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Mean Baby: A Memoir of Growing Up
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About This Book
The first story Selma Blair Beitner ever heard about herself is that she was a mean, mean baby. With her mouth pulled in a perpetual snarl and a head so furry it had to be rubbed to make way for her forehead, Selma spent years living up to her terrible reputation: biting her sisters, lying spontaneously, getting drunk from Passover wine at the age of seven, and behaving dramatically so that she would be the center of attention. Although Selma went on to become a celebrated Hollywood actress and model, she could never quite shake the periods of darkness that overtook her, the certainty that there was a great mystery at the heart of her life. She often felt like her arms might be on fire, a sensation not unlike electric shocks, and she secretly drank to escape. Over the course of this beautiful and, at times, devasting memoir, Selma lays bare her addiction to alcohol, her devotion to her brilliant and complicated mother, and the moments she flirted with death. There is brutal violence, passionate love, true friendship, the gift of motherhood, and, finally, the surprising salvation of a multiple sclerosis diagnosis. In a voice that is powerfully original, fiercely intelligent, and full of hard-won wisdom, Selma Blair's Mean Baby is a deeply human memoir and a true literary achievement. .
Reviews
"Blair's recollections are harrowing, but they affectingly set the stage for a story of triumphing over one's afflictions as she chronicles her path to becoming an actor ..."
"An intensely self-aware and cheerfully self-revealing memoir."
"The book's first and third parts, covering her childhood and her MS diagnosis (along with the birth of her son), respectively, are spellbinding."
"Readers who are hoping for some dropped names won't be disappointed ..."
"And we're lucky to be along for the ride."
"Blair is at her best when writing about her experiences of rejection as an actor ..."
"There are plenty of celebrity memoirs that tell stories about recovery."
"Where the book reflects this is also where it has the most power, in the memories Blair handles one by one ..."
"Blair gets excruciatingly candid about the traumatic experiences that have shaped her life, tackling issues such as alcoholism, sexual violence and suicide ..."
"hough the narrative occasionally meanders, the author offers a sharp, memorable account of her roles as celebrity and MS advocate that will have wide appeal to both fans and general readers alike ..."
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