I Read It So You Don't Have To: Not Afraid of Life

[GolightlyGrrl]

Well, someone had to read Bristol Palin's memoir. It might as well be me. I look forward to you comments.

http://blog.freejinger.org/when-i-first ... -teenager/

[crazyforkate]

Ooh, boy, you are brave. Tried this once and couldn't get through the first few pages. Bristol Palin just seems like the biggest waste of space ever. She's done nothing with her life except get pregnant and make money off her mother's name, and yet she acts like the Queen of Everything. I just feel sorry for Tripp, poor kid. Imagine having those two for parents. (NOTE: Do not waste even five minutes on Life's a Tripp, it is like watching grass grow.)

And thanks for the recommends! Second the Donofrio book, it was very well-written.

[debrand]

Well, someone had to read Bristol Palin's memoir. It might as well be me. I look forward to you comments.

http://blog.freejinger.org/when-i-first ... -teenager/

Tomorrow I will read through your blog. Thank you for reading this for us.

[Anny Nym]

Bristol Palin´s memoir... . Does it come in a combo with Honey Boo Boo - Mom´s greatest homecookery hits?

[NotALoserLikeYou]

She was on Celebrity Wife Swap a few weeks ago and her kid was a super brat. Not the greatest parenting skills.

[Jen0925]

Omg I agree she's bizarre but I can't look away. Her kid was awful on wife swap.

[rward]

Memoir? She's a privileged white straight cis 20 something from the US- what the fuck could she possibly have to say?

[bananacat]

Only among Republicans could a teenage mother who is the daughter of an abstinence-only-pushing politician make money off of sheer blatant hypocrisy.

[wild little fox]

Superficial, vacuous parents often have superficial, vacuous children. SP has never looked at herself any deeper than her own reflection in the mirror.

I watched the episode if Wife Swap with Bristol and Willow. I feel bad for those girls. They have a sense of entitlement as Christian Republicans, but they have little or no belief in themselves. Willow has no drive and very little self confidence.

The Palin kids have a chance to make some money to improve their outlook on life. To earn some depth. But they may very well always be hothouse roses.

[ceg045]

"Not Afraid of Life" sounds like a bad fanfiction title.

[Trynn]

Memoir? She's a privileged white straight cis 20 something from the US- what the fuck could she possibly have to say?

Actually, these qualities alone don't mean she has nothing of worth to say... Ive read some books by people like that who were very worth reading about.

I have not read the book, so there may be other things, but just white, straight, cis, even privilege alone do not mean the person doesn't have something to say that is worth saying.

[Trynn]

"Not Afraid of Life" sounds like a bad fanfiction title.

Oh, I've been reading it as "not afraid to lie."

[uber frau]

Actually, these qualities alone don't mean she has nothing of worth to say... Ive read some books by people like that who were very worth reading about.

I have not read the book, so there may be other things, but just white, straight, cis, even privilege alone do not mean the person doesn't have something to say that is worth saying.

True. The fact that she's grown up on top of the social heap is far less of a problem than the fact that she's about as considered as your average cane toad.

[Shoes Grace]

Memoir? She's a privileged white straight cis 20 something from the US- what the fuck could she possibly have to say?

How many of us have our fingers crossed that a Duggar will one day have something to say?

I'd say Bristol could say plenty, but she doesn't have the best lens yet. If she were to go into political journalism and one day in the future be able to speak intelligently and personally about her family's role in politics, and the effects of the McCain/Palin campaign from an insider perspective (which, let's face it, she doesn't really have that, either), that might be a valuable perspective. Or, alternatively, if she sticks with it and in 20 years she wants to talk about abstinence education, that might also be interesting. At best, though, anything she has to say now is like when they drag on that distant relative of a dead famous person to talk about them "personally." Dude, F Scott Fitzgerald's been dead since before your parents were born, what do you know about your great great uncle that we don't?

[EyeQueue]

What is "cis"?

[uber frau]

The opposite of trans. It's a chemistry term that got adopted .

[JesusFightClub]

Thanks for this review, GoligjtlyGrrl! It really summed up what I dreaded Palin's memoir might be like. I'd read her mum's and nearly died of boredom. This sounds like it's the same clunking record of facts and carefully worded reactions.

She's a privileged white straight cis 20 something from the US- what the fuck could she possibly have to say?

A fair point, rward, but I think we can't automatically assume memoirs have no value on that basis. As someone else said, I'd be interested in a Duggar memoir. I was interested in Jenna Miscavige's memoir. Likewise was I interested to hear about the Mitfords (although that went a bit mad and eventually was boring) and other white, privileged memoirists from Europe and the UK. (Is "memoirists" a word?) If anyone's got something burning to say, it's worth a shot.

If a writer has an interesting tale to tell, they can tell it and let us be the judge of whether it's worthy of a read and tells us something new and interesting, or whether it's marginally less interesting than one's used toilet paper after a dodgy kebab.

[kpmom]

Memoir? She's a privileged white straight cis 20 something from the US- what the fuck could she possibly have to say?

I have to agree with rward on this. Especially the 20 something part. In general, (as others have pointed out, there are exceptions) I think you should do some living before you write a memoir.

[SPHASH]

I've never read Barstools (my nickname for her) book, but what was most appalling was her accusing Levi of raping her and taking her virginity. Someday Tripp will read that and think he is a product of rape, imagine that trauma. And if Levi really did rape Barstool, why did she continue to sleep with him and get engaged?

[FJismyheadship]

Oh, I've been reading it as "not afraid to lie."

I keep hearing Love The Way You Lie in my head lol

[Patsy]

I've never read Barstools (my nickname for her) book, but what was most appalling was her accusing Levi of raping her and taking her virginity. Someday Tripp will read that and think he is a product of rape, imagine that trauma. And if Levi really did rape Barstool, why did she continue to sleep with him and get engaged?

People do that all the time. Please don't imply that such actions mean there couldn't have been a rape, victim blamers do that all the time.

[Trynn]

People do that all the time. Please don't imply that such actions mean there couldn't have been a rape, victim blamers do that all the time.

Quoted for truth. It is not something I understand, but I do know it happens. Especially in situations where the victim has been brought up to think of sex as something you should only have with one person ever and would feel horrible horrible guilt over premarital sex.

As for discovering that one is the product of rape.... well, possibly, but if he was, he'd find out anyway, right? I mean, sooner or later these things do come up.

[SPHASH]

People do that all the time. Please don't imply that such actions mean there couldn't have been a rape, victim blamers do that all the time.

Bristol has a history of publiclly disparaging Levi and lyingn even under oath. During the e-mail hacker trial she claimed they lived out in the middle of nowhere, they live along Lake Lucille which is within the Wasilla city limits and was concerned about her safety. This all happened during the campaign when there were Secret Service agents at the house to protect her. She also claims Levi ignores Tripp and is a deadbeat dad but its been documented that Levi has texts asking to see Tripp. Bristol is a proven liar and people like her are the reason rape victims do not come forward. She is no longer abstaining which also makes her a hypocrite.

[bananacat]

I'm actually not convinced that Levi didn't rape her. No matter how obnoxious Bristol is, she still doesn't and didn't deserve rape. Since charges were never brought against Levi I guess I'll never know for sure, but it wouldn't surprise me one bit if he did rape her.

As for Tripp finding out, it's Levi's fault for doing it and not Bristol's fault for revealing it. And as for the false accusation, they're rare even among people who have lied about other things.

[Trynn]

Chances are if charges were brought against him, we STILL wouldn't know.