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This Autumn Is Packed With Showbiz Memoirs – And We’re Here For It
Take your pick – or read them all.
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The last few years have seen a trickling of wonderful, taboo-busting memoirs from women in showbiz, from Mindy Kaling to Lauren Graham, via Carrie Fisher’s last book. Our favourites were probably Tina Fey’s Bossypants, Amy Poehler’s Yes Please and Carrie Brownstein’s Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl. It can be fun to get to know the inner landscapes of people you admire—all the while satisfying your curiosity about the behind-the-scenes of Hollywood and the showbiz industry, especially when told by women whose voices are as hilarious and smart as these.
So we were excited when the autumn of 2018 brought with it a solid stream of memoirs by women we love from the film and TV universe. Here are some we’re excited about. Take your pick – or read them all!
She Wants It by Jill Soloway
When Jill Soloway’s father, whom they’d always understood to be male, came out as transgender, Jill’s life changed. Not only did they go on to create the wonderful, award-winning show Transparent—they also eventually came out as queer and non-binary. This book charts that whole journey, as well as their incredible story of pushing through Hollywood’s male-dominated landscape and their work questioning mainstream ideas about gender, desire and power.
With the unique perspective of being in the front seat of the #MeToo movement (she does touch on the moment the Jeffrey Tambor allegations came out), and mixing the personal and the artistic, the book is a page-turning insight into the zeitgeist from one of our most essential voices working today.
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You’re on an Airplane by Parker Posey
This 'self-mythologising memoir' by the cult indie actress famous for films like Dazed and Confused, You’ve Got Mail, Party Girl or Scream 3 is just that: a humour-packed, irreverent, eccentric book packed with personal stories, whimsical how-tos and recipes, as well as collages made by her.
From her Southern childhood to the indie film revolution of the 90s, Posey shares the all-round creativity that has been a constant in her life, and plays with the role of the author and that of the performer’s persona. It really is, we imagine, like sitting next to her on an airplane and listening to her rambunctious showbiz stories.
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I Might Regret This by Abbi Jacobson
We love Abbi. Who doesn’t love Abbi? This collection of 'essays, vulnerabilities and other stuff' by the Broad City co-creator and co-star takes us through the early days of the show, the comedy world, and navigating love, work and loss while you try to figure out who you really are.
Framed around a solo road trip, her pit stops, anecdotes and observations will make you feel like you are on that very car alongside her and always rooting for her. Plus, it’s peppered by her illustrations.
In Pieces by Sally Field
The acclaimed, beloved actor wrote this over seven years, and the result is an intimate examination of how she became the woman she is. Winner of three Emmys and two Oscars, Field is well-known for movies including Forrest Gump.
The New York Times said that 'the life that Ms. Field reveals over the course of In Pieces is one that has been darkened by abuses and cruelties that are frustratingly commonplace for women, both inside and out of the entertainment industry.' Albeit it’s more than a typical tell-all Hollywood memoir, she does delve into her famous roles and relationships, including with Burt Reynolds.
My Squirrel Days by Ellie Kemper
'There comes a time in every sitcom actress’s life when she is faced with the prospect of writing a book,' starts this collection of essays, before Ellie Kemper proceeds to unpack her progressive transformation into what she thinks an 'author' should look, eat and behave like.
The star of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and The Office has written a 'freewheeling tour' of her life, from her childhood in St. Louis to Hollywood 'semi-celebrity', via her fabricated teenage diaries. The book promises 'to tell you nothing you need to know about making it in show business, but [to be] as joyous as the best of Kemper’s work on screen.' We’re in.
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This Will Only Hurt a Little by Busy Phillips
From Busy Phillips, best known for her roles in Freaks and Geeks, Dawson’s Creek and ER, comes this compilation of stories and observations about growing up in Arizona, teen angst, working as an actor, and becoming a mother.
As funny as her infamously iconic Instagram Stories, the moments chronicled here with her signature wit—from her friendships to 'staging her own surprise wedding, conquering natural childbirth with the help of a Mad Men–themed hallucination, and more'—will leave you with a smile on your face.
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