Beautifully written and not for the faint hearted. This should come with almost every trigger warning possible as Selma recounts emotional abuse, sexual assault and rape, addiction, eating disorders, and the time she threw away Britney’s gross sandals. There’s also a lot joy in the pleasure she clearly takes from her work, in stories like getting married at Carrie Fisher’s house, and in the almost overwhelming love she has for her son.

I have been following Selma Blair’s story with growing interest over the years, since seeing her as the naive young girl in Cruel Intentions many years ago. She was someone I noticed in the public eye as I was growing into adulthood and I’d enjoyed her small part in Friends and her very enjoyable appearance in the Hellboy films. Who knows why we notice certain people? I often wonder whether there’s a dormant part of us that recognises a person going through some of the same struggles. I’d looked forward to this memoir because Blair had been pushed back into ,my consciousness lately thanks to her MS diagnosis and a brave choice to rock the red carpet with a walking stick looking every inch the sexy villainess! I was diagnosed with MS in 1995 after years of weird and uncomfortable symptoms that seemed to dip in and out, until I experienced a major relapse. I lost the feeling down my left side, including my face, leaving me struggling to smile properly.

Blair too was plagued with strange and vague symptoms that came and went - the feeling of electric shocks in the body and arms that seemed to be on fire. Without a diagnosis, Blair struggled to find something that eased these strange feelings and turned to drink. She doesn’t pull any punches in this searingly honest memoir where she records being a mean baby, full of spite and biting her sisters through to lying, and behaving in a way that confirmed her bad girl reputation and also kept her the centre of attention. Her solution to the strange physical aches and pains, was turning to drink, as a way of self- medicating, but also because it heightened her wild side.

This is a beautifully written memoir with no attempt to gloss over or omit the difficult experiences in her life, even the ones where she is the architect of her own misfortune. It seems she is able to look at herself at the very least dispassionately, but at times quite harshly. Possibly this is the result of AA and years of therapy, both are incredible tools for the type of self-reflection Blair is incredibly good at. I appreciated that the book takes an unusual narrative arc. Usually memoirs of this kind are structured to show the subject ‘overcoming’ or ‘conquering’ their disability - something that’s known as a redemptive narrative arc. Instead Blair chooses to focus on her MS diagnosis as the wake-up call to get her shit together. It gave her the chance of slowing down in life and the time she needed to address other problems, such as trying to heal from the trauma of sexual abuse and addressing the drinking habits that had been propping her up till now. I applaud this raw and honest account and hope that the writing process helped Blair with her healing. I’m sure that there are many other women with MS who will read the book and appreciate that she hasn’t patronised them or told them how to manage their illness journey.

As other people have mentioned, the file wasn't correctly set up so it was not possible for me to read this. I do love this cover though!

Unfortunately only the pictures were able to view, meaning that the book cannot be read - which is a shame as I was really looking forward to reading it.

I have read a lot of autobiographies. I like the nosy insight into the lifestyles of the rich and famous. However, I am fully aware that the choices of what stories are included in these books are a mixture of the highlight reel of someone's life and the carefully selected stories that paint the writer in the best light. Selma Blair appears to do the opposite. She points out every flaw that she has and she owns it. She talks about the strange and unusual things she did as a child and a young adult and she reflects on why she did these things (the main reason being 'just because') and she shows you her warts and all self. It is refreshing but also painful at times to watch her reveal herself as she slowly peels layers of her skin off to show the true Selma. Impressive but harsh.

I don't think I have ever had such a visceral response to an autobiography but Selma Blair manages to have an impact.

Whilst the stories are difficult what is ultimately the saving grace of this hard story is seeing just how thankful Selma Blair is for the things that have happened to her and the people in her life that have helped her along the way.

Mean Baby is an autobiography that will stay with me for a long time.

Mean Baby - A Memoir of Growing Up by Selma Blair is available now.

For more information regarding Selma Blair (@SelmaBlair) please visit her Twitter Page.

For more information regarding Little, Brown Book Group (@LittleBrownUK) please visit www.littlebrown.co.uk.

Sadly this book didn’t work, only the first page was viewable and although reporter to netgalley the issue wasn’t fixed

I can’t review this book as I only received a few pages of photographs from it. Such a shame as I was so looking forward to reading and reviewing.

I have a lot of respect for Selma Blair but unfortunately I wasn’t able to read this book as the review copy was only 7 pages of images. I look forward to being able to read this in the future though

I would like to read this.
The book has not been sent through properly.
This is unsatisfactory. It is not necessarily any reflection on the finished book though.

I’ve loved Selma since Legally Blonde . So interesting to read her story and struggles and all she has overcome.

Unfortunately , as others have posted, there isn’t any text with this download ,only a few photos.
I hope this can be sorted as I was really eager to get a chance to read this .

I was so excited to get the chance to read and review this book, but unfortunately there is only one page with some photos on it, and not a full book!

I was absolutely thrilled to get the opportunity to read Mean Baby, the actor Selma Blair's autobiography, However, unfortunately there is no text in the kindle version just a few pages of photos. My review therefore is no reflection of this book. I am hoping the publishers will be able to issue a full kindle version of the text and then I will be very happy to write another review.

Sadly the copy I have been issued is 6 pages of photographs. I would be happy to review this book if the download error is fixed.
I had no text in the copy I recieved so can't review fully I'm afraid.

I've loved Selma Blair as an actress for a long time so was really excited to read her memoir. Due to her grumpy expression from birth she was referred to as the 'mean baby'. This book follows her from childhood to the present day and covers her alcohol addiction and MS diagnosis. It's warm, funny and entirely gripping. A truly great read.

I was dying to read this title but Kindle Version shows only 6 pages of photos and no text and PDF version is only 1 page of photos.

Thanks for granting but I am afraid I cannot review a title unless I have the full body of the text.


Happy to give full review if reissued.

As posted no text available simply 6 pages of photographs, happy to give full review when book properly available, thanks

No content was downloaded. Only photos. Please can this be re-issued as there is obviously a fault in the download. Once downloaded properly I will update and give a full review.