The Lure of the Celebrity Memoir
In the past year alone an explosion of celebrity memoirs has hit the market. Per. CNN.com, the pandemic, and subsequent lockdowns afforded everyone – especially celebrities – time to reflect on their lives. Viola Davis, Jennette McCurdy, Matthew Perry (R.I.P.), Constance Wu, Jennifer Grey, John Stamos, Paris Hilton, Barbra Streisand, Henry Winkler, Patrick Stewart, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Prince Harry, and Britney Spears all wrote (some with the help of a good ghostwriter) memoirs recently. And those are just the ones I remember, I’m sure there are others I’m forgetting.
Why do we, the buying public, keep purchasing them? For me, it’s often several different factors. A chance to learn about a person and some piece of history along the way; see Becoming by Michelle Obama (I wanted this to be longer, seems like the White House years were a bit rushed) and A Promised Land by Barack Obama (I wanted this to be shorter, his writing style is a bit dry).
What else attracts me to these books?
Word of mouth: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy, Educated by Tara Westover, and Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan (I know that’s a picture of her other book, The Great Pretender, but I couldn’t find my copy of Brain on Fire 😊).
Social media gossip: The Woman in Me by Britney Spears and I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
The cover/title: I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy (seriously how can one look at the book cover and not be intrigued?)
I’m a fan: Rememberings by Sinead O’Connor (R.I.P.) and Taste by Stanley Tucci (don’t read this when you’re hungry).
In my opinion, Taste by Stanley Tucci is one of the rare memoirs that has universal appeal. Yes, he talks about his life and career, but he did it through food. Who can’t relate to a story wrapped around the memory of food? Think of your favorite food as a child. How many times did you eat it growing up? What kinds of memories come to mind?
However, the celebrity memoir that sticks out the most for me is I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy. If this book had a different title and cover, I probably wouldn’t have bothered to read it. I was well past the target demo when she starred on iCarly. I wasn’t a member of her fanbase. But look at that cover, you just know there is a story there. I seriously wonder what the cover meetings were like for this book. Was there pushback on the cover or title? Why is she smiling while holding an urn? Why is she glad her mom died? Is she really glad her mom died? After reading her book, I don’t think Jennette is glad her mother died. I think she’s glad she got to take her power back from a controlling and abusive person.
I didn’t realize how much of an interest I have in books like this until I started looking through my bookshelves.
I still have quite a healthy stack to get through. How about everyone else? What are some of your favorites?
Other non-fiction reads I recommend:
Invisible Child by Andrea Elliott: A comprehensive look at one child’s life, as she comes of age amid poverty, hunger, drug addiction, and homelessness. The author wrote a series of articles for the New York Times about one family’s struggles and how it impacted one of the children—resulting in a sad, and at times frustrating, portrait of life.
Blood in the Water by Heather Ann Thompson: I wasn’t alive during the Attica prison uprising, but I’ve seen a couple of documentaries that made me want to learn more. This book was a full look at everything that led up to the riots, the eye-rolling aftermath, and the subsequent lawsuits.
Upcoming posts:
Throwback Thursday – Lost recap #3, covering episodes five and six of season 1. Finally, we get to know more about Sun (episode six). I forgot most of Sun’s backstory, but I do remember the tear-jerker ending.