Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Paris: The Memoir bonus chapter by Paris Hilton

263 reviews

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Writing: was good enough to keep me intrigued; there was a conversational tone to it that also has moments of fact/research too. If you don't like the way Paris talks, well, you're probably not going to fully enjoy. It's not a work of literary genius dripping with wonderful prose...but it's written well enough that you can get by.

Content: a large chunk covers her journey through the troubled teen schools, but also her life and relationships before as well as after. Candidly talks about the abuse she suffered and multiple times her trust was violated. 

Thoughts: ever since I saw her documentary I've been wanting to know more about her as a person. I am 100% guilty of judging her when I was growing up. I was only exposed to her from around The Simple Life, and looked down on her. Her documentary really opened my eyes and made me look at her in a new light. But after reading and understanding her experience, I'm even more empathetic. We all unknowingly participated in the degradation of young womxn during the 2000s, and it was our go to method to tear someone down, belittle, take away agency etc. I'm really glad she framed the bad girls of the 2000s in this way. She really focused on herself in this book so if you're looking for dirt on Kim, Nicole Richie, Nicky...this jus ain't it. This wasn't so much about exposing Hollywood/fame as it was someone confronting their past to heal, grow, and try to help others. She does acknowledge she came from extreme privilege, and doesn't apologize for it. Her takeaway is that she took what she was given, fought for her life, and made it grow: aka she works hard to build and maintain her empire. It came off much more authentic than Kendall Jenner's claim to organically working hard enough to become a model and ignoring the Jenner-Kardashian privilege.

Of course this is a capitalist wet dream. Everything is abt gaining more wealth (though she explains why). Very materialistic. It showcased the white privilege and Orientalism when she described others as "exotic". 

Overall, I'm glad i read it. If you like her, you'll feel warm and light reading it, and you'll love it. If your indifferent towards her, you'll be surprised and likely learn a lot you never knew. If you hate her, you'll learn what different forms of abuse and trauma can do to a person despite them having it all. 

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I barely have words for the horrors in this woman’s life. It was, quite frankly, extremely difficult to keep listening to her talk about it. I had to take a lot of breaks and I cried a lot. This will stay with me for a very long time. Please,  please, please check the content warnings.

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5⭐

Wow. I'm not going to lie, I came into this fully prepared for my opinions to be quashed - but I was not expecting this - AT ALL. I really knew nothing about Paris Hilton's life outside of what I saw in the Dolly and Girlfriend magazines that I read a as teenager or The Simple Life. So mostly fashion and fun. But this girl has been <i>through it</i>. And she still manages to keep her head help high and encourage other young women to be their best selves. I have a new found respect for this woman. 

100% recommend this to anyone willing to challenge any preconceived notions you have. 

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Whenever I mention I listened to this book people ask me "Why?" and I suppose that is a fair question for any book and particularly memoir. What I love about memoirs is the window into someone else's world and what would be the point of only choosing people we know and like as point of view to listen to. So I chose to listen to the memoir of someone I had quite frankly discounted in my youth base solely on media portrayal... and I am so glad I didn't discount this memoir too. Paris is so raw about her childhood and how it affected her, and about how she played a role to cover her trauma (something many of us can relate to on some level). I urge you to consider reading this and any memoir of those you've previously discounted. It's worth it. 

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Worst parts of the book: when Paris goes on about her husband and crypto and NFTs 

Best parts of the book: all the rest 

I’ve always loved Paris Hilton (even bought her first book when I was a little kid lol), so obv I’m biased. The book is a fun/sometimes shameful look back on the 2000s, a nice update on her current life, and a scary account of her survival from troubled teen camps. If you are sensitive to child/sexual abuse this book may not be for you. 

 

If you’re the kind of person who thinks Paris Hilton is boring, has nothing to say, or is an airhead… this book is for you. People are so much more multi-faceted than we give them credit for. Especially when those people are 2000s female celebs who got dragged to hell and back by paparazzi and public opinion. 


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