I’ll Have What She’s Having by Chelsea Handler #BookReview #TuesdayBookBlog

Book Blurb:

In hilarious and tender essays, #1 New York Times bestselling author Chelsea Handler shares her unforgettable story of becoming the woman she always wanted to be.

There’s a woman I want to become, Chelsea Handler thought as a child. She’ll be strong and confident. She’ll light up a room and spread that light to make others feel better. She’ll make a living being herself. She’ll be a survivor.

At ten years old, Chelsea opened a lemonade stand and realized she’d make more money if the drinks were spiked. So she added vodka to her recipe and used her earnings to upgrade herself to first-class on a family vacation—leaving her parents and siblings in coach. She moved to Los Angeles and got fired from her temp job when she admitted she didn’t know how to transfer calls. She’s played pickleball with the scions of an American dynasty. She’s sexted a governor. She shared psychedelics with strangers in Spain. When she accidentally ended up at dinner with Woody Allen, she was not going to leave the table without asking him a very personal pointed question. She went on national television and talked about having threesomes. She’s never been one to hold back.

But this life of adventure and absurdity is only part of her story. Chelsea knows what it is to truly show up for her family—canine and human, biological and chosen. She’s discovered how to spend time with herself, how to meditate, how to be open to love, and how to end a relationship with dignity. She is a sister to the many women who rely on her.

Surprisingly vulnerable and always outrageous, Chelsea Handler captures the antic-filled, exhilarating, and joyful life she’s built—a life that makes the rest of us think, I’ll have what she’s having.

My Review:

You know the name. So do I. And I opted for this book anyway, assuming I’d get what I expected.

You know what you get when you assume?

And, yes, I got some a lot of that. And I also got a surprising number of revelations. Not just about her. But also about me. Gees, after reading some of her childhood, I kept wondering why in the world was she so screwed up? Why did she require years of therapy to make a breakthrough in understanding who she was and how she got there?

This from a narcissist:
“When I see a bird, I’m not thinking about what that bird is thinking about. I’m thinking about how well rounded I am that I’m paying attention to birds…The bird is always about me; it’s never just a bird.”

My first book by this author almost turned me off when she began talking about Jane Fonda. (Remember, we spent years in the military during ‘Nam when Fonda made that infamous trip to North Vietnam, still earning her blistering traitor comments. How could anyone take advice from someone who created such hatred from our guys?)

Still, the heart-to-heart struck a chord with Chelsea, and giving it much thought began a turn-around in her attitude. Known for her open dislike of the male gender and children, it’s amazing she could find so many men with whom to have relationships. She was looking for “the one.” As it was observed, however, women appeared to expect men to change while men expected a woman not to. Yeah, funny, and isn’t it the truth? But there were a lot of quotables, funny observations nestled in all those life lessons and chapter-length discussions on how to be a better person.

“…recognize that instinct is a knowing feeling, and impulse is acting on an emotion.”

My eyes might have occasionally glazed over when the lectures of what she discovered and how she turned it around went on rant page after page. Sometimes it felt like the point was not just made but then pounded in with a jackhammer. And all this from a woman readily discussing her drug and alcohol use, sheets of LSD. Was she writing “on the influence?” I had that feeling more than once. Were I at a cocktail party and she was on a soap box, I’d be finding another group to listen in on.

“Dependable, kind, munificent, free. These are the words I want people to use when describing me.”

But she made her point, one that keeps being stuck over and over: Kindness. You never know what someone else is going through.

I loved her account of the children she’s worked with, the love she has for her nieces and nephews, and her own dogs. When she’s on a mission to learn more about parenting, whether human child or pup, she dives in up to her chin and has the wherewithal to pay for the best tutorage.

“I was finally grasping the idea that all children are all of our responsibilities.” (Yes, it takes a neighborhood, a mantra when I was growing up.)

So, yes, I’m torn. An interesting and unexpected book. I suspect I might have greatly enjoyed an audiobook version, but this gave me the opportunity to peek into the life of the woman proclaiming her freedom, apparently from everything deemed appropriate for a successful woman supporting herself in grand style by being herself. If you’re a Chelsea fan, then you’ll no doubt love this book. My generation, though, grown before burning bras was the thing might still find some disclosures TMI.

I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the author and publisher through @NetGalley that in no way influenced this review. These are my honest thoughts.

Rosepoint Rating: Four Stars

 

Book Details:

Genre: Celebrity & Popular Culture Humor, Humor Essays,
Publisher: The Dial Press
ASIN: B0DDSK9TJR
Print Length: 320 pages
Publication Date: February 25, 2025
Source: Publisher and NetGalley

Title Link(s):

Amazon-US  |  Amazon-UK   |   Barnes & Noble  |  Kobo

The Author: Chelsea Handler is an accomplished stand-up comic and actress, as well as the bestselling author of My Horizontal Life. She is the star of her own late-night show on E!, Chelsea Lately; was one of the stars of Girls Behaving Badly; has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Night with David Letterman; and has starred in her own half-hour Comedy Central special. Chelsea makes regular appearances in comedy clubs across America and lives in Los Angeles.

©2024 V Williams