Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by v_____
Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny by Holly Madison
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.75
"Don’t you miss the mansion?” squealed a round-faced, wholesome-looking 20-something girl in a high-pitched voice...
- Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of A Former Playboy Bunny, 00:01
🎧 listened to the audio book
As a teenager, I was a huge fan of Girls Next Door.
Back then, it was still the beginning of Reality TV, which was nothing like todays (2025) Tsunami of all kinds of Shows. I always pictured the life of the Girlfriends super glamorous, they lived in a beautiful house, had everything they needed without having to go to school or work, had cute pets, went on trips, met celebrities etc. and I was sure being a Girlfriend of Hugh Hefner was just for show, nothing besides a small peck on the mouth every now and then. I thought, that's a small price to pay... In fact, Teenage Me made these relationships out to be like a grandpa-granddaughter-like relationship. Yes, my Teenage brain was clearly not fully developed...
What I'm trying to say: I understand, how someone could get into the net of an abusive master manipulator like HMH. Our society of normalizing men having much younger gfs as a status symbol, while they get money, fame etc in return is just one small contributing factor... Little did I know, in my teenage naivite, that things like these are very often accompanied with abuse, toxicity and lasting trauma...
Thank gods, I am smarter now, and so is Holly.
I am really impressed, how well she reflected on everything that happened to her and how she got out of it on top. I admire her strength. This book was released 10 years ago. Nowadays Holly has a podcast with Bridget, called "Girls Next Level", where they watch old episodes and comment on them.
I find it really curious, how much hate this book (or better: the author) gets on here.
Yes, one could (not very kindly) argue, that Holly was dumb for getting herself in debt because of her boob job, which made her want to move into the Playboy mansion in the first place... but this is America! Everybody has debt because of all kinds of things, plastic surgeries not even being the absurdest cause (even back in the 2000s, in Hollywood)...
And yes, Holly did scheme against the "mean girls", which makes her look like a hypocrite in some peoples opinion... but have you ever heard of people coming up with all kinds of survival strategies in abusive situations?
It's easy to judge books (and people!) by their covers... So maybe before doing so, give it a second read (or listen), because you might have overlooked a lot of things before.
If not: just admit you are here for the juice (which is not a bad thing!), and stop being offensive towards Holly (or any other woman for that matter - maybe just stop being misogynistic altogether).
To sum it up:
It's not the best (audio)book I've ever listened to, but I certainly appreciate the build up (every chapter starts with a quote from Alice in Wonderland) and the story Holly has to tell. I'm impressed on how she moved on, as a survivor of an abusive relationship, and built herself a new life and career from scratch. I found it very interesting and I wish Holly all the happiness and health for her future.
Back then, it was still the beginning of Reality TV, which was nothing like todays (2025) Tsunami of all kinds of Shows. I always pictured the life of the Girlfriends super glamorous, they lived in a beautiful house, had everything they needed without having to go to school or work, had cute pets, went on trips, met celebrities etc. and I was sure being a Girlfriend of Hugh Hefner was just for show, nothing besides a small peck on the mouth every now and then. I thought, that's a small price to pay... In fact, Teenage Me made these relationships out to be like a grandpa-granddaughter-like relationship. Yes, my Teenage brain was clearly not fully developed...
What I'm trying to say: I understand, how someone could get into the net of an abusive master manipulator like HMH. Our society of normalizing men having much younger gfs as a status symbol, while they get money, fame etc in return is just one small contributing factor... Little did I know, in my teenage naivite, that things like these are very often accompanied with abuse, toxicity and lasting trauma...
Thank gods, I am smarter now, and so is Holly.
I am really impressed, how well she reflected on everything that happened to her and how she got out of it on top. I admire her strength. This book was released 10 years ago. Nowadays Holly has a podcast with Bridget, called "Girls Next Level", where they watch old episodes and comment on them.
I find it really curious, how much hate this book (or better: the author) gets on here.
Yes, one could (not very kindly) argue, that Holly was dumb for getting herself in debt because of her boob job, which made her want to move into the Playboy mansion in the first place... but this is America! Everybody has debt because of all kinds of things, plastic surgeries not even being the absurdest cause (even back in the 2000s, in Hollywood)...
And yes, Holly did scheme against the "mean girls", which makes her look like a hypocrite in some peoples opinion... but have you ever heard of people coming up with all kinds of survival strategies in abusive situations?
It's easy to judge books (and people!) by their covers... So maybe before doing so, give it a second read (or listen), because you might have overlooked a lot of things before.
If not: just admit you are here for the juice (which is not a bad thing!), and stop being offensive towards Holly (or any other woman for that matter - maybe just stop being misogynistic altogether).
To sum it up:
It's not the best (audio)book I've ever listened to, but I certainly appreciate the build up (every chapter starts with a quote from Alice in Wonderland) and the story Holly has to tell. I'm impressed on how she moved on, as a survivor of an abusive relationship, and built herself a new life and career from scratch. I found it very interesting and I wish Holly all the happiness and health for her future.