This Will Only Hurt A Little

Author: Busy Philipps
Genre: Memoir
Type: Hardcover
Pages: 320
Source: Local Public Library
Publisher: Touchstone (Simon and Schuster)
First Published: Oct 16, 2018
Opening Lines: "Once, a (former) guy friend of mine, who happens to be gorgeous and famous and all of the things, said this to me: "You know, I think people would consider you really beautiful, if only you didn't talk so much. Your personality is just a lot. Don't get me wrong, I love you, but I think people get distracted by that." My clear reactions should have been, "Ewww. Go fuck yourself."

Book Description from GoodReads: A collection of humourous 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’s 
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.

“I’ve been waiting my whole life to write this book. I’m just so grateful someone asked. Otherwise, what was the point of any of it??”

My Rating: 3 stars

My Review: I enjoy reading memoirs, especially about people who aren't quite in the limelight. Celebs who perhaps made an impression on me on their TV show, movie or online. Busy Philipps fits the bill for me.

Known more for her highly popular Instagram stories than her TV and movie roles, Busy Philipps is an actress that you may not easily place at first glance. She's been in a few shows (Dawson's Creek, Freaks and Geeks), has a popular Instagram account and you'll have seen her on Hollywood red carpets with her BFF, Dawson's Creek alum Michelle Williams.

In this memoir, Philipps is honest about her struggles and issues and the book, overall, has a very conversational tone. Unfortunately, the writing isn't strong, and that light tone often veers into a meandering, sometimes disjointed feel with some topics not being overly interesting. But the one thing I can say about this memoir is that she doesn't hold back as she shares her likes and dislikes professionally (we're looking at you James Franco!) and personally as a daughter, mom, wife and often struggling working actress in Hollywood.

But although she's honest, there's not a lot of depth to the writing and Busy comes off as a very insecure woman who continues to struggle with life in general. While I expected more humour to her writing, this was a decent memoir for her Instagram fans or people who remember her from her more popular TV roles.