Book Review: "Open Book" By Jessica Simpson

I finally finished Jessica Simpson's memoir Open Book probably a year too late. I have always loved celebrity memoirs and reading about other people's lives, and Jessica's was no different.

To me, Jessica Simpson has always been in the peripherals of my life as someone I knew was famous but I wasn't quite sure why. I remember seeing her on the cover of magazines in the grocery store and scenes of her on The Newlyweds with her ex husband Nick Lachey. I don't think I knew much about her singing career, and didn't know how that was actually how she became famous so this was an excellent pop culture history lesson.

I remember her dating John Mayer and a 9 year old me reading about their tumultuous relationship in the People Magazine sitting in my doctor dad's waiting room. I knew she had a line at Kohl's and most recently I would see her life updates on E! News's Instagram page but she still remained a mystery to me.

When I started reading her book, I was impressed by the way she wrote (yes I understand it was ghost-written with Kevin Carr O'Leary) but it seemed like she had her own voice filtered throughout the book and I could hear how genuine she is. What struck me was how much heartache and trauma she went through at such a young age. Jessica's honesty surprised me, and the fact that she was so open about being sexually assaulted as a child broke my heart, and the way she described feeling insecure about her body absolutely relatable.

One thing I will say is that I felt some of the stories went a little too long at times. I was assuming she would have more of a tell-all book of scandals involving major players in Hollywood and the music industry, which granted she did include but it was really a memoir from within. I felt we got a good amount of an in depth look into her biggest romantic relationships. I was completely surprised by the way she described her relationship with Nick Lachey and how open she was about John Mayer and how he is supposedly a charming nightmare to date.

One thing Jessica mentions is that people thought of her as a dumb blonde, but just as Paris Hilton did in the early 2000's, it was a character she played up for the public. She is actually a very smart and successful person who has accomplished quite a bit in her life, which I didn't fully know before. She played the game the media put her in and she won.

Another difference I saw between her and other celeb memoirs I have read is that is reads more like a journal or like a conversation with your closest girlfriend. She talks about her professional accomplishments and what that was like getting to the top but is very honest about how she achieved success. To me, she isn't Jessica Simpson the singer. She's Jessica Simpson the public figure and billionaire. Her fame is similar to Jessica Alba's in my eyes--they both worked at a very young age to get into the entertainment industry until they got lucky with their business ventures. Now, they can quietly retreat into the hills of Los Angeles and still lead a normal but privileged life.

Jessica's drinking problems were very touching to me, and I was surprised at how often it came up throughout the book and I guess, her life. I will admit I looked up the photos she mentioned of her dressed as Willie Nelson during Halloween of 2017. She had continued posting on social media during big moments in her life and we had no idea she was going through such a hard time. She did a great job of explaining that what you see on social media is almost always fake, and it made wonder what other celebrities who went through the same kind of traumas and experiences as her cope through the stress (I am patiently waiting for Britney Spears's inevitable tell-all book).

For the past 10 years, it appears that Jessica has left Hollywood. She describes having tons of friends and having a great marriage with a man who grew up far away from that world of glitz and glamour. I get the feeling that she only comes out to the daytime shows and to do magazine covers when her clothing brand needs a refresher and reminder that she is still the face of it. Other than that, I get the feeling that she doesn't like to be a part of that world anymore.

Overall I feel like this was a solid celebrity memoir with a twist. You get an inside look at celebrity Jessica Simpson's life as a pretty normal person who doesn't feed into the grime of Hollywood anymore. I can only guess that she doesn't mind selling out any celebrities anymore because she just doesn't care, and she's okay with not being included. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants an easy read and is immersed in celebrity culture. Though she dabbled on a little long in some chapters, her words came off as honest and I can see another book in her future exploring another aspect of her highly entertaining life.