Nonfiction

Why Did You Stay?: A memoir about self-worth

Why Did You Stay?: A memoir about self-worth

  • Downloads：4023
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-07-20 14:16:35
  • Update Date：2025-09-24
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Rebecca Humphries
  • ISBN：1408714795
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Actor， writer and hopeless romantic Rebecca Humphries had often been called crazy by her boyfriend。 But when paparazzi caught him kissing his Strictly Come Dancing partner， she realised the only crazy thing was believing she didn't deserve more。

Forced into victimhood by the story， Rebecca chose to reclaim her power， posting her thoughts on social media， including advice for other women who might be experiencing what she realised she'd managed to escape: a toxic， oppressive relationship。 A flood of support poured in， but amongst the well-wishes was a simple question with an infinitely complex answer: 'If he was so bad， why did you stay？'

Empowering， unflinching and full of humour， this book takes that question and owns it。 Using her relationship history， coming of age stories and experiences since the Strictly scandal， Rebecca explores why good girls are drawn to darkness， whether pop culture glamourises toxicity， when a relationship 'rough patch' becomes the start of a destructive cycle， if women are conditioned for co-dependency， and - ultimately - how to reframe disaster into something magical。

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Reviews

Kathryn Chard ，

Brilliant！ Candid retelling of events。 This is an empowering book。

Geth ，

4。5*

Laura Angell ，

I listened to the audio book， narrated by the author herself， and think I got a lot more from it as a result。There were times where it was hard to listen to， where my heart ached and I was imploring her to please， please get out of there。 I found myself asking several times "why aren't you leaving？！" - but that is entirely the point of the book， proving how well it was crafted。There were a few sections that my attention waivered slightly - namely the descriptions of the sexual encounters she had I listened to the audio book， narrated by the author herself， and think I got a lot more from it as a result。There were times where it was hard to listen to， where my heart ached and I was imploring her to please， please get out of there。 I found myself asking several times "why aren't you leaving？！" - but that is entirely the point of the book， proving how well it was crafted。There were a few sections that my attention waivered slightly - namely the descriptions of the sexual encounters she had after the break up。 I don't find real sex stories particularly interesting， so I did find these bits went on a little too long， but I think that's more a me-thing than a them-thing。I'm happy that she has moved on and has learnt to be okay being Rebecca， rather than a Girlfriend with a capital G。 。。。more

Grace Iredale ，

Really powerful memoir about toxic relationships， self worth， emotional abuse and gaslighting。 It can feel like a punch in gut at times but in others feels really validating and empowering。 The the most toxic relationship I’ve ever been in was the one no one even knew I was in， as they wanted to keep it a secret from everyone so that they could continue their other ones too。 I didn’t realise how much I still held on to some of the things said and done to me back then until I read this book。 It w Really powerful memoir about toxic relationships， self worth， emotional abuse and gaslighting。 It can feel like a punch in gut at times but in others feels really validating and empowering。 The the most toxic relationship I’ve ever been in was the one no one even knew I was in， as they wanted to keep it a secret from everyone so that they could continue their other ones too。 I didn’t realise how much I still held on to some of the things said and done to me back then until I read this book。 It was like being a string puppet， controlled by the invisible。 No one saw what was happening because it was all done via text in the same room。 I felt like I was going mad。 This book is a personal look at Rebecca’s experience but also talks extensively about the wider societal contributions to situations like this and the impact it can have。 So my answer to Why did you stay？ Is…。 I thought if I acted the right way， things would change。 And that it must be something I was doing wrong。 And the answer to Why did you leave？ Is… I lost it and outed the situation to lots of people because I felt like I was suffocating and that ended it itself。 It was only later after months of work and therapy that I realised it wasn’t me and I didn’t deserve it。 And that by outing this person I’d made them accountable for their actions。 But the reality of the impact is， I still scan a room when in public just in case I need to turn around and leave。 I found out， 8 years later， I had a connection to this person via a mutual friend and it caused me such panic。 There are parts of me that are still bruised from the damage done to my self esteem。 I realise this less a review and more a personal anecdote/confession。 But these are the thoughts that have been prompted by reading this book。 And I’m glad to be able to see how far I’ve come away from that terrible time and sad to see the lasting imprints。 。。。more

Rose Laksevics ，

Honestly， I recommend that everyone read this。 & after reading this funny， painful （in all the best ways） & beautiful book， I know that you might read this Rebecca & if you do， I want to say thank you。 From the bottom of my heart， thank you。 X

Lauren pavey ，

Why did you stay by Rebecca Humphries ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️This was a five star read all the way。 I follow Rebecca humphries on insta and her way of writing and her amazing sense of humour and strength are so visable I hoped I was in for a treat with her memoir but I honestly didn’t expect what I found。 It is phenomenal。 Her book is profoundly raw， it is a no hold barred story of her struggles and her realisation of her self worth。 She never paints herself to be a victim but wants to shine a light on her v Why did you stay by Rebecca Humphries ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️This was a five star read all the way。 I follow Rebecca humphries on insta and her way of writing and her amazing sense of humour and strength are so visable I hoped I was in for a treat with her memoir but I honestly didn’t expect what I found。 It is phenomenal。 Her book is profoundly raw， it is a no hold barred story of her struggles and her realisation of her self worth。 She never paints herself to be a victim but wants to shine a light on her view of the situation she found herself in and it resonated so much with me。 It was like talking to a friend。 I believe the majority of women and men who read this will identify something of their past or current relationships and be able to take away something extremely positive from this memoir。 I never like to give away spoilers but there are some quotes that I will be taking forward with me and feel I have to share - “The life in front of you does not consist of a set of empty boxes to get ticked off。 it’s okay to want marriage and children and a mortgage。 and it’s okay to not。 but whatever it is you do want know there is no rush。 on that note try not to hold onto your mistakes just because you spent a long time investing in them。 you can change your mind you know。 ““ The best day of your life hasn’t happened yet， and you haven’t met everyone that will love you。” My only disappointment with this book is I needed it 10 years ago 🤣Have you read this stunning book？ And if so what did you think ？ 。。。more

Nicoladuffy ，

Inhaled it - didn’t even know who the author was so wasn’t drawn by the famous events that where the catalyst for the book - so well written - some epic lines - a comment about her mother and her relationship - two spirits who didn’t make a very nice cocktail was absolutely wonderful - read immediately please - I am not the effusive type - but have sent to a few peopleI notice most of the reviews are from women - I really feel this book is for everyone

Kate Henderson ，

**listened via audible**Wow！ Wasn’t expecting to love this as much as I did！ Funny， honest， empowering！ Great listen and loved that the author narrates it herself！

Liz ，

4。5 stars。 Very good: entertaining， insightful and structured in an impressively clever way。

Poppy Gill ，

Brave。 Important。 Inspiring。 Deserves to be a bestseller。

Michele ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 https://www。thetimes。co。uk/article/re。。。 https://www。thetimes。co。uk/article/re。。。 。。。more

Tash Webster ，

An extremely candid， sincere and empowering memoir from a fierce woman reclaiming her identity and self-worth after a very public break-up。 Humphries explores the ins and outs of toxic relationships， co-dependency and the impact of pop culture on the expectations of love， recalling her own experiences in unflinching and heart-breaking detail， and making astute and insightful observations about society and relationships in general。 Ultimately she takes control of her pain and demonstrates how to An extremely candid， sincere and empowering memoir from a fierce woman reclaiming her identity and self-worth after a very public break-up。 Humphries explores the ins and outs of toxic relationships， co-dependency and the impact of pop culture on the expectations of love， recalling her own experiences in unflinching and heart-breaking detail， and making astute and insightful observations about society and relationships in general。 Ultimately she takes control of her pain and demonstrates how to reframe disaster as an opportunity。 As Rebecca says: "losing love was hard。 But it was much easier than losing myself。"Thanks to the publisher for the review copy！ 。。。more

bowiesbooks ，

Rebecca Humphries has written a fantastically honest memoir about her public breakup， the relationship itself and the aftermath of it。 First of all， the actual format of the book was done so cleverly。 I won’t spoil it for people but just keep an eye out for the font sizes etc ;） This may be a small detail but I felt like it really added to my reading experience and the book itself。 I loved the tone in which it was written in。 It was accessible， funny and light whilst not being frivolous。 It also Rebecca Humphries has written a fantastically honest memoir about her public breakup， the relationship itself and the aftermath of it。 First of all， the actual format of the book was done so cleverly。 I won’t spoil it for people but just keep an eye out for the font sizes etc ;） This may be a small detail but I felt like it really added to my reading experience and the book itself。 I loved the tone in which it was written in。 It was accessible， funny and light whilst not being frivolous。 It also meant that when things were said seriously， you could feel the intention behind that far more。 While it was interesting to read about the breakup and the background of that， the real story for me began when Rebecca started to fight。 It’s no easy talk and I’m pleased she didn’t make it seem like it was。 But it’s so important for people， women especially， to read about inspiring stories like this and know that speaking out can have such a tremendous effect。 I genuinely believe that this book will help so many women across the world and give them some resources to understand themselves better。 This was a great memoir of finding yourself in the aftermath of a toxic relationship and highlights that you never have to explain to anyone why you stayed。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Why Did You Stay?: A memoir about self-worth

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Why Did You Stay?: A memoir about self-worth&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Why Did You Stay?: A memoir about self-worth&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0