Mean Baby: A Memoir of Growing Up
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-05-19 09:51:33
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Selma Blair
- ISBN：0349013861
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Summary
Selma Blair has played many archetypal roles: Gullible ingenue in Cruel Intentions。 Preppy ice queen in Legally Blonde。 Fire-starter in Hellboy。 Muse to Karl Lagerfeld。 Face of Chanel。 Cover model。 Advocate for the multiple sclerosis community。 But before all of that， Selma was known best for being one thing: a mean baby。 In a memoir that is as wildly funny as it is emotionally shattering， Selma Blair tells the captivating story of growing up and finding her truth。
The first story Selma Blair Beitner ever heard about herself is that she was a mean， mean baby。 With her mouth pulled in a perpetual snarl and a head so furry it had to be rubbed to make way for her forehead， Selma spent years living up to her terrible reputation: biting her sisters， lying spontaneously， getting drunk from Passover wine at the age of seven， and behaving dramatically so that she would be the center of attention。 Although Selma went on to become a celebrated Hollywood actress and model， she could never quite shake the periods of darkness that overtook her， the certainty that there was a great mystery at the heart of her life。 She often felt like her arms might be on fire， a sensation not unlike electric shocks， and she secretly drank to escape。 Over the course of this beautiful and， at times， shocking memoir， Selma lays bare her addiction to alcohol， her devotion to her brilliant and complicated mother， and the moments she flirted with death。 There is brutal violence， passionate love， true friendship， the gift of motherhood， and， finally， the simultaneous devastation and surprising salvation of a multiple sclerosis diagnosis。 In a voice that is powerfully original， fiercely intelligent， and full of hard-won wisdom， Selma Blair’s Mean Baby is a deeply human memoir and a true literary achievement。
The first story Selma Blair Beitner ever heard about herself is that she was a mean， mean baby。 With her mouth pulled in a perpetual snarl and a head so furry it had to be rubbed to make way for her forehead， Selma spent years living up to her terrible reputation: biting her sisters， lying spontaneously， getting drunk from Passover wine at the age of seven， and behaving dramatically so that she would be the center of attention。 Although Selma went on to become a celebrated Hollywood actress and model， she could never quite shake the periods of darkness that overtook her， the certainty that there was a great mystery at the heart of her life。 She often felt like her arms might be on fire， a sensation not unlike electric shocks， and she secretly drank to escape。 Over the course of this beautiful and， at times， shocking memoir， Selma lays bare her addiction to alcohol， her devotion to her brilliant and complicated mother， and the moments she flirted with death。 There is brutal violence， passionate love， true friendship， the gift of motherhood， and， finally， the simultaneous devastation and surprising salvation of a multiple sclerosis diagnosis。 In a voice that is powerfully original， fiercely intelligent， and full of hard-won wisdom， Selma Blair’s Mean Baby is a deeply human memoir and a true literary achievement。
Reviews
nor
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Selma Blair's memoir is the first memoir I've read in years and it reminded me of what such books can achieve。 This book is a masterclass， not just in writing， but in storytelling and what it means to truly pour your heart into your work。 Mean Baby feels like a love letter to Blair's younger self， who dealt with the disease she so often references without ever really knowing the cause of her debilitating health issues。 It feels like a love letter to her late mother， with whom she shared a compli Selma Blair's memoir is the first memoir I've read in years and it reminded me of what such books can achieve。 This book is a masterclass， not just in writing， but in storytelling and what it means to truly pour your heart into your work。 Mean Baby feels like a love letter to Blair's younger self， who dealt with the disease she so often references without ever really knowing the cause of her debilitating health issues。 It feels like a love letter to her late mother， with whom she shared a complicated relationship and played an endless game of tug-of-war between disapproval and pride， right up until she died。 Most of all， it feels like a love letter to her son， Arthur， who she describes as a kindred spirit in that he is a "mean baby"， just like her。 Mean Baby is all of these things and more。 Packed to the brim with gorgeous prose and flowing paragraphs chronicling Blair's childhood， time in Hollywood， and adult life as her struggle with MS worsened， this book holds nothing back， bold in all the right ways， and brave in the most important ones。 Blair shares even the most humiliating of her experiences， in part because they are critical to the story she is telling， but also because all except for close friends won't know what was truly happening behind the scenes。 Mean Baby is entertaining， witty， and well-written， but more than that， it is heartfelt; a lifelong puzzle missing a piece that Blair eventually finds in her son—and， in some ways， her MS diagnosis， two things that go hand in hand in the change she has experienced in the past third of her life。 Blair's struggle with MS might not have been fully realized until adulthood， but the scars the illness has left on her past are all too apparent to the reader， who knows years in advance that the chronic pain she suffers from is not in her head。 The reader has the unique experience of being able to view Blair's life through the lens of her disease， seeing just how drastically it affects everything that she does， be it the depression she suffers from or the alcoholism that arises as a result of her desire to escape the pain。 It's incredibly interesting to see it from this objective point of view， detached from how Blair describes herself feeling at the time; the reading experience becomes so much more nuanced as a result。 Blair has made bad decisions throughout her life， just as anybody has， but in this way， the reader is able to see where those decisions might have arisen， even if Blair herself didn't realize it at the time。Above all else， Mean Baby is the story of a mother's love for her son and how Blair broke the cycle of poor parental relationships plaguing her family。 Already， the moment Arthur is born， the reader can feel Blair's love for him as if it were a physical thing， tangible and real， and in some ways， it is: Blair's symptoms are reduced when carrying him up the stairs to bed; her body loosens up when they cuddle， relieved of the ever-present stress it is forced to endure daily。 These facts stand out in sharp contrast to Blair's relationship with her mother， Molly， and how deep the issues between them ran。 Mean Baby paints a picture of a relationship riddled with perpetual disapproval， the admiration that Blair felt for her mother permanently unreciprocated， despite her success on the Hollywood scene。 Molly constantly criticizes her， even going so far as to express disappointment at the magazines Blair sends to her with her on the front。 This cycle， Blair reveals， originates with her grandfather， PopPop， and his own disapproval of her mother。 This generational cycle of pain follows Blair through her life and her desperate attempts to satisfy her mother's expectations， how she turns to alcohol as the realization hits—she cannot satisfy them， because her mother's expectations of her are the exact ones placed on her by PopPop。 Blair cannot satisfy them because her mother cannot satisfy them。 It's a moment that could be disheartening but isn't—if only because of the wit and wisdom with which Blair tackles the subject in the present， giving herself （and readers who might experience similar relationships with their own loved ones） the kindness she sought out when she was younger。As Blair states in the book's final pages， she is not the end-all-be-all of MS cases; nor is her experience universal。 Someone with MS might identify with her story， while others might not。 But Mean Baby is not just a story dedicated to her illness; it is a story of many things—of loss， of grief， of love， of recovery from the dark places that we believe we will never come back from。 It is the story of Blair's triumphant battle not against MS， but against the demons that have followed her all throughout her life。 Blair is not the end-all-be-all; however， she is a champion that readers will want to root for through every misstep and breakdown。 Because in truth， all of us can see a bit of the mean baby in ourselves。 But， like Blair， we all have the capacity to escape the childhood roles decided for us—to break out of the generational mold laid out before our birth and grow into our best selves。 Blair， at least， is on her way there， even if she hasn't arrived at her destination yet。 。。。more
Emilie
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