Should she be telling us this?
A review of TV writer Chelsea Devantez’ memoir
Podcasts got me through the last phase of my PhD and one among them was Chelsea Devantez’ ‘Glamorous Trash’. A podcast dedicated to recapping and discussing the memoirs of women celebrities, I was drawn to it because of Chelsea’s powerful voice, strong hosting skills, and her nuanced takes on female relationships.
When I first heard she had written a memoir, it took me a few weeks to get a copy on the Libby app. My first try was rough though. Given her career in comedy, which includes writing for several sitcoms, this book could be classified as a “comedy girl memoir”. The writing style, rife with exclamations, capitalized sentences and banter, was difficult to get used to at first. It felt like I had picked up a Princess Diaries book from my teenager years and was skimming through Mia Thermopolis’ diary. That said, I slowly grew to love the book. She was honest, vulnerable and yet always endearing, compelling me to read the entire book in a single night. I hate the idea of rating someone’s life, but as a piece of art, this work is a solid 4.5/5 and these are the reasons why:
The cover: I love judging books by their cover. Why else would publishing houses pay illustrators if not to create a beautiful product? This book cover was interesting and fun. Written across the bathroom walls are the title of the book ‘I shouldn’t be telling you this but I’m going to anyway’. The title and cover work together beautifully because it doesn’t assume that readers of this book need to know Chelsea, her podcast or her prolific career to pick this memoir up . On a side note, I hate books with celebrity pictures on the cover. I guess it helps to sell copies but goodness, please be more creative.
The structure: I’ve come to learn that good memoirs are not chronological. A reader doesn’t need to know your entire life from birth to present day to get a glimpse of who you are. The chapters of this book are each dedicated to some of the women that have shaped Chelsea’s life (for better or worse) and through her experiences with these women, we witness the author grow and her life unfold.
The timing: Many celebrities and influencers seem to view memoirs as easy cash grabs, interspersing boring anecdotes with Buzzfeedesque lists and unnecessary advice. Another issue is they write too young. There’s not a lot a thirty-year old can say to me about the world that is inspiring or earth shattering. This was different. While Chelsea is still young (in her 30s?) and has a long way to go in her career, I believe that she had a lot of meaningful life experiences to draw from to fill not one, but two books at least. There were a lot of personal incidents from her family life, friendships, early career and health struggles that she shared, peppering some of the most horrifying things I’ve heard in my life with humour and a lot of introspection. I’m so glad she had the courage to write this book because each chapter was better and more unique than the last.
Would I recommend this book? Yes. Without giving away too much, I would recommend this book to the following people (in no particular order):
People who love the ‘Glamorous Trash’ podcast.
People who have broken families and want to feel less alone.
People who love bold and eccentric women role models (read: ‘Amazing Grace’, ‘mom’ and ‘Ashley’).
People who have gone through painful friendship breakups and are looking to find their experiences represented in the media.
People who have had medical issues overlooked by professionals.
People who are donor-conceived and are still navigating questions of identity, race, ethnicity and personality with one crucial half of the data missing.
People interested in starting a career in entertainment and don’t know where to begin.
People who need to learn how to lift up other women up irrespective of what stage in your career you’re at.
People who just want to laugh and have a one-sided chat with a fun author.
Read the book and let me know what you think. There are parts of this book where she discusses her history as a domestic violence survivor but the chapter was later heavily redacted for legal reasons. So do check out this image of Chelsea Devantez wearing a custom-made gown featuring the uncensored version of the redacted sections and reclaiming her story. For women who are always silenced, their stories can be their strongest armours.