Reviews - Paris: Mein Leben | Die Autobiografie - Die Ikone der 2000er packt aus

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Paris: Mein Leben | Die Autobiografie - Die Ikone der 2000er packt aus

I’ve never seen an episode of The Simple Life, bought a Paris Hilton product, or followed her on social media, but like most people, I know who she is. Or at least I thought I did.

Paris really opens up in her memoir and talks about some very private and difficult topics. A large part of the book describes her time at Provo Canyon, a boarding facility for “troubled teens,” where she was abused mentally, sexually and physically. The fact that she survived this place and turned out as well as she did is amazing. This entire section of the book was extremely hard to read and I wanted to skip over it, but knowing that places like this still exist is so important and eye-opening.

It’s not all dark and intense though. There is plenty of name-dropping and funny stories from her childhood and early 20’s when she was at the height of her fame. She also tells the story in such a relaxed manner, interjecting random thoughts like she’s telling the story right to you.

Overall, I think this was a great memoir. She lets herself be vulnerable and tell her story, regardless of how hard it may be to read. Even if you know next to nothing about Paris, I recommend reading, or even better- listen to the audiobook read by Paris herself. She may surprise you.

emmaj_xo's review against another edition

2.0

Paris opens her memoir by speaking candidly about her ADHD diagnosis before getting distracted to talk about something else and circling back to her point. This somewhat meta narrative device that is used frequently throughout and though it’s a helpful way for Paris to demonstrate what it’s like in her mind. However, it’s sometimes infuriating when she talks about something she mentioned chapters ago as if it’s new information.

The chapters about her abuse at the troubled teen institutions are truly harrowing and I’m sure many will thank Paris for bringing attention to the horrific practices taking place there. These chapters are far more focused and detailed than the rest of the book. Elsewhere, vague statements litter the text.

I’m not sure how Paris is trying to present herself in this memoir. She positions herself as a mature business woman - listening to her talk about NFTs is like listening to an MLM influencer, and she even promotes her husband’s business advice book. She quotes Jesus and The Secret and gives vague spiritual life advice. But she lacks the maturity to take full accountability for some of her scandals. She’s even gleeful at the suicide of a blackmailer “karma’s a bitch” which left a bad taste in my mouth.

Most readers would likely get more out of her recent documentaries than the memoir itself.

brendaclay's review against another edition

4.0

This was much better than I expected!

duudinjaa's review against another edition

5.0

Very disturbing, heavy, emotional read. Also lots of fun and love included.

voodoocactus's review against another edition

emotional informative sad fast-paced

This book is such a peculiar mix of casual nepo-babiness, name-dropping, unbelievably rich people’s shenanigans, casual cruelty, and appallingly traumatizing experiences. Paris embraces her ADHD to the fullest which means the text jumps around and runs off at times but mostly comes back to the coherent narrative. At times the constant partying and traveling and name-dropping gets exhausting but that’s just her life.

As a literary product, this is mediocre at best. But as Paris’s story…sheesh. Fuck. It’s a minor miracle she’s still alive and functional.

While I’m not that into her mottos and can’t say I relate to her in any way, these parting words in the last pages hit pretty hard:

I know we’re supposed to spin terrible things to make it sound like they were actually good, but that’s bullshit. That heart attack did not save your life. Cancer is not a gift. Your abuser did not give you strength. Terrible things are terrible. Let’s just acknowledge it. If you found strength, wisdom, or a new way of thinking, that’s awesome, but notice that the strength, wisdom, and new worldview came out of you, which means it was all there inside you to begin with.