Scan barcode
A review by captwinghead
Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes, and Growing Up by Naya Rivera
3.0
This memoir is a bit out of order chronologically which made it a bit hard to follow at times. Each chapter goes based on a theme, but the book is mostly structured from Rivera’s childhood to adulthood. So, I was always a bit confused when it’d go backwards and forwards in time. The timeline of her romantic relationships was pretty murky, but those are the structural issues I had.
Overall, this was an interesting read. Rivera discusses her career start, ups and downs, and how basing worth around when she was working affected her personal life. Most of the issues she seemed to have were related to that, in my opinion, but she seemed to be in a good place at the end of this book.
It’s hard reading how many times she referenced future things she never got the chance to do. It’s so sad remembering she truly was gone too soon.
The book doesn’t shy away from difficult topics. There’s a lot of discussion of her eating disorder. The chapter about Cory Monteith’s passing was very sad. I’m unsurprised to read about Sean being an ass. I was surprised she touched on what happened with Mark Salling. I haven’t forgotten Heather Morris getting in hot water for expressing some sentiment seemingly empathetic towards him. Rivera describes him as the kind of person you wouldn’t be surprised to learn was a creep. It made me wonder how many other cast members would’ve said the same thing.
There are some uncomfortable moments in reading this. The “r” word is tossed out kinda casually considering this had to have been written post 2016. The public stopped saying that word because it was ableist. (Though Gen Z brought it back for some weird af reason). The crack baby joke, while made when Rivera was a child, seems weird to reveal when I’m pretty sure no one would’ve remembered that. Some of Rivera’s humor was a bit… not my thing, but it felt authentic. I felt pretty sure she had a big hand in writing this book unlike some other memoirs I’ve read.
Ultimately, it’s not my favorite memoir I’ve read, but I still got something out of it. I wish we’d gotten to see what things she would’ve gone on to do.
Overall, this was an interesting read. Rivera discusses her career start, ups and downs, and how basing worth around when she was working affected her personal life. Most of the issues she seemed to have were related to that, in my opinion, but she seemed to be in a good place at the end of this book.
It’s hard reading how many times she referenced future things she never got the chance to do. It’s so sad remembering she truly was gone too soon.
The book doesn’t shy away from difficult topics. There’s a lot of discussion of her eating disorder. The chapter about Cory Monteith’s passing was very sad. I’m unsurprised to read about Sean being an ass. I was surprised she touched on what happened with Mark Salling. I haven’t forgotten Heather Morris getting in hot water for expressing some sentiment seemingly empathetic towards him. Rivera describes him as the kind of person you wouldn’t be surprised to learn was a creep. It made me wonder how many other cast members would’ve said the same thing.
There are some uncomfortable moments in reading this. The “r” word is tossed out kinda casually considering this had to have been written post 2016. The public stopped saying that word because it was ableist. (Though Gen Z brought it back for some weird af reason). The crack baby joke, while made when Rivera was a child, seems weird to reveal when I’m pretty sure no one would’ve remembered that. Some of Rivera’s humor was a bit… not my thing, but it felt authentic. I felt pretty sure she had a big hand in writing this book unlike some other memoirs I’ve read.
Ultimately, it’s not my favorite memoir I’ve read, but I still got something out of it. I wish we’d gotten to see what things she would’ve gone on to do.