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beeshep's review against another edition
2.0
When I first got this book, I just wanted to know more of the story that startled the world a few years back. I do not really know what I expected, but this was not that in the least. It was an interesting story of a woman who lost her way and is now looking back on that and seeing the mental disease she did not know that she had before. I guess I did not expect much but for blaming the whole episode on her Bipolar Personality disorder, but the fact that she writes of her discover in a couple paragraphs at the end is what is disheartening. She had no problem discussing how she was an escort for so long but when it came to her actual discovery of her disorder, she summed it up and being diagnosed a few months later in one sentence.
Overall, the book was not well written and I do not fully understand her purpose in writing the book. It did not feel like an explanation or excuses or anything like that and although she did say she was trying to help people, I feel like that expression could have been better achieved through more discussion of how that found out she was Bipolar. At the end of the day, not a satisfying read.
Overall, the book was not well written and I do not fully understand her purpose in writing the book. It did not feel like an explanation or excuses or anything like that and although she did say she was trying to help people, I feel like that expression could have been better achieved through more discussion of how that found out she was Bipolar. At the end of the day, not a satisfying read.
denakg's review
3.0
This book definitely kept my interest. However I was expecting more detail about her diagnosis and treatment. That was relegated to a short epilogue. The book detailed all of her symptoms and the salacious details but that’s it. I think several doctors failed her along the way. I think her husband failed her by going along with this idea to be an escort. As a matter of fact I can’t wrap my brain around why he enabled her!
grandma_fix's review
4.0
Very interesting...mental illness affects so many. Suzy is lucky she had an amazing support system like her husband.
juliemsimons's review
3.0
It is a compelling story but also a disturbing one. Being a practicing psychotherapist for over 20 years, I suspect that there is another layer of mental illness beyond Bipolar Disorder that adds to both the complication and the fascination of this tell-all. One example is her seeming ability to compartmentalize her mental illness and the obvious chasm in her personality. Throughout the narrative there is evidence of fragmented and at times contradictory thoughts. Though I support the effort to bring light to the stigma of mental illness and Bipolar Disorder, the book itself did not seem consistent with that intent and in the end I was left slightly baffled and unnerved.
hmonkeyreads's review
1.0
This book is sad and frustrating and ridiculous. The first part is about Suzy Favor Hamilton's running career and it is very sad to see the pressure she felt and it's frustrating to see how she just let her mind get in the way of her physical capabilities. But that's neither here nor there. The real meat of this book is to show you how off the rails her life went in the second half of the book.
Let me first say that mental illness is real and I'm sure things like this might happen to people but her story is just too much for me to swallow. Her physician didn't notice this off the charts behavior? Her husband was totally OK with his previously "good girl" wife just deciding to head of to Vegas constantly to sleep with escorts and then become one? He didn't find this upsetting or strange or worth talking to somebody about? He didn't think it was self destructive? His only comments are "it might mess up the taxes" and "you spend too much on hotels". Infuriating! Her own story is totally unbelievable. Of course it was super easy to become a "high end" escort. Of course she got all the best clients right off the bat. Of course she had no trouble at all and instantly became the "all time favorite" of every man she was with and of course they were all handsome, rich and nice.
Plus, when it all comes crashing down it's like this big thing like she's super famous. I love the Olympics and I'm obsessed with running and I don't even know who she is! I mean telling the one guy "you'll know who I am soon enough" or whatever. If she was all that famous they'd know her from looking at her. Geez.
SHe claims that this book is all about trying to send a positive message about bipolar but it is not that. Not one bit. In my opinion this is a total money grab -- she's been exposed she might as well make a quick buck spilling some sex stories. She explains herself that even when she was on Prozac and theoretically under control she was completely useless as an adult. Every job was too hard, too stressful. Anyone who wanted her to behave like a grown up was against her and had unrealistic expectations.
Let me first say that mental illness is real and I'm sure things like this might happen to people but her story is just too much for me to swallow. Her physician didn't notice this off the charts behavior? Her husband was totally OK with his previously "good girl" wife just deciding to head of to Vegas constantly to sleep with escorts and then become one? He didn't find this upsetting or strange or worth talking to somebody about? He didn't think it was self destructive? His only comments are "it might mess up the taxes" and "you spend too much on hotels". Infuriating! Her own story is totally unbelievable. Of course it was super easy to become a "high end" escort. Of course she got all the best clients right off the bat. Of course she had no trouble at all and instantly became the "all time favorite" of every man she was with and of course they were all handsome, rich and nice.
Plus, when it all comes crashing down it's like this big thing like she's super famous. I love the Olympics and I'm obsessed with running and I don't even know who she is! I mean telling the one guy "you'll know who I am soon enough" or whatever. If she was all that famous they'd know her from looking at her. Geez.
SHe claims that this book is all about trying to send a positive message about bipolar but it is not that. Not one bit. In my opinion this is a total money grab -- she's been exposed she might as well make a quick buck spilling some sex stories. She explains herself that even when she was on Prozac and theoretically under control she was completely useless as an adult. Every job was too hard, too stressful. Anyone who wanted her to behave like a grown up was against her and had unrealistic expectations.
sleightoffeet's review
4.0
When I picked this book, I thought it would be an interesting read about being an escort in Las Vegas, something you don't get to hear about every day. What I got out of it, was much different. I came a way with new insight about bipolar depression, which my mom suffered from for most of her life.
I was hoping for tawdry details, learning how one becomes an escort after being an Olympian and maybe a funny story about a mishap or two. Instead, I got a real glimpse of the disease that my mom battled and got to learn a little more about why she would do the things she did. Now my mom, was not an escort in Las Vegas, nor an Olympic runner, but she did display a lot of the same behaviors. This helped take away some of the anger I felt toward her, though it is still a process.
It was also interesting to know that her daughter kept her from going even farther than she did, and I can only hope that it was the same for my mother as well.
This isn't the type of book you read for great writing prose, or descriptions that bring the scene to life. It's is told matter of factly, in order to get the information across. And what interesting information it is.
I don't know if I would have liked it as much, had I not had a personal connection with bipolar, but if you have a family member or friend who is or had suffered from it, it might help give you a better understanding.
I was hoping for tawdry details, learning how one becomes an escort after being an Olympian and maybe a funny story about a mishap or two. Instead, I got a real glimpse of the disease that my mom battled and got to learn a little more about why she would do the things she did. Now my mom, was not an escort in Las Vegas, nor an Olympic runner, but she did display a lot of the same behaviors. This helped take away some of the anger I felt toward her, though it is still a process.
It was also interesting to know that her daughter kept her from going even farther than she did, and I can only hope that it was the same for my mother as well.
This isn't the type of book you read for great writing prose, or descriptions that bring the scene to life. It's is told matter of factly, in order to get the information across. And what interesting information it is.
I don't know if I would have liked it as much, had I not had a personal connection with bipolar, but if you have a family member or friend who is or had suffered from it, it might help give you a better understanding.
debi_g's review
2.0
Did anything in this book shock or disgust me?
Yes. In this book, Suzy Favor Hamilton admits she faked a fall in her final, last-place-finish Olympic race.
SMH
This memoir seems to have been dictated to a ghostwriter or fixer. Discrepancies and pacing issues may be a product of Favor Hamilton's mental status, or they may be the result of a fatigued editor.
The book manages to simultaneously over- and under-explain, stopping short of answering easily anticipated questions about her double life, Vegas activities, and marital strain. Certainly, she was trying to avoid further scandal with a matter-of-fact approach that prevents the book from teetering into titillating territory, but although Favor Hamilton did not try to make herself look good, she also did not portray herself as sympathetic.
Don't read this book expecting to understand the following:
How is it that a swimsuit calendar proved too taxing for the writer's family, yet a tell (nearly) all book is not?
How has her life changed since being publicly outed?
Why did Favor Hamilton write this account?
Yes. In this book, Suzy Favor Hamilton admits she faked a fall in her final, last-place-finish Olympic race.
SMH
This memoir seems to have been dictated to a ghostwriter or fixer. Discrepancies and pacing issues may be a product of Favor Hamilton's mental status, or they may be the result of a fatigued editor.
The book manages to simultaneously over- and under-explain, stopping short of answering easily anticipated questions about her double life, Vegas activities, and marital strain. Certainly, she was trying to avoid further scandal with a matter-of-fact approach that prevents the book from teetering into titillating territory, but although Favor Hamilton did not try to make herself look good, she also did not portray herself as sympathetic.
Don't read this book expecting to understand the following:
How is it that a swimsuit calendar proved too taxing for the writer's family, yet a tell (nearly) all book is not?
How has her life changed since being publicly outed?
Why did Favor Hamilton write this account?
buthainna's review against another edition
2.0
The story of an Olympic athlete who later became an escort due to a mental disorder. The reason I don't like this book is just how sexual it is. Unfortunately the way this woman's bipolar disorder manifested was mostly a hyperactive sex drive, the thing that led her to becoming a call girl in Las Vegas and leaving her family behind. You'll read about her life as a teenager as she was getting into competitive sports, dealing with the pressures of that, and with her brother's suicide. Later on she explains how she got into escorting and what that life was look.
The book ends when a reporter outs her in a front page scandal, forcing her to quit her fun life. A few months later she receives her bipolar diagnosis.
I wish she talked more about her recovery and life after diagnosis.
The book ends when a reporter outs her in a front page scandal, forcing her to quit her fun life. A few months later she receives her bipolar diagnosis.
I wish she talked more about her recovery and life after diagnosis.