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Mean Baby

A Memoir of Growing Up - the instant New York Times bestseller from the acclaimed actor and disability rights campaigner
  • Author
    • Selma Blair
Format
Regular price £10.99
Regular price Sale price £10.99
**THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER **

'Funny and frank, a chance to spend time with a brave and big-hearted woman who's grown up to be not so mean, after all' JENNIFER LARUE, WASHINGTON POST


'Grabs you by the collar and says listen to all that I have to say: about love, pain, motherhood, illness, celebrity and the tidal ferocity that pours through all our lives. Read it and be caught in the voice of one of our luminous stars' ESMÉ WEIJUN WANG

The first story Selma Blair Beitner ever heard about herself is that she was a mean, mean baby. Although Selma went on to become a celebrated Hollywood actress and model, she could never quite shake the periods of darkness that overtook her, the certainty that there was a great mystery at the heart of her life. Over the course of this beautiful and, at times, shocking memoir, Selma lays bare her addiction to alcohol, her devotion to her brilliant and complicated mother, and the moments she flirted with death. There is violence, love, true friendship, the gift of motherhood and, finally, the simultaneous devastation and surprising salvation of a multiple sclerosis diagnosis.

'A fascinating exploration about the power of prophecy, of labels, and of one woman's determination to defy them all. Blair is a rebel, an artist, and it turns out: a writer' GLENNON DOYLE

'I laughed out loud more than I cried' FRANCES RYAN, GUARDIAN

Not available for shipping to the following countries:

  • ASM
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  • Published: May 09 2023
  • 198 x 128mm
  • ISBN: 9780349013848
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Press Reviews

  • Glennon Doyle, author of the #1 New York Times best-seller Untamed
    A fascinating exploration about the power of prophecy, of labels, and of one woman's determination to defy them all. Blair is a rebel, an artist, and it turns out: a writer.
  • Esmé Weijun Wang, best-selling author of The Collected Schizophrenias
    Mean Baby, Selma Blair's brilliant book, demands attention. It grabs you by the collar and says listen to all that I have to say: about love, pain, motherhood, illness, celebrity, and the tidal ferocity that pours through all our lives. Read it and be caught in the voice of one of our luminous stars.
  • Mary Louise Parker, best-selling author of Dear Mr. You
    She writes with a ribald irreverence as darkly funny as anything I've ever read; urging on each page: 'Go ahead and laugh. I am.' . . . The benediction she arrives at is her own, as earned as her luminous passages. If you've ever felt broken or lost you'll find yourself on the pages of this book . . . The rejects and outsiders have spoken Selma, and we've elected you Queen.
  • Adrienne Brodeur, best-selling author of Wild Game
    Straight-up terrific - bold, intimate, sassy, profound - and a vital reminder that the hectic glitter of the exterior rarely reflects the hard-earned wonder of the interior. So, while you might reach for Mean Baby because of the author's celebrity, you'll read into the night for her candor, eye for detail, and stunning prose. In an embarrassment of riches, Selma Blair is as talented a writer as she is an actress
  • Marie Claire
    If you thought you knew Selma Blair, think again.
  • Helen Brown

    Telegraph
    Jaw-flooring
  • Frances Doyle

    Guardian
    Written in vignettes and sharply observed, the sometimes harrowing subject matter never weighs Mean Baby down. At times, you feel like you shouldn't be having quite as much fun as you are but Blair has a self-awareness, wit and charm that makes her sound like a competition winner despite the difficulties she's faced. Dressing up in Princess Leia costumes with Carrie Fisher. Acne advice from Claire Danes. Rehab with Britney Spears. This is not a misery memoir - I laughed out loud more than I cried