5 celebrity memoirs that are more than just gossip

John Green, Hilarie Burton, Julia Fox and more

Celebrities. We will love them. We hate them. But we all want to read about them. We love to be in the know. As Yuval Noah Harari, author of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, said: “Social cooperation is our key for survival and reproduction. It is not enough for individual men and women to know the whereabouts of lions and bisons. It’s much more important for them to know who in their band hates whom, who is sleeping with whom, who is honest and who is a cheat.” Information (gossip) about who we can trust allowed early humans to survive, forge friendships, expand tribes, and establish cooperation and social order. All these allowed us to become at the top of the food chain.

That quote may be a little bit far-fetched but you get my point.

Celebrity memoirs often get a bad rap for just being just a shameless marketing medium to stay relevant with a lot of name-dropping, gossip, and outrageous scandals. It doesn’t help that a lot of them have really bad writing.

In the past year I happen to read some celebrity memoirs because I wanted to expand my reading. I’ve read some really good ones with messages of empowerment and insights about human nature. And so today I’m going to share a list of celebrity memoirs I’ve read and loved in the past year. These books are more than just gossip but also full of life lessons. I admit that this list is biased because I only read memoirs by celebrities that I already love in the first place.

The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet by John Green

Technically, this isn’t marketed as a memoir but hear me out. The title Anthropocene Reviewed came from Hank, John’s brother. He commented during one of their road trips regarding the “everywhereness” of reviewing things. Anthropocene means the current geological age in which human activity drives the most influence on climate and in our environment. Other geological ages, which I think you’re already familiar with, are Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Mesozoic.

In this book, John Green reviews several random human things like grocery stores, hotdogs, Mario Kart, Halley’s Comet, and plagues. When he first showed his wife some early chapters, she said that “..in the Anthropocene, there are no disinterested observers; there are only participants. She explained that when people write reviews, they are really writing a kind of a memoir.” When you write a review, you’re writing about your experience about a particular thing at this particular date and time. And that is why I consider this book of essays as a memoir. If you don’t know John Green (although I know you already do), he’s a famous author, a pioneer Youtuber, and an all-around internet personality.

I enjoy reading every bit of the essays. It’s funny. It’s inspiring. It’s very human. I can relate to John’s overthinking and anxiousness at just about anything.

P.S. Hello to my fellow reviewers out there. You just don’t know it yet but you’re already writing your memoir.

You're That Bitch: And Other Lessons About Being Unapologetically Yourself by Bretman Rock

Before there were influencers, there was Bretman Rock. In the early days of Instagram and during the puberty of Youtube, there was this skinny but really really funny kid that brings chaos to my day. His videos are funny and wild. If you haven’t seen any of his videos yet, they’re all about funny takes on life and being Filipino.

I have been following Bretman since day one so naturally I had to read his book when it came out! The memoir is exactly how I expected a Bretman book should be - funny and chaotic. There’s a bit of sentimentality in too. He talks about his family and childhood in the Philippines which I really enjoyed reading because I can relate as to how he was raised. Like him, I played in the jungle that is our backyard. Like him, my extended family lived within minutes of each other’s houses.

He also talks about his life as an immigrant and how he shared a single house with so many family members when he first arrived in Hawaii. He shared his early days as an influencer and his mishaps with money and fame. I read this as an audiobook with Bretman himself narrating it. Loved every bit of it.

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

The title may seem harsh but I think you’ll understand why after reading the book. But then again her mother isn’t here anymore to defend herself. McCurdy was a child actress and is popularly know for her role in iCarly as Sam Puckett. The book talks about McCurdy’s troubled and controlling relationship with her mother and her struggles as a child actress. But I’m sure you’ve already heard about this book since it’s extremely popular.

McCurdy worships her mom but as she grew up, she realized her mother’s control on her. This book is her reckoning. This book is her avenue for reclaiming her life. Here is a woman coming to terms with her trauma. The book is structured in the way that allows the reader to follow the progression of McCurdy’s mother’s abuse, from childhood to teenage years, and the ripple effects it had on McCurdy’s life later on. We read how she was always eager to please her mother as a kid. We then experience her adolescent years yearning for independence and the guilt towards these independent desires. The book feels like reading somebody’s journal who is processing her trauma after a good therapy session.

I also heard she’s writing a fiction novel. Can’t wait for that one.

Down the Drain by Julia Fox

A book not fit for the faint of heart.

I admit I never heard of Julia Fox before her relationship with Kanye and the memes that followed after. I didn’t know she was in Uncut Gems nor is she a New York icon. That was all I see and know her as. Until I read the memoir about her rough life. Now I see a woman who’s resilient and gritty. A survivor. The book’s writing is blunt and unforgiving. And again, not for the faint of heart.

This book is a whirlwind memoir about her childhood in America, her teenage years in Italy raising herself, being homeless, her strained relationship with her parents, being a dominatrix at 18 yrs old, getting into the wrong crowd, her drug and alcohol abuse, her abusive relationships, and, eventually, becoming a mother. She writes about being stuck and helpless in an abusive relationship. She narrates her battle against addiction. If you’re in it for the whole Kanye drama, it’s just a teeny tiny part of this book. Through all of these though, I noticed that she had so many female friendships all throughout her life. And to me, this book is somewhat an ode to all the women in her life.

Not everyone will like this book but I pretty much enjoyed this. I love reading about people who practically raised themselves as a kid. I’ve never been to New York but Julia Fox had me running all over New York reading her memoir.

The Rural Diaries: Love, Livestock, and Big Life Lessons Down on Mischief Farm by Hilarie Burton Morgan

Hilarie Burton is known for her role as Peyton Sawyer in the TV show One Tree Hill. She was this rebellious, artistic, punk, cool girl that I idolized in the show. So when I read she wrote a memoir of course I had to read it.

The memoir chronicles her story of leaving Hollywood for a radically different kind of life in upstate New York with her husband Jeffrey Dean Morgan. She writes about her farm life - chopping wood, raising sheep and alpacas, making her own recipes with fresh ingredients, renovating her kitchen on her own, and more. She tells us about managing a farm while raising a son and making her relationship work with busy actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan. This book is a celebration of community and simple living.

I love this memoir because I aspire the same life she is living, albeit the raising of alpacas part. I, too, dream of living in a just enough house but with a big lot area so that I can grow my own food. She is living her dream life and she encourages us to work on our own dream life too.

Have you read any of the celebrity memoirs I mentioned above? Did you like it? I know there are many great memoirs out there so let me know which ones are your favorite.