Mean Baby: A Memoir of Growing Up

I LOVED this book. So beautiful and authentic & vulnerable. This is one of my favorite books now. Selma is an excellent writer. I wish I was her bff & just want to send her all my love & hugs. No, I am not named Julie but she can collect me as one of her Julie’s. I recommend it if you like to read autobiography’s or memoirs. She has been through so much. I wasn’t really a fan before her book & the documentary. But I have always found her outwardly VERY beautiful. Now, I find her very beautiful inside too. I swear she has complex ptsd. Sad. I loved her stories. She is quite a good writer too. I really like her now. I am an official fan. Her book was so raw, authentic, sad, funny & vulnerable. Soooooooo good. I hope they find a cure for MS.

Selma’s story is a very sad one, she had such a hard life, but she survived and came out alive in the end. Such detail in her stories, the emotions, I feel like I know her. I appreciate her openness and brutal honesty about her self, life and choices. I had to take breaks so I wouldn’t finish it to fast, wanted to stay with her and know her better. I wish I could give her a hug. I’m so happy she has Arthur.

I read this because my daughter had asked me to. To be honest its not something I would normally read. What a life she has lead. At parts I was speechless and gobsmacked. She has been thru so much and faces everyday with courage. Definitely worth the read.

Selma Blair is a very detailed and talented writer. I loved the animated way she expressed herself and I admire her boldness, humor, & honesty! ❤️❤️❤️

I love celebrity memoirs because we get to know a side of them that we don't see in public life. So many moments reading this I felt so sad for Selma Blair and the things she had gone through and was shocked at certain traumatic things that she normalized in order to make them easier for herself to deal with, etc..All in all it was a very fascinating memoir, but the timeline was extremely jumbled for me and it was really hard to keep track of what time period she was talking about. I thought the wording was a little heavy handed and trying to be almost too "poetic." I also felt that she may have name dropped a little too much. I realize she is a celebrity and has celebrity friends but it almost felt like she was making sure she had to include this person and that person… which kind of contributed to a more disjointed narrative.Overall I enjoyed this book and am happy I read it to learn more about her as a person as well as her life.

Love this. Selma is so brutally honest about her and the friends/celebrities in her life. She takes you through her alcoholism, but not in a harsh way. It's actually very practical and real the way she describes it. This is not a pity-party book. It's so good for women to read, especially, because we can all relate so much to the things that Selma experienced with her mom, sisters, teachers, friends, lovers, etc. I love this book.

In her memoir, she is captivating, real, raw and riveting sharing her stories from childhood, growing up, mistakes, loves and loves lost, her career, her dealing with depression, alcoholism, motherhood, Multiple Sclerosis and the wisdom that she has gained from it all. She is an inspiration.

This book is divided into three parts, with 31 main chapters (not numbered), and a total of about 291 pages, not including the Acknowledgments. There are dozens of pictures throughout the book, some in color and some black and white; and also copies of letters that Blair had written as a child.At the start of the book Blair explains the title, recalling that her family told her that when she was born her face “looked judgmental, scrutinizing”; and so people called her a mean baby. She goes on to explain her given name, and recount some of her early devious plots and schemes that lived up to the “mean baby” moniker she had been given.The stories and memories throughout this book are recounted in a somewhat chaotic and random writing style. There is often little cohesion, just recollection of an event and then on to something else. This took me a while to get used to; as it almost seems like Blair is less concerned with entertaining the reader, and more focused on simply collecting all of her memories in one place.The first part of the book covers Blair's early years. She recalls listening to her maternal grandfather (PopPop) who was a Jewish man that was born in Kiev. She mentions the strong influence of her mother, who had so many rules that she made sure to follow. There are chapters about her father Elliot, becoming Jewish, drinking alcohol as a child, and loving to write. There is also a painful and disturbing account of how she was assaulted by the Dean of her school.The second part of the book starts with her time at Kalamazoo College, and continues through Blair getting married and divorced. Blair covers major events in her life; writing with the same matter-of-fact style, and jumping around from story to story. She covers her addiction to drinking, and horrible memories of suicide attempts and being raped. It is not all painful memories though, as she also recalls her first experiences in Hollywood, and meeting some great friends.The last part of the book focuses more on Blair becoming a mother, caring for her family, and coping with her MS diagnosis. There are also painful memories here; but in this section there is also strength, determination and optimism as she recalls her struggles. Her commitment to her family and attempts to give others hope made this section a more enjoyable read for me.This memoir offers a window into events in Blair's life that shaped her as a person. I do appreciate her candid accounts, and respect her vulnerability in revealing embarrassing or painful parts of her life. Personally, there were parts I had a hard time making it through; sometimes because the writing style was not my favorite, and other times because the content was disturbing. I tend to prefer a bit more humor injected into good storytelling, and there isn't as much of that in this book. So overall this wasn't exactly my favorite memoir that I've read recently, but this is just my personal preference of course. I still admire Blair for having the strength to power through writing this, and including so many details. If you are curious about her past, this book will certainly scratch that itch.

El libro es de autobiografía, por supuesto. Pero es uno muy bien hecho. Selma Blair cuenta sus experiencias personales de la forma más humana y estoica posible. Es original y expresa todo de forma genuina. Lo recomiendo muchísimo.

I did not expect to give this book 5 stars, and it’s been years since I read a book all in one day. I mean, it’s a memoir from an actress, and not even an A-lister … but this book was filled with introspection, self-awareness, and so much empathy for both her younger self and others. So much maturity. And the stories of her alcoholism and sexual abuse, I really wasn’t expecting that. Unexpectedly good, I had tears running down my face in the depths of her MS battle. Highly recommend!

I couldn’t stop reading, so beautifully written, at times I couldn’t stop the tears. A book I don’t think I will ever forget.

A revealing and captivating book. I love books which teach us lessons, faith and gives us so much inspiration like MEAN BABY. i hv always expected celebs esp Selma to b arrogant and egoistic bt wn u read her book, u see the other side to her..the human side. I love how she wrote abt her struggles and how she has overcome them today. Well written and heartfelt book

Me encanto la narrativa.