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A review by katietotallybooked
Out of the Corner by Jennifer Grey
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
I finished this book two days ago and it's still at the forefront of my mind. Jennifer Grey shares her candid story in a way that I really connected with. While some might be thrown by the focus on plastic surgery and her botched nose job in the first chapter, I found that it set the stage for the entire memoir.
Jennifer shares how she lost her entire sense of self after that experience. She was no longer recognizable to others, and therefore no longer recognizable to herself. She opens up about her self-esteem and body image issues growing up as an aspiring actor with a famous actor father. She shares about her toxic relationships, both with partners and herself. I appreciate her honesty and vulnerability in sharing her story, and the fact that she wrote the memoir herself. There were even a couple snippets that were laugh-out-loud funny (like her idea for Johnny Depp's tattoo)!
I resonated most with the parts about her journey into motherhood. Especially this passage on pg. 327:
Jennifer shares how she lost her entire sense of self after that experience. She was no longer recognizable to others, and therefore no longer recognizable to herself. She opens up about her self-esteem and body image issues growing up as an aspiring actor with a famous actor father. She shares about her toxic relationships, both with partners and herself. I appreciate her honesty and vulnerability in sharing her story, and the fact that she wrote the memoir herself. There were even a couple snippets that were laugh-out-loud funny (like her idea for Johnny Depp's tattoo)!
I resonated most with the parts about her journey into motherhood. Especially this passage on pg. 327:
I'm struck by how many married women I know intimately, especially mothers of small children, are right now feeling hopelessly stuck in their lives. They don't dare let themselves consider what they might wish for or what they would want their lives to look like if they could make a change. And there it is! "If they could." Well, of course they could! I'm talking about a kind of paralysis that comes from feeling disconnected from your very own independent life, your own oxygen source, as if your inherent value is now on a kind of sliding scale.
As if a woman's value instantly depreciates after motherhood, like a car's sticker price that plummets the moment it's driven off the lot.
I also truly enjoyed the stories from behind the scenes of Dirty Dancing - one of my favourite movies!
Yes, she grew up privileged and yes, her story is a different one to tell, but aren't all of ours?
If you are a fan of Jennifer Grey, if you have seen Dirty Dancing, and if you appreciate honest memoirs, I would recommend this book to you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual assault and Pregnancy
Minor: Child death and Suicide attempt