Customer Reviews

Juicy: Confessions of a Former Baseball Wife

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I agree with both sets of reviewers. The book was both terrible and hard to put down at the same time.

Jessica comes off as sympathetic to a degree in the first half of the book. No, she's not the deepest well in the yard, but she seems refreshingly candid and naive. Jose treated her badly, but given her dysfunctional family background, she may not have known to expect anything better.

As the book progresses, though, she seems sleazier and sleazier, until I began to lose sympathy for her. When she finally left Jose, she didn't become a responsible, stable mother, but a partier and recreational drug user. Since her ex only used steroids, he actually comes across as the more responsible parent in a way. (Not that I'm condoning steroid abuse, mind you, but they are probably less mind-altering than Ecstasy, Jessica's drug of choice.)

I also found it hard to buy the "liberating" ending of her posing naked for Playboy. That's liberation?

There was also disappointingly little about the life of a baseball wife. I didn't get the impression that the Canseco's union was typical of all or most baseball marriages.

So, overall, while the book is easy to read and fascinating in a train-wreck sort of way, it is devoid of any sympathetic characters, except for the daughter and the pets.

I'm afraid it's a little hard to feel sympathy for a woman, however young, who enters into a relationship with a known womanizer - with a MLB star at that, whom are notorious for being less than faithful) - then sticks with him when she knows he's cheating on her from the start. It's harder still to like a woman who then places the blame numerous times on the "poor parenting" and lack of values instilled by her parents. The person I feel the most sympathy for is her mother, who may not have been a role model, but at least seemed to unconditionally love her children and tried to be supportive. Was it really necessary for her to tell her family secrets? While she may want a crack at fame and fortune, I'm afraid she's book-worthy for no reason other than being the ex-wife to a MLB player.

I give her credit for at least being honest in hindsight and taking her share of the blame in many of the situations, even when it makes her unsympathetic - and that makes her likeable. I could better understand her situation had Jose Canseco changed after their relationship began - but it seems like he was an uncommunicative, selfish, arrogant person from the day they met, who never treated her well. Jessica allowed herself to be bought by her attraction to him, his lifestyle and his fame - whether she ever really loved him isn't clear - but for all that, it got her nothing but unhappiness.

For all her harsh words regarding her parents, maybe one day she'll grow up and realize they're just people too - and everyone makes mistakes. Doesn't seem to have stopped her from making her share of mistakes, as I consider her Playboy stint. While she may have divorced Jose, she doesn't seem to have divorced herself of the idea of fame - and her use of his fame for her own means seems contradictatory of what she claims to have set out to do - free herself of him and move on to an independent life being a good parent to her daughter. I don't mean to be harsh myself, but so far, a pretty face and body is what Jessica has traded on all her life and we all know that doesn't last forever.

I bought this book because I already knew what Jose had to say, but wanted to hear what Jessica had say. The 1st half of the book she said absolutely nothing except repeat how she would catch Jose cheating, they would fight, break up, and get back together again. In fact she just repeats this throughout the whole book. How many times can you read the same story before you get bored?? You really get to the point where you just want to slap her and knock some sense into her for being so stupid.

I really dont know why I kept reading this book. I kept hoping something eventfull would happen, but it never really did. I wouldnt recommend this book unless you want to hear an ex-wifes story about how her husband cheats on her and abuses her in a never ending cycle of 230+ pages

I borrowed this from a friend as I read Canseco's juiced. This is what happens when trash come across lots of money! Jessica and Jose should have their daughter taken away from them as they are clearly unfit to be parents. What sort of a parent leaves their child at home to go out and do drugs, have threesomes and participate in screaming matches in front of their child? Unfit parents-that's who.

Jessica is a money hungry little tart who needs to grow up and stop being so self centered. From her awful nose job, to her awful life and her juvenile writing style, Jessica has managed to waste a lot of people's time with this drivel.

I just finished this book and I just cannot understand why she married him. During their long "relationship", she desperately tried everything she could to snag him - flying all over the country to see him (how did she get so much time off from Hooters?), even deciding to move to Florida (her idea, he didn't first invite her!) where he has an off-season home - how desperate is THAT?, yet complains he didn't communicate with her, lied to her, she didn't enjoy the sex, he constantly cheated on her and gave her infections, so WHY for heaven's sake marry the guy? She said she was "addicted" to him, but I think instead she was addicted to his wallet.
A man like this is obviously unmarriageable - sex-craved from the steroids and groupies throwing themselves at him....I don't agree with his lifestyle, BUT....she TOTALLY KNEW what he was like right from the beginning of the relationship!! So why continue a relationship? Greed and money!!
She coerced him to get married after she became pregnant because she needed health insurance...well, he is rich enough to have purchased any kind of health plan for her, so what kind of vapid reason is THAT? Dumb, dumb, dumb.
(Of course I'M the one trudging off to work each day and she is sitting pretty counting her Jose-money, so maybe she knew just what she was doing!)
I was especially appalled at their behavior AFTER they had the baby- the fighting they did in front of their child, the moving in and moving out she did, her partying with her druggie friends and sleeping with yet another sports star, and threesomes - what kind of irresponsible parenting is THAT?! I'm sure the child was NOT oblivious to all of this.
Lastly another annoying thing in this book was her constant references to how beautiful she is....I was SO tired of hearing her bragging about her looks and her bikini contest winnings. She even said that she is prettier than both of her sisters. Well, beauty is a subjective thing, and greed, silicon, selfishness, and narcissism all greatly reduce any concept of "beauty" - what will this woman's contributions to life be when her looks start to fade and the Jose-money is gone?

First of all, I think this book can be read in one hour because it's about on a fourth grade reading level. I think Jessica was trying to get readers to feel sorry for her..FOR WHAT?? Being a gold digger?? She is more stuck on herself than Jose is. Many references to the way she feels she is "hot" and Sexy. She admits that even as a teenager she was only attracted to guys who were "buff" and gorgeous. Well, DUH!! What did we expect her to say' "I really wanted to marry a guy who is 130lbs soaking wet in his clothes, has tape on his horn-rimmed glasses, and wears a pocket protector." Please give me a break! And to think this woman is a mother?? Of course some famous guy is going to take you to bed if you throw yourself at them enough. I'm sorry but the whole time I was reading I was on Jose's side completely. Glad he came to his senses and let her go!!

...but then you're left with a bad taste in your mouth.

I've read a few of these autobiographies from trophy wives of stars and they're pretty much all the same, and all have the same themes. Let me sum this book (and about 3 others) up for you, to save you some time:
- Don't hate me because I'm beautiful, I had a tough childhood
- It's really, really difficult for me because no one takes me seriously, because I am just so much prettier than everyone else
- I spend more on clothes, beauty products, and spa treatments each month than 5 average families spend on food and rent
- The only wage-paying job I've ever had involved me showing off my amazing body, but again, don't hate me because I'm beautiful
- I really thought my incredibly handsome husband who couldn't keep his pants zipped for FIVE MINUTES before we were married would be faithful to me! And I was totally heartbroken when he cheated!
- Even though I ditch my kid(s) with the nanny every chance I get, my children are my life! And I am such a great mother I could win awards!
- I would LOVE to get a real job and support myself like a normal person, but going back to school is just too hard, so I'll keep living off the alimony, thanks. That is, until I can find a new rich guy to pick up the tab of my incredibly shallow and image-focused lifestyle.

Yawn. Jessica Canseco obviously has some big issues with Jose and wants to make him look bad, but just makes herself look like a gold-digging bimbo. I mainly read this looking for some kind of input from a baseball wife on the whole steroids-in-baseball issue but all I got out of this about that was: people in baseball do steroids. I did learn a lot about how baseball wives have tons of unnecessary plastic surgery when they get bored.

I will say that Jessica does seem self-aware about the shallowness of her life in some points, but in others just seems completely self-absorbed and clueless. The book was very obviously ghostwritten, and despite that, the platitudes and therapy-speak still get very old fast.

I think books like this are valuable for one reason, and that is to serve as cautionary tales for women who follow celebrity men around thinking they are one wild night away from the good life. Jessica may have been rich but her life seems incredibly empty and devoid of meaning to me. No wonder these trophy wives are so anxious to have kids - they probably need something, ANYTHING, to latch onto to give their lives some kind of shape or meaning. If this is grabbing the brass ring, I'm happy to be living in the slow lane of life because no amount of money is worth giving up your self-respect, in my opinion. It's too bad so many other women don't feel the same way.

This is a reasonably well written book, but the problem with it, is that it's a money making gig for Jessica. She is a very sad woman, and while it's an interesting insight into the life of a former great ball player, this is more of her own biography when really she is only 'famous' for being Jose's wife. Nothing she has ever done (from what she's written) has 'earned' her the right to write this book. I wish I hadn't bought it, because she gets my money and for what? Sure I get a one sided look into Jose's life, but she herself has never done anything important enough to read about. At the end of the book, she talks about how she's going to be developing her own line of skin care. Nowhere in the book does it mention that she is qualified for this or has training for this. Why would we buy such products from her? This confirms my theory that this book too, is just a money making gig because of who her ex husband is.

You can put your clothes back on now, Jessica. Also, just wondering why you didn't retain your maiden name. Maybe you wouldn't have sold any books?

Another self absorbed expose. What tripe. I can't imagine how this poor little girl is going is going to have a healthy life with such non-parents. How can someone have so little self esteem as to admit to such behavior. Save your money on this one.