Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Mean Baby: A Memoir of Growing Up

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Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Mean Baby: A Memoir of Growing Up by Selma Blair

28 reviews

elsbookish's review against another edition

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slow-paced

3.0

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tiredtori's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad slow-paced

3.0

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pagelikebooks's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

Originally posted on Library Journal on 5/20/22.

Thanks LJ for the advanced copy!

"Actress Blair (Cruel Intentions; Legally Blonde) candidly recounts the events of her life with refreshing honesty. She tells of her struggle with alcohol addiction, the love and loss she has endured, and reflects on her multiple sclerosis diagnosis. Never far from the foreground is Blair’s relationship with her mother. She approaches this complicated relationship with love, admiration, and the 20/20 vision only hindsight can bring. The stories Blair recalls are hilarious and heart-wrenching in equal measure. In one moment, she discusses biting Seth MacFarlane on the hand, and in the next, she brings readers to tears while talking about her experiences with grief. Blair writes in blunt, witty prose, making this book hard to put down. Fans of her film work will love the behind-the-scenes look at some of her various Hollywood roles.

VERDICT This memoir is witty, funny, heartbreaking, and beautifully written. This book will be loved by fans of Blair’s work and of her MS advocacy."

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bgoodbookclub's review

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challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

5.0

I am jealous that if I ever write a memoir, my title will not be as good as this title. Also y'all KNOW I love a memoir that is narrated by the author.

I will always be appalled by how difficult it is to get a diagnosis for women and how doctors don’t believe or listen to symptoms. This book is a great narrative of having an “invisible” disability and how long it can take to get diagnosed with one. I also think it is a great story that displays the ways individuals deal with their symptoms while trying to find a name for what they’re experiencing.

I don't think I've ever listened to an audiobook where the narrator gets emotional when reading it, but it really held a lot of weight in this story. This book covers a lot of heavy topics and Blair's emotions are clear in her narration.

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nonfictionfeminist's review against another edition

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emotional slow-paced

3.0

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.

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danielletullos's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

4.25

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bookbunny's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

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pathologicalreader's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective fast-paced

3.5

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