Publishers Weekly
03/23/2020
Singer and reality TV star Simpson holds nothing back in this earnest and entertaining memoir. She tells of growing up in 1980s Texas where she was sexually abused by the daughter of a family friend, and of unsuccessfully auditioning for the Mickey Mouse Club at age 13 with Justin Timberlake and Ryan Gosling before going on to sign a record deal with Columbia and marrying 98 Degrees member Nick Lachey. Along the way, she details the struggles in her life, such as the pressure to support her family as a teenager, divorcing Lachey, enduring what she describes as an emotionally abusive relationship with musician John Mayer, being body-shamed in an overly appearance-centered industry, and going through bouts of heavy drinking. But Simpson ends on a positive note, discussing her billion-dollar apparel line and marriage with professional football star Eric Johnson, with whom she has three children. Her positive attitude is infectious and will have readers rooting for her as if she were a good friend. Simpson’s candid and thoroughly engaging story will appeal to her fans and beyond. (Feb.) Correction: An earlier version of this review incorrectly stated Simpson was sexually abused by a friend's sister, rather than the daughter of a family friend.
From the Publisher
"Achingly honest. . . [Open Book] is a thoughtful and intimate portrait of what it means to be a celebrity, and Simpson is unafraid to share the sometimes harrowing truths that often go undiscussed." — Time magazine
"Mesmerizing. . . In 2017, something awoke in Simpson. She can speak honestly now. Is there anything else she wants to say?" — The New Yorker
Open Book explains what happened. . . It just feels nice that one of the pop stars from our teendom has delivered on the twenty-year-old promise they're just like us." — New York Times
In her honest new memoir, Jessica Simpson strips away the glamour associated with the blond hair, the clothing empire, and the early 2000s radio hits. . . You'll see Jessica Simpson at her most authentic, relatable, and, yes, intelligent. — Glamour
Powerful. — People
memoir that spares no one, not even herself. . . Simpson breaks open the dam that is her personal history and the gossip surrounding her life, from the sexual abuse she experienced as a child to her alcohol addiction. — Los Angeles Times
You may think you know Jessica Simpson. . . but it turns out there was a whole lot more going on than any of us knew. [Open Book] is a raw look into the lesser-known troubled side of her life, and how she still manages to see the positive side of everything. — Cosmopolitan
I kind of feel like we all owe her an apology. — Ronan Farrow
Captivating. . . In Open Book, Simpson's interior life is accessible and far more complex than her public performance as a relatable pp star. — Jezebel
Her excellent memoir is everything you could want. . . By the end, you marvel at her hard-won wisdom. — Rolling Stone
Written with considerable hindsight. . . so revealing. — Buzzfeed
Jessica Simpson gets very real. — Refinery 29
A no-holds-barred memoir. . . A journey through the thirty-nine-year-old's most challenging moments. — O, the Oprah Magazine
The singer, actress, and entrepreneur reveals struggles her fans never knew about. Simpson shares her truth like never before. — TODAY
[Simpson] makes a point of reflecting on her mistakes but is cognizant of the pressures and expectations that other put on her. — Washington Post
She's honest, genuine, unabashedly vulnerable, and she exhibits the same qualities in her writing. — Hoda Kotb, excerpt from NYT bestseller This Just Speaks to Me
Simpson's memoir contains plenty of personal and professional moments for fans to savor. An eye-opening glimpse into the attempted self-unmaking of one of Hollywood's most recognizable talents. — Kirkus Reviews
Jezebel
Captivating. . . In Open Book, Simpson's interior life is accessible and far more complex than her public performance as a relatable pp star.
|Los Angeles Times
memoir that spares no one, not even herself. . . Simpson breaks open the dam that is her personal history and the gossip surrounding her life, from the sexual abuse she experienced as a child to her alcohol addiction.
Ronan Farrow
I kind of feel like we all owe her an apology.
New York Times
Open Book explains what happened. . . It just feels nice that one of the pop stars from our teendom has delivered on the twenty-year-old promise they're just like us."
Glamour
In her honest new memoir, Jessica Simpson strips away the glamour associated with the blond hair, the clothing empire, and the early 2000s radio hits. . . You'll see Jessica Simpson at her most authentic, relatable, and, yes, intelligent.
The New Yorker
"Mesmerizing. . . In 2017, something awoke in Simpson. She can speak honestly now. Is there anything else she wants to say?"
Cosmopolitan
You may think you know Jessica Simpson. . . but it turns out there was a whole lot more going on than any of us knew. [Open Book] is a raw look into the lesser-known troubled side of her life, and how she still manages to see the positive side of everything.
Time magazine
"Achingly honest. . . [Open Book] is a thoughtful and intimate portrait of what it means to be a celebrity, and Simpson is unafraid to share the sometimes harrowing truths that often go undiscussed."
Rolling Stone
Her excellent memoir is everything you could want. . . By the end, you marvel at her hard-won wisdom.
People
Powerful.
Los Angeles Times
memoir that spares no one, not even herself. . . Simpson breaks open the dam that is her personal history and the gossip surrounding her life, from the sexual abuse she experienced as a child to her alcohol addiction.
The New Yorker
"Mesmerizing. . . In 2017, something awoke in Simpson. She can speak honestly now. Is there anything else she wants to say?"
Washington Post
[Simpson] makes a point of reflecting on her mistakes but is cognizant of the pressures and expectations that other put on her.
Hoda Kotb
She's honest, genuine, unabashedly vulnerable, and she exhibits the same qualities in her writing.
Buzzfeed
Written with considerable hindsight. . . so revealing.
TODAY
The singer, actress, and entrepreneur reveals struggles her fans never knew about. Simpson shares her truth like never before.
Refinery 29
Jessica Simpson gets very real.
the Oprah Magazine O
A no-holds-barred memoir. . . A journey through the thirty-nine-year-old's most challenging moments.
Washington Post
[Simpson] makes a point of reflecting on her mistakes but is cognizant of the pressures and expectations that other put on her.
Kirkus Reviews
2020-02-16
The debut memoir from the pop and fashion star.
Early on, Simpson describes the book she didn’t write: “a motivational manual telling you how to live your best life.” Though having committed to the lucrative deal years before, she “walked away,” fearing any sort of self-help advice she might give would be hypocritical. Outwardly, Simpson was at the peak of her success, with her fashion line generating “one billion dollars in annual sales.” However, anxiety was getting the better of her, and she admits she’d become a “feelings addict,” just needing “enough noise to distract me from the pain I’d been avoiding since childhood. The demons of traumatic abuse that refused to let me sleep at night—Tylenol PM at age twelve, red wine and Ambien as a grown, scared woman. Those same demons who perched on my shoulder, and when they saw a man as dark as them, leaned in to my ear to whisper, ‘Just give him your light. See if it saves him…’ ” On Halloween 2017, Simpson hit rock bottom, and, with the intervention of her devoted friends and husband, began to address her addictions and underlying fears. In this readable but overlong narrative, the author traces her childhood as a Baptist preacher’s daughter moving 18 times before she “hit fifth grade,” and follows her remarkable rise to fame as a singer. She reveals the psychological trauma resulting from years of sexual abuse by a family friend, experiences that drew her repeatedly into bad relationships with men, most publicly with ex-husband Nick Lachey. Admitting that she was attracted to the validating power of an audience, Simpson analyzes how her failings and triumphs have enabled her to take control of her life, even as she was hounded by the press and various music and movie executives about her weight. Simpson’s memoir contains plenty of personal and professional moments for fans to savor.
An eye-opening glimpse into the attempted self-unmaking of one of Hollywood’s most recognizable talents.
