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Biography & Autobiography. New Age. Performing Arts. Nonfiction. HTML: The #1 New York Times Bestseller Includes six new songs by Jessica Simpson, available exclusively in the Open Book audiobook. Performed by the author featuring her music throughout. 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. First celebrated for her voice, she became one of the most talked-about women in the world, whether for music and fashion, her relationship struggles, or as a walking blonde joke. But now, instead of being talked about, Jessica is doing the talking. Her book shares the wisdom and inspirations she's learned and shows the real woman behind all the pop-culture cliché's ?? "chicken or fish," "Daisy Duke," "football jinx," "mom jeans," "sexual napalm..." and more. Open Book is an opportunity to laugh and cry with a close friend, one that will inspire you to live your best, most authentic life, now that she is finally living hers. Includes the songs "Heartbeat," "Practice What You Preach," "Sweet Temptation," "Your Fool"(featuring Willie Nelson), "Party of One," and "Free Will" by Jessica Simpson.… (more)
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This book was fantastic and heartbreaking. Prior to reading I'm not sure I'd consider myself a Jessica Simpson fan-- I liked her but didn't have strong feelings about her. Now I am well and truly a fan. She speaks of her upbringing, faith, family,
Open Book lives up to its name. Jessica spills it all: her childhood sexual abuse, her marriage to Lachey, her emotionally abusive relationship to Mayer (who is an even bigger jerk than I thought he was), the hot sex with her current husband Eric Johnson and more. She’s honest about her alcoholism, which I didn’t even know about. The only thing I didn’t like about this book is that she regularly breaks the fourth wall and addresses the reader in a way that sounds cheesy and a bit insincere. Overall, this is the kind of celebrity memoir I love – honest, dishy and detailed.
As someone who speaks her truth, I applaud anyone else who does the same. Being a celebrity can’t be easy, and being one who reveals untold truths takes it to another level altogether. While I applaud Jessica for revealing unflattering things about herself and her past, this memoir came across as more troubling than honest to me.
Jessica is a very successful celebrity and entrepreneur, and tries to portray herself as a “regular country gal” and “humble”, yet her privilege shines as she mentions ad nauseam about how much her company has made and how many lavish trips she has taken. She hires a nanny for her children. She had two extravagant weddings with designer gowns. After an intervention for her alcoholism, her team arranges for her to immediately have a private doctor make a house call. I am in no way dismissing Jessica’s desire to get better, but other celebrities have entered rehab clinics, and this is a service that just doesn’t apply to normal people struggling with addiction. Jessica actually “just decides to stop drinking” and considers herself cured, which sounds problematic in of itself. Jessica does mention giving to charities and attending events for the troops overseas, but it does little to dilute the rampant privilege in her life. She also talks her husband Eric out of his dream job because “she doesn’t have her GED and started her own billion dollar company” so he should “just hire someone from that school to do the work for him”. Seriously?
I also had an issue with her talk about body image. Jessica endures cruel commentary on her body image from a young age, which increases once she becomes a star. When Jessica is in her twenties, she becomes more confident and often defends her body image to critics and implores her female readers & fans to do the same, which is admirable. But later we learn that she has had two tummy tucks, and also accepted an offer from weight watchers to help get rid of her baby weight. After reading so much about her pleas to accept oneself, it was a cruel hypocrisy for her to submit to these procedures instead of choosing to love herself as she was, while continually imploring her readers to “love the skin you’re in”.
I do feel sorry for the trauma that Jessica had to endure when she was younger, and the issues that she faced with men like Nick Lachey and John Mayer, and especially her father. But I feel like she was holding things back throughout the book. I also know that Jessica is a Christian, but many parts of the book came across as too preachy for my tastes.