Reviews with content warning for Miscarriage - Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark

**Definitely heed the content warnings on this book** This is one of my favorite celebrity memoirs I’ve ever read. Elvira is a life long inspiration of mine and this collection of her life stories has only emphasized that. She has done just about everything in her career and her most known work didn't take off until she was in her 30's which is uncommon for a woman in Hollywood and a perspective I really loved hearing. It's so conversational which only endeared me to her more, it felt like hearing your super cool aunts crazy life stories. Hearing about her partner at the end was just so sweet too.

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doomluz's review

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emotional funny informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

I loved this! Mostly I checked this out because I had heard how she came out as being married to another woman, but that doesn’t come up until the last few chapters. Peterson recounts her childhood and adolescence, but also a lot of the celebrities she’d met throughout her life. It had humor and some interesting stories, but she also went into some of the hardships she's endured.
The only thing that bugged me was in Chapter 15, when she spoke about sexual assault and rape. She used a hypothetical example for men to understand how rape can be terrifying by describing being overpowered by a man. Then she explained that she used a man in the example because if it was a woman it would actually be more of a fantasy for most men. The hypothetical example felt unnecessary, but the main problem is that this kind of logic makes it harder for male victims to find support, especially if the woman is more conventionally attractive.
Other than this, I loved hearing about how she got the role of Elvira and what that was like.
I also recommend listening to the audiobook. My partner made me realize that memoirs read by the author feel more personal. Peterson has a great voice and I think the humor and emotions come through a lot stronger.

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spaceseagull321's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

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mandkips's review against another edition

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lighthearted reflective slow-paced

3.5

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mixyplixl's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring fast-paced

5.0

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jessthanthree's review

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emotional funny reflective medium-paced

4.5

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littleredhat's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

Have you ever seen that viral tweet about someone hearing the expression "Dress for the job you want", and winding up sat in a disciplinary meeting dressed as the Goblin King? Well, if that was me, I'd be there as Elvira. The Queen of Halloween with a deep love of the dark. Incredibly funny and witty, and fully aware of her sexiness, whilst never solely being a sex object. I was a fan from the second I saw clips of "Movie Macabre", and when this popped up on my audiobook service recently, I knew I had to snap it up.

Written around her 70th birthday (I can't believe it either), Cassandra Peterson - Elvira's actress and creator - takes us right through her life - from her troubled childhood where an accident left her badly scarred, to her days as a go-go dancer and Vegas showgirl, up to her metamorphosis into the Mistress of the Dark and the years beyond.

Whilst being packed to the hilt with funny and even spooky stories, Peterson's memoir also covers her many experienced hardships. In terms of content warnings, I will say that almost any sort of abuse or assault you can think sadly of features here, as well as addictions, miscarriages, and even murders. As such, the book is troubling and unnerving in places, but very moving: something about Peterson's warm, soothing narration made me able to stomach it. In fact, you admire her all the more for getting through everything she has faced.

A must-read, or must-listen, for all Elvira fans.

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