Inside Out by Demi Moore

Inside Out by Demi Moore
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 283

Publisher - Harper

Source - Bought

Blurb from Goodreads

For decades, Demi Moore has been synonymous with celebrity. From iconic film roles to high-profile relationships, Moore has never been far from the spotlight—or the headlines. Even as Demi was becoming the highest paid actress in Hollywood, however, she was always outrunning her past, just one step ahead of the doubts and insecurities that defined her childhood. Throughout her rise to fame and during some of the most pivotal moments of her life, Demi battled addiction, body image issues, and childhood trauma that would follow her for years—all while juggling a skyrocketing career and at times negative public perception. As her success grew, Demi found herself questioning if she belonged in Hollywood, if she was a good mother, a good actress—and, always, if she was simply good enough. As much as her story is about adversity, it is also about tremendous resilience. In this deeply candid and reflective memoir, Demi pulls back the curtain and opens up about her career and personal life—laying bare her tumultuous relationship with her mother, her marriages, her struggles balancing stardom with raising a family, and her journey toward open heartedness. Inside Out is a story of survival, success, and surrender—a wrenchingly honest portrayal of one woman’s at once ordinary and iconic life.



My Review

I know Moore from Ghost, I LOVED that movie growing up, we watched more for Sam (Patrick Swayze) but I think the penny scene and the single tear drop hit all the audiences. Other than that I haven't really seen her body of work nor really know much about her so this was on offer and I snapped it up. I think most of us knew she was married to Bruce Willis and later Ashton Kutcher and I love Charlies Angels so seen her on that.

The book takes us back to her beginnings, personal life, how she got into acting and movies. It is very much warts and all, the book opens with a drug induced/reaction seizure and then goes back in time. She is very honest about her sketchy upbringing, her faults, her battles with addictions, her relationship with Bruce and then Ashton. I actually really felt for her with Ashton, it must have been so hard, like breakups are devastating anyway but when the press totally rips you and has been against you ooft.

I think biography/memoir books are so interesting because you get to look behind the curtain and I think even for super fans of these celebrities they would find so much they hadn't been aware of. Moore seems to have gone through, like so many, a lot in her life, I hope she has found happiness and inner peace now and made up with her family, 4/5 for me.

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Oh Dear Sylvia by Dawn French

Oh Dear Silvia by Dawn French
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - Over 2 days

Publisher - Penguin

Pages - 342

Source - The Works

Blurb from Goodreads

Who is in Coma Suite Number 5?

A matchless lover? A supreme egotist? A selfless martyr? A bad mother? A cherished sister? A selfish wife?

All of these. For this is Silvia Shute who has always done exactly what she wants. Until now, when her life suddenly, shockingly stops.

Her past holds a dark and terrible secret, and now that she is unconscious in a hospital bed, her constant stream of visitors are set to uncover the mystery of her broken life. And she must lie there, victim of the beloveds, the borings, the babblings and the plain bonkers.

Like it or not, the truth is about to pay Silvia a visit. Again, and again and again . . .


My Review

Sylvia is in a coma, Sylvia is loathed by members of her family, worshiped by her friend Cat. Shunned by her daughter Cassie and son Jamie, cared for by nurse Winnie, visited by Tia her cleaner, Ed her ex husband and her eccentric sister Jo. Each brings their own issues and slowly reveals Sylvia's past, their issues and relationships with her bringing the reader into the know of just who Sylvia is.

Some of the characters are hilarious, Tia is her cleaning, proud and very funny in some of her chat and outlook on matters. Cat is a complex character who happily would have Sylvia just to herself and not her family. Ed has much mixed feelings for his ex wife, the things she has done and looking back on their relationship before she changed. Cassie struggles to even look at her mother despite the critical condition she is in, Jamie refuses to acknowledge her and Jo, Jo is a wild card, chaos, dramas and very much all about her as she tries some very questionable things to "wake" her sister up.

The book is a mix of humour, sadness, tough issues, abuse, possessiveness, relationships, violence, suicidal intentions. It is also about relationships and family, huge focus on both, with Sylvia being in a coma, all the characters address all their issues with her in a very honest and raw emotive way. This is my first book by French, it won't be my last 3.5/5 for me, a very mixed bag and whilst there are a fair few characters, each chapter is titled with their name so it is very easy to follow.

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