Inside Out is a recent memoir from actress Demi Moore. It's much more than a Hollywood autobiography, as her rocky childhood lead to addiction and relationship issues - anyone who is dealing with recovery would find this of interest.
Demi covers her career from a TV stint on General Hospital to her big break in St. Elmo's Fire, About Last Night, Indecent Proposal, A Few Good Men, and her most popular, Ghost. While making these films she dealt with a lifetime of alcoholism and drug addiction, and more potently, a lack of self worth which made her success meaningless. I was often shocked, her being so open about her childhood, growing up with two alcoholic parents who moved the family several times a year to avoid creditors and scammed whom they could along the way. Her mother was bi-polar and married many times after she separated (but perhaps not divorced) from Demi's dad, changing her name and becoming someone new. Her parents constantly fought, split up, reunited, causing Demi and her brother to shield themselves any way they could amidst dysfunction. At one time the family lived on a stolen credit card; her mother sold her out to the tabloids (and literally to her boyfriend); she discovered her Dad was not her father - all this while presenting another face to the public. Demi had moved away from the family at 16, but carried the family dynamic throughout her life. She had massive success, becoming the highest paid actress, and married Bruce Willis and Ashton Kutcher; but when you feel worthless, it loses its meaning.
There is a really good blending of the Hollywood story and public life that you may be looking for, balanced with introspection. This is written at a point of reflection, and it is obvious that she has gone through the work of recovery programs and set herself upright. It was surprising to hear her inner monologue, as the public on the outside saw only a perfect body and glowing face. During some of what I consider her best work, she was crashing inside. This was very insightful and I think, as the trauma and addictive patterns are so much a part of her story, anyone with recovery or addiction issues will get a lot out of her journey.
Recommended as a revealing look at resilience.
2019 / Hardcover / 262 pages
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