Idiot by Laura Clery
Written by Ashley Kelmore, Posted in Reviews
Three Stars
Best for:
People who know who Laura Clery is (I’m guessing); people who like a good story about overcoming addiction; people who read The Secret.
In a nutshell:
Writer / actress Laura Clery’s memoir shares stories of trying to make it in Hollywood.
Worth quoting:
N/A
Why I chose it:
I generally love memoirs, especially read by the author. In reality I probably should have passed it by when I saw the title, but I didn’t really even process that until I started writing this review.
Review:
Hmmm. This book might have been two stars now that I’m done with it, but I think three stars is warranted as I was definitely entertained, and at times moved. The writing is good, and the delivery of the audio book is good. Just overall the content at times was a bit rough, though mostly at the end. So maybe that’s the problem?
First, I should say that I am not at all familiar with the author – I’d not heard of her until her book showed up in the Google Play recommendations. I’ve still not sought out her work as it’s probably not my thing. The author moved to Los Angeles right after high school, then moved to New York, eventually settling back in LA. She was in an abusive relationship for years (and is able to discuss it with the seriousness it deserves while also keeping the reader entertained and interjecting jokes where possible and appropriate). She has had very substance use disorders, and has found AA to be helpful in maintaining her sobriety.
Here’s where I think I was lost – the discussion about Marianne Williamson’s philosophy of life, is just too woo woo for me. I think the ‘law of attraction’ is utter bullshit and actively harmful as it implies that anyone who is suffering just … didn’t manifest what they wanted hard enough, making pain essentially a personal fault. Not cool.
Also, the title of the book is an ableist slur, so not great.
Keep it / Pass to a Friend / Donate it / Toss it:
Toss it (metaphorically; it’s an audiobook)
