobiography rather than a memoir, which implies a stronger focus on a particular topic.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fine but not a memoir I enjoyed or would recommend.

I’m not going to sit here and call Selma Blair a liar or tell her that her memory of her life and experiences are invalid. But as a reader, the order and disjointed way these stories are told made it very difficult to keep a hold on what was actually happening. There’s so much back and forth in the timeline that I was just left confused.

Again, I’m not going to tell another person how they should feel, but I will say that as a famous person (who I’m sure many people look up to) she has an obligation to set a certain example. Reading this book it is pretty obvious that her mother was not a nice person. The comments she made to Selma all throughout her life were toxic and harmful and perpetuated unhealthy body image and self esteem. And (unless I missed it) there wasn’t really any reflection on that. There was no real “my mother treated me this way and it was harmful and to those reading, it is harmful if your mother treats you this way”. It was almost like, my moms a monster but that’s just mom.

Self reflection was a big thing that I felt lacked. She tells many stories about meeting all these high profile people (side note: the name dropping in this book was so over the top and redundant that it became nails on a chalk board). Anyway, she told many stories about when meeting all these celebrities, she would bite them. Literally BITE THEM: on the hand or the shoulder or the fingers. And she chalked it up to being a quirky person who liked to just test her limits with others. And it wasn’t until Kate Moss (or Sienna Miller) bit her back that made her realize that she should stop doing that. Like, WHAT? That’s so bizarre.

Now, if I haven’t already offended you with this critique up to this point, I probably will now. I listened to the audiobook (thanks to Penguin Random House audio for the complimentary audiobook) and it is narrated by Selma Blair herself. I absolutely love listening to memoirs by the author. It’s my favorite thing…however.
Selma often was overcome with emotion and cried while reading certain passages..makes total sense. What was off-putting though was how OFTEN it happened and the absolute jarring emotional flip would happen in the sentences that followed. (I hope I’m explaining this well). She is would go from reading calm and level to high pitched screeching to completely monotone in the span of a few sentences. Jarring.

[Rachael · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars

I enjoyed this book immensely at the beginning and reading about Selma Blair's childhood. I found when she got to Hollywood, it got dull and became a little bit of a name dropping game. I do appreciate Selma for opening up, talking about her issues and her disease.

May be worth a read if you are a fan.

[Emilie Sommer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just great — smart and sharp, funny and tender, honest and searing. A firecracker of a memoir.

[Lauren Hopkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

God DAMN. Celeb memoirs are hit or miss for me, and usually more on the miss side if I'm not especially infatuated with someone, but this blew almost every other memoir out of the water. The biggest issue I'm sure people would have is that the timeline isn't linear and there's a lot of jumping around within various stages of her life – it's not like, in 1980 I did this, then here's where I was in 1981, but instead it's like, here are a bunch of stories from around the middle and high school period, and here are a bunch of stories of when I was in NYC, and so on. People have complained about this, and I get that it can be confusing if you're trying to track what projects she's doing or who she's dating at various stages, but I think the chaos of how it's presented matches the chaos of her life, and of most lives. It's so well-written and insightful and darkly real, and sharing things in the order of how she makes sense of them is so much better than "then this happened, then this, then this." As the only person in the world who watched Zoe, Duncan, Jack, and Jane (and launched "the first unofficial fan site" on Geocities the day it premiered in January 1999), I've always loved Selma as this quirky lovable mess in almost everything I've seen her do (she was in "Portlandia" for like 1 minute and remains a highlight of the entire series for me), so to read about everything else she had going on in her life, in her brain, and in her body was fascinating and devastating. I also loved that I connected with so many little things (like reading "Stick Figure" as a how-to guide, and seeing a wildly inappropriate movie at a very young age that made me think about death and only death for the literal rest of my life) because I think the whole point of telling stories is to connect with other people who might otherwise feel alone. She's excellent at that, and even the wildest, most Hollywood aspects of her life and of her book still have deeper meaning that almost anyone can relate to.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

As someone with MS, I was really looking forward to this book. Unfortunately, I have been left pretty underwhelmed. 75% of this book focused on privilege and an emotionally abusive mother whom she idolized (which was weird AF), 20% focused on her son and alcoholism and then a tiny little 5% briefly talked on MS. I wanted a memoir of someone who experiences similar struggles that I do daily but instead I got a memoir of a rich white girl.

[leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

a candid memoir in which selma blair details her childhood (particularly her relationship with her mother), her career, her relationships, addiction/alcoholism, motherhood, and her MS diagnosis. i saw a few reviews saying the structure of this book feels quite scattered as selma often jumps from story to story and back again, but this makes more sense later in the book when selma explains that her experience with MS has caused some memory issues and how her brain often jumps around with flashes of different memories. i didn’t know much about selma blair apart from her appearances in ‘legally blonde’ and ‘cruel intentions’, so it was interesting to read this and find out more about her and her life.

[Kate - The BookSirens Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s been a tsunami of memoirs this year, and I feel this one was lost somewhere in it. I grew up watching Selma Blair in movies and was aware of her MS diagnosis. However, it’s heartening to read about all the other issues she faced growing up. Credit certainly goes to her for opening up about her life and being honest. Although I read the book, I believe she’s read the audiobook herself.

[Alex (novelswithalex) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Edit: the Islamophobic comments she has made recently are so hateful, I can’t in good conscience recommend this book. Below is my original review from 2022. I don’t stand by it anymore, but I want to leave it up just so goodreads knows I did read the book.

This has to be one of the best memoirs I’ve read this year hands down. It was so emotional and brutally honest. Selma holds absolutely nothing back, and getting to hear her narrate it brought everything to life. This is a memoir you should be required to listen to. She narrates it with such intensity and depth of emotion, you can’t help cry with her when she cries. I wouldn’t have rated this, but because she has wanted to write and be an author all of her life, I felt like it was only fair. And she deserves every star in this five star rating, every single one. I feel so honored that I got to hear about the struggles in her life, her ordeal with MS, her pride in being Jewish, and the connection she had with her mother and so many other important people in her life. If you pick up any memoir this year, make it this one.

[Francine Kopun · Rating 3 out of 5]

Selma Blair is a terrific actress whose career should have been so much bigger. She was brilliant in Legally Blonde, but instead of taking off, her career sputtered and died. This book explains why and how. For one thing, she never considered herself to be a lead actress; she always thought of herself as second-string. I wonder, if she had had more belief in herself, had she loved herself more, would things have turned out differently for her? Had she been better looked after as a child; if she had held herself in higher regard, perhaps the MS that may have been present as early as childhood would have been diagnosed sooner and not caused the damage it did? If an adult had looked closely enough to see her suffering, or if she knew she didn’t deserve to be in pain, perhaps she would have insisted on getting medical treatment instead of drowning herself in alcohol to cope. One can’t help feeling sad for Blair, who comes off as personable, wry, bright, kind and forgiving. Until I read this book, I had never heard of a child choosing and pursuing alcoholism in this way. I didn’t know alcoholism could start in childhood.
There are some interesting insights into life in Hollywood, a deeply weird place, but not a lot. Blair may be able to admit her disease means she can’t always make it to the bathroom in time, but she’s not giving up anyone else’s secrets.
Unfortunately, this book reads more like a third draft than a finished product. It doesn’t have momentum, and is a bit disorganized. For example, the timeline shifts often and without a lot of notice, so you’re never sure if you’re reading about 19-year-old Selma or 30-year-old Blair. Editors are important!

[Bon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A heavy and somber book that nevertheless finds silver linings and beautiful moments in a life not as glamorous as being a Hollywood star may suggest.

The audiobook performance of this book is next level. Selma chokes up, becoming audibly upset during emotional passages, and scoffs and laughs through others. It was like a conversation with the reader and I respect the editors leaving these humanizing bits in that might otherwise have been redone.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a weakness for good celebrity autobiographies - and this was a good one. Never claimed to be a big Selma Blair fan or know much about her but I was curious about her journey with MS. Her story/life is interesting, entertaining, and heart wrenching- like most of us. I enjoyed the ride.

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you liked Demi Moore's memoir (which I did...very much!) then there's a good chance you'll enjoy Selma Blair's as well.

I loved listening to Selma tell her life story to me—a story that begins with her unconventional upbringing in Michigan (an alcoholic for much of her life, Selma shares how her road to addiction started with stolen sips of Manischewitz wine at the family's seder at 7) and ends with her at home in Los Angeles, making peace with her MS diagnosis (one that followed years of debilitating symptoms that first began when she was a young girl).

Like Demi, Selma had a crazy complicated relationship with her mother, and every nook and cranny of that relationship is explored in this memoir—as are many of her friendships with Hollywood A-listers. (I loved learning that her and Carrie Fisher were tight IRL!)

My own sister has MS and I was reluctant to read this in fear of it triggering my anxiety about her condition. Instead, I was grateful for the way Blair describes what her days are often like—it made me realize that for people suffering from this incurable disease, sometimes just getting out of bed is the biggest victory of the day (which in turn makes me that much more empathetic toward my sis).

A stellar celebrity memoir if you like your version of the genre served with a main course of "tortured artist" and a side order of A+ celebrity namedropping. Making it even better is the realization you'll have while reading that Selma really had her hand in writing this (unlike some celebs who you can tell rely heavily on their ghost writers).

[Celine]

Oh, how I love to spend time with somebody else and hear their story. I read this through audio, which was narrated by the author and I absolutely recommend the experience.

Sometimes when people spin back and tell their story from the beginning, it can feel cluttered or mismatched. I thought Mean Baby was gorgeously cohesive— and, it should be said, I went on many a cold winter walk, so that I could listen to just 10 more minutes.

[Lindsey Gandhi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prior to reading this I did not know much about Selma Blair. My only connection to her is that we both have MS, so I was intrigued when she wrote a book. Unlike many celebrities, she blames no one for her mistakes in life. She takes full ownership and responsibility. She is flawed and she admits it. I think that makes her not only more attractive but more personable. She is raw and honest.

"It's life changing to be given a diagnosis of MS, or any other chronic disease. Even if you've lived with the symptoms for years, the story now has a name. It has a label. There is language for your experience. The future you imagined for yourself begins to morph before your very eyes. Your plans, even the ones you didn't realize you had, start to look radically different. In a moment, your life divides itself into the before and the after. You realize this body you've inhabited for so many years - this bizarre collection of cells - has turned against you. It's more than a betrayal. You feel trapped, a hostage inside your own skin. You are a stranger to you."

For a long time I've tried to figure out words to describe this beast that is MS. Well said Selma, well said.

[Leslie M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love

[Carrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read a lot of memoir. I love reading what narrative a person wants to tell about themself. I wanted to love this memoir by Selma Blair, as I admire the work she's done as an advocate for Multiple Sclerosis. Unfortunately, I thought this book was terrible. I felt it was contradictory, anecdotal, redundant, attention seeking, and the timelines were not fluid. She doesn't speak much about her work as an actress, outside of significant name dropping, and it definitely didn't feel like she was introspective of her actions throughout. I thought this book may have been written to be an inspiration to those with a similar diagnosis, but she just skims the surface there, and with more anecdotes. I don't doubt that the author worked hard during a difficult time to compose her story, I just felt like it may have been purposely skewed to be presented as a tragic tale, and fell flat overall.

[ᒪᗴᗩᕼ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4¼⭐
NARRATED BY🎙️Selma Blair
NARRATION 📣No one could have read her story better…I’m quite sure…but she does a have an excellent voice for audio😍

(p.s. the baby in the pic is not Selma Blair but she is kind of mean looking…)

Ɱ◎◎ĐႽ…⬧ A Memoir of growing up ⬧ Actress known for Cruel Intentions & Hellboy ⬧ Alcoholism, MS, and being born a mean baby

I found listening to this quite interesting and I even learned a thing or two…so I call that; worthwhile. Selma Blair’s story is comprehensive without feeling bogged down and it felt sincere…even when the truth wasn’t so pretty.

[Cait · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 34 percent. It’s not well written and is so dry at parts that I had to speed up the audiobook to get through it. It’s really just a weird account of a life of privilege with an abusive mother, and it’s a shame because I so love Selma Blair and her fierce disability visibility. Much of this memoir feels contrived and scattered. I may revisit it but for now, it’s not something that interests me and did not stand up to the hype it got from booksellers or media.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up watching Selma Blair in movies but I didn't know much about her. This book details her struggles with depression, alcohol dependence, issues with her parents, relationship problems and her struggle with an invisible illness she discovered was MS. I really enjoyed this book and felt for her. I can relate in many ways and I loved how she spoke about her troubles so beautifully. Would recommend this book to anyone even if you aren't familiar with her.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a little disappointed with this memoir. It kind of goes all over the place and I found it hard to follow. Selma talks a lot about her childhood and then later her struggles in Hollywood, alcohol and drug addictions and finally her physical challenges with MS. Good on audio read by the author (I always appreciate when celebs voice their own memoirs). I also didn't realize she was Jewish so that was an interesting discovery.

[maura · Rating 4 out of 5]

review to come!

[Wyatt]

DNF @ 70%

Didn’t have any inspiration to finish this, and I didn’t connect with the events so it just wasn’t for me. It was still an amazing story worth reading!