Open Book | Jessica Simpson

Title: Open Book
Author: Jessica Simpson


I listened to this on audiobook, and it was an unexpected pleasure. I was honestly expecting a half-thought-out superficial look at her life, but this book is well put together, and it is extremely evident Jessica put a lot of thought into the events of her life, how she got where she is, and the difficulties that she faced.

I truly think listening to this on audiobook really added something to it. I could really hear her emotions--laughter and tears--throughout the book, which added so much more impact and made me feel the reality of her story. Parts of it were not easy to listen to, but they're equally important to listen to, especially if you're the mother of girls.

Jessica tells us of her extremely conservative upbringing as a churchgoing family in Texas, how naive she was, her sexual abuse, her courtship and later marriage to Nick (and, yes, she does address the infamous "Is it chicken or is it fish?" moment on Newlyweds--she was genuinely asking). She tells us about the demise of her relationship with Nick, her toxic relationship with John Mayer, her sweet relationship with Tony Romo but how they wanted different things, and then her finally settling down with her now-husband Eric Johnson. She tells of their three kids.

Most importantly, Jessica tells us all about how she felt like she was never enough and her long journey to fit into her own skin. This is such an important lesson for so many people, particularly young women. 

Like I said, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Four out of five stars.

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QUOTES:
"There are so many firsts to raising kids, and parents are told to catch them all. But they don't warn you about the lasts. The last baby onesie. The last time you tie their shoes. The last time they think you have every answer in the world."

"Did he repeatedly stab me in the heart, or did I just keep running into the knife he aimed at me?"

"To get to this point, to talking to you right here in this moment, I had to really feel. And I hadn't been doing that. Up until a few years ago, I had been a feelings addict. Love, loss--whichever, whatever, as long as it was epic. I just needed enough noise to distract me from the pain I had been avoiding since childhood. The demons of traumatic abuse and refused to let me sleep at night--Tylenol PM at age twelve, red wine and Ambien as a grown, scared woman. Those same demons who perched on my shoulder, and when they saw a man as dark as them, leaned in to my ear to whisper, 'Just give him all your light. See if it saves him'..."

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READING PROGRESS:
The Green Mile by Stephen King: 58%
Last Day by Luanne Rice: 69%
The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan: 30%
Honor Among Thieves by James S.A. Corey: 31%

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