I've been following Busy Philipps on Instagram for a while... Caroline Hirons recommended her as a hilarious follow a few years ago, and I quickly found her very entertaining.
When her inevitable book came out (all popular Instagrammers get a book offer), I put in for it at the library (noting it was in high demand even here in slow old Hamilton), thinking it would be “good for my blog,” since it would no doubt be short and surface-y, easy to read.
But when it arrived, I was knocked off my feet. It starts off as I thought it would, with references to stuff that was happening on her Instagram when she started writing -- the raccoons having sex by her pool, “nearly getting killed in an Uber,” and so on. I thought: “Yep, quick read.”
But it never went that way at all after the intro page -- in fact, it quickly got kind of dark... Philipps went through a lot of shit as a young woman partly because of bad luck but also a lot because of a trusting, hopeful nature, and that’s always the saddest.
And Philipps obviously also had a lot of grudges about her career progress she’d been keeping warm for a book like this -- she really relished her opportunity to reveal what pricks some people have been to her. I kind of admire her desire to point out where beloved stars are assholes, but I’m also kind of worried that she enjoys the revenge so much. It was clear that she’s been hoping to publish a bit of a revenge book for a while.
And then there was a potential plot twist at the end, regarding her marriage, her “emotional boyfriend” and difficulties with parenting, that was all so categorically opposite to what we've been getting on her Instagram for the last two years.
So I liked this book (I like being suprised) and I do enjoy Philipps despite these shocks and her Ahab focus... but how unsettling it all was!
