REVIEW: This Will Only Hurt A Little by Busy Philipps

Title: This Will Only Hurt A Little

Author: Busy Philipps

Pages: 288

Publisher: Touchstone

Published: October 23, 2018

Dates Read: September 12, 2018 –  September 13, 2018

Rating: 5 stars

Summary & Image via Goodreads: A collection of humorous autobiographical essays by the beloved comedic actress known for her roles on Freaks and Geeks, Dawson’s Creek, and Cougartown who has become “the breakout star on Instagram stories…imagine I Love Lucy mixed with a modern lifestyle guru” (The New Yorker).

Busy Philipps’ autobiographical book offers the same unfiltered and candid storytelling that her Instagram followers have come to know and love, from growing up in Scottsdale, Arizona and her painful and painfully funny teen years, to her life as a working actress, mother, and famous best friend. Busy is the rare entertainer whose impressive arsenal of talents as an actress is equally matched by her storytelling ability, sense of humor, and sharp observations about life, love, and motherhood. Her conversational writing reminds us what we love about her on screens large and small. From film to television to Instagram, Busy delightfully showcases her wry humor and her willingness to bare it all.

Review: *I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway.

Busy Philipps is in most of the iconic 90s to early 00s movies and tv shows we all know and love, such as Freaks and Geeks and of course, White Chicks. When I got this book I remembered thinking I know who she is but she’s never been the breakout star of anything, always playing the supporting role but never the lead. She’s a recognizable face on the red carpet, and yet, who is she?

This book is by far one of the best celebrity memoirs. She truly bares it all in this book. Most of the time celebrities gloss over their personal lives and mention that they’ve had a hard time in Hollywood because of unnamed people (men). But Busy doesn’t give a fuck. Busy names names and she couldn’t care less about the repercussions. She’s been in Hollywood for about two decades now and she’s dealt with her fair share of assholes and she’s DONE protecting them. I’ve never seen a celebrity name the various actors/directors/producers that have made their lives a living dream or a perfect nightmare in Hollywood, so it’s refreshing to FINALLY see someone call out these (mostly) men for their shitty behavior. Hell yeah.

What’s interesting is that it wasn’t her acting career that boosted her to the spotlight recently. It was her Instagram stories. She gets very real with her viewers on the social media app about her life and basically talks to the camera as if she’s confiding with a close friend about the ins and outs of her daily life.

At the end of the book, she reveals that her next goal is to become a nighttime talk show host, and honestly SHE’S PERFECT FOR THAT. She talked about it and immediately I could see her doing that. And of course when I finished the book I promptly followed her on all social media sites and am now rooting for her to be Jimmy Fallon’s or Jimmy Kimmel’s replacement.