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Publisher’s Description for Open Book, by Jessica Simpson:
Jessica reveals for the first time her inner monologue and most intimate struggles. Guided by the journals she's kept since age fifteen, and brimming with her unique humor and down-to-earth humanity, Open Book is as inspiring as it is entertaining.
This was supposed to be a very different book. Five years ago, Jessica Simpson was approached to write a motivational guide to living your best life. She walked away from the offer, and nobody understood why. The truth is that she didn’t want to lie.
Jessica couldn’t be authentic with her readers if she wasn’t fully honest with herself first.
Now, America’s Sweetheart, preacher’s daughter, pop phenomenon, reality tv pioneer, and the billion-dollar fashion mogul invites readers on a remarkable journey, examining a life that blessed her with the compassion to help others but also burdened her with an almost crippling need to please. Open Book is Jessica Simpson using her voice, heart, soul, and humor to share things she’s never shared before.
*****
Okay, WHAT. This book is the surprise of the year for me! Jessica Simpson’s memoir is brutally honest, beautifully touching, and surprising in its relatability and content. Sexual abuse, alcoholism, and the truth behind Newlyweds: she holds nothing back. I want to be her friend and also go back in time and physically remove John Mayer from her life. I found her to be so compelling and genuine, and I spent the first 90 or so minutes listening to this with a lump in my throat. She knows the value of being honest and sharing her stories, and she is here to sit with you in her truth, no matter how ugly. This is going down as one of my top favorite audiobooks of all time (along with Michelle Obama’s memoir). Listening to her read her words and tell her own story adds such a layer or richness you can’t get through any other experience. It does feel like sitting down with an old friend, particularly if you, like me, are about the same age as Jessica and vividly remember the world’s love affair with Newlyweds, is-this-chicken-what-I-have-or-is-this-fish, Daisy Duke, and her exceptional lip glosses. (If she brings them back, I am buying one immediately for my 24-year-old self who couldn’t afford them when they came out.) Cannot recommend Jessica Simpson’s memoir enough—don’t miss this one.