Open Book--Jessica Simpson
It's impossible to believe me, maybe, especially just from the quote selection below (which isn't quite the magic of this read), but I loved--and I do mean LOVED--reading this book. It hit me at a great time personally. I laughed, I cried, I RELATED. I MISSED her when it was done.
If you want a lot of no holds barred 2000s pop culture gossip, the genuine examples and insights of someone who has used substances to mask emotions or escape them, and also if you've ever had a tendency to be overly romantic, this is a book for you. I still stop sometimes--and wonder: "Jessica's therapist has DEFINITELY told her that in addition to John never loving her he is also 100% a textbook narcissist, RIGHT?" Long to make sure of it myself.
Maybe you'll relate: It's like when everything is moving really fast, but you've created that speed. (15)
I often wrote in pencil, so I could go back and erase it if I wrote something grammatically incorrect or spelled a word wrong. Partly because I am so self-conscious, but also because, if I died like Sarah, I wanted people to think I was smart. (18)
If my dad can make people believe in God, I always thought at the start of my career, he can surely make people believe in me.(25)
Men don't normally change, I know, but they can. I like it when they do. (64)
I was afraid sex, and the need I had to give pleasure no matter what, would destroy me as I let men walk all over me.
I was right. But I am getting ahead of myself. (68)
I smiled back and turned my face to the baby. "Te amo," I said, over and over again, meaning it. I wanted her to know she was loved. I wanted it to be a familiar feeling, so that when unconditional love came into her life, she would recognize it. (138)
Trust me, if he had still looked at me like that, all my resentment would have melted away. (251)
"Nah, change is easy," he said. "Staying the same is a lot harder on you." (262)
Even now, I sometimes think about some object and think, Now, where did that go? And I have to remind myself it was just another thing I let go of. (302)
Owning my faults is an easy thing for me. Learning from those realizations and breaking the cycle of making the same choices, that's the work.(364)
I was having these incredible experiences, and I allowed him to steal my joy. (365)
I'd invited a bunch of people over to watch a basketball game, though I don't even watch basketball. But it was a time when I didn't want to go out much and liked my friends knowing they could drop by whenever they wanted. It was kind of a Grand Central Station of nice people coming and going, and I liked it that way. (409)
You deserve it. You deserve to feel the heartbreak and the pain so that once and for all you stop holding yourself back from feeling whatever it is you've tried to mask.
No, it's not easy but you are worth the work. And if you do not have a stable presence in your life, take the time you need to become that stable presence for yourself. To find that stillness within you, no matter what storm you are in. (409)
If you want a lot of no holds barred 2000s pop culture gossip, the genuine examples and insights of someone who has used substances to mask emotions or escape them, and also if you've ever had a tendency to be overly romantic, this is a book for you. I still stop sometimes--and wonder: "Jessica's therapist has DEFINITELY told her that in addition to John never loving her he is also 100% a textbook narcissist, RIGHT?" Long to make sure of it myself.
Maybe you'll relate: It's like when everything is moving really fast, but you've created that speed. (15)
I often wrote in pencil, so I could go back and erase it if I wrote something grammatically incorrect or spelled a word wrong. Partly because I am so self-conscious, but also because, if I died like Sarah, I wanted people to think I was smart. (18)
If my dad can make people believe in God, I always thought at the start of my career, he can surely make people believe in me.(25)
Men don't normally change, I know, but they can. I like it when they do. (64)
I was afraid sex, and the need I had to give pleasure no matter what, would destroy me as I let men walk all over me.
I was right. But I am getting ahead of myself. (68)
I smiled back and turned my face to the baby. "Te amo," I said, over and over again, meaning it. I wanted her to know she was loved. I wanted it to be a familiar feeling, so that when unconditional love came into her life, she would recognize it. (138)
Trust me, if he had still looked at me like that, all my resentment would have melted away. (251)
"Nah, change is easy," he said. "Staying the same is a lot harder on you." (262)
Even now, I sometimes think about some object and think, Now, where did that go? And I have to remind myself it was just another thing I let go of. (302)
Owning my faults is an easy thing for me. Learning from those realizations and breaking the cycle of making the same choices, that's the work.(364)
I was having these incredible experiences, and I allowed him to steal my joy. (365)
I'd invited a bunch of people over to watch a basketball game, though I don't even watch basketball. But it was a time when I didn't want to go out much and liked my friends knowing they could drop by whenever they wanted. It was kind of a Grand Central Station of nice people coming and going, and I liked it that way. (409)
You deserve it. You deserve to feel the heartbreak and the pain so that once and for all you stop holding yourself back from feeling whatever it is you've tried to mask.
No, it's not easy but you are worth the work. And if you do not have a stable presence in your life, take the time you need to become that stable presence for yourself. To find that stillness within you, no matter what storm you are in. (409)