Customer Reviews

unSweetined

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've read a few of these celeb memoirs and this ranks up there with the best of them. With the tragedy of Mackenzie Phillips' recent memoir combined with the readability of Tori Spelling's sToritelling, Jodie's humor and frank self awareness grab you from the very first page. Indeed, I picked this up at the bookstore yesterday and opening it up in the afternoon found myself so swept away that by the time I looked up I found myself a third of the way through the book. It's easy to forget how big Full House was (and still is in syndication) and what it could mean to a young girl growing up on set. How that family becomes just as important as the one at home - especially when in Jodie's case, you're adopted. Drugs so often fill the void, but shocking is just how well she hid it from all her loved ones - especially her cop husband. Salvation so often comes in the promise of the future and Jodie was no exception; her daughter became her saving grace. I recommend this book for fans of the show certainly (no other book has gone behind the scenes of Full House that I can recall), but also for mothers wondering about the inner lives of their daughters, young women who may feel awkward around others but also those young women whose popularity has become a burden, wondering where to draw the line. Finally, this is just for people looking for a good read.

First I want to say that I am a big fan of Jodie Sweetin's. I hope for and pray that she's able to stay clean both for herself and for her baby. And I applaud her for the progress she's made. Not having walked in her footsteps I can't even begin to fathom what she's gone through in her life. I also enjoyed her Full House stories and photos - it's clear she's not bitter about the show that made her famous, as other child stars have been known to be.

It definitely was interesting, and I read the book in 3 days. That said, I wasn't too impressed with her memoir. It's clear she's had a lot of ups and downs (way downs) and her story itself is impressive. But the writing seemed rushed at times. I also question the reasoning behind writing her story now when so many things are still up in the air. As she said, she relapsed while she was writing the book, and her divorce from her second husband is still ongoing (and she definitely pulled her punches when describing how their marriage fell apart.)

I think this had a lot of potential and with a little more time, could have been much better. As it is, it is good and I would recommend it, but I hope to see and hear more in the future from Jodie.

Jodie Sweetin's memoir "UnSweetined" chronicles her life as Stephanie Tanner on the late eighties early nineties hit show Full House, her troublesome adolescence, and her adult foray into a destructive lifestyle involving frequent partying, drinks, and drugs. Unlike popular perception, as Sweetin shares, her long run on a hit TV show didn't guarantee her an acting future--if anything, being associated with Stephanie only hampered her efforts, as showbiz refused to recognize her as anything but her TV persona. One of the tales Sweetin shares is going to audition for a new role and being asked to reprise her Stephanie Tanner catchphrase from the show, "how rude!" Jodie complies, but still doesn't get the role she auditioned for. Disappointed, she tries to live a regular teenage life and attend high school--only to feel she doesn't fit in. Ultimately, Sweetin craves the stability she had on Full House but fails to achieve it in her real life.

While attending her former castmate Candace Cameron's wedding, a year after the show has gone off the air, Sweetin gets drunk and savors the temporary confidence alcohol gives her. Even though Jodie was only fourteen years old at the time, this surprise affection for alcohol eventually leads her down the wrong path--involving heavy drug use, constant partying, and frequent running away from her past. Sweetin barely makes it through college, graduating with a degree in elementary education, before her life spins out of control. Even getting married at twenty to a police officer and attempting the life of a homemaker doesn't help. Sweetin hides her drug use from Shaun, and eventually winds up in rehab. Her second husband Cody and the birth of their daughter Zoie only complicate matters.

I found this book entertaining and ultimately heartbreaking. Jodie doesn't run away from her mistakes, and gradually has to pay for them. My favorite part of the book was the first half, when she describes her years on Full House working with her famous co-stars (Bob Saget, John Stamos, and the Olsen twins to name a few), meeting celebrities, and experiencing all the perks that come from starring on a hit TV show. The book also has color photos from Jodie's life, and, in the end, a cute letter to her daughter. Overall, Jodie's raw honesty provides an interesting read.

Don't buy this book for juicy "Full House" tidbits; it's a small portion of this book. The only interesting parts involving the show's cast: Jodie getting drunk with one of the Olsens at John Stamos' rented pad; the "full circle" moment filming her very last scene of the show; and Mary-Kate Olsen ignoring her at a restaurant opening in L.A., which Jodie attributes to their similarities (rehab). It's a very fast and easy read that's perfect for a plane ride or a day at the beach. The writing is repetitive and full of trite statements ("I had hit rock bottom"; "you could cut the tension with a knife"), and one can't help but think that the speedy publication of this book is due to her current financial troubles (custody battles cost money). There are excellent memoirs out there that detail addiction with great self-awareness, allowing readers to understand what drug issues really entail beyond the stereotype, beyond the Lifetime Movie set. Unfortunately, Jodie's memoir is pedestrian and like many that end up in the sales bin. It's your average, fill-in-the-blanks fare that offers nothing new.

Her story is frustrating, inducing many eye-rolls. She tells of her turbulent relationships with druggie friends, boyfriends, her two ex-husbands, and her parents. The book goes like this: she parties in L.A., Las Vegas, New York, and North Carolina, drinking lots of alcohol and doing weed, cocaine, Ecstacy, and meth. She blows her "Full House" residuals and speaking engagement paychecks by paying for drugs, hotels, and table service at clubs, amassing leeching friends along the way. She hits rock bottom. She realizes she has to change her life. She enters programs. Then, at either a dinner or a party, she tells herself that just one drink won't hurt, that one hit is just what she needs to take the edge off. Of course, she can't stop at just one, and she plunges back into the hole. She then tells the reader she realized she was wrong and that she really needed to get her act together. Then, at another dinner or party, she tells herself it's okay for one drink or one hit. The book goes on ad nauseum like that, as if she needs to repeat these episodes just to fill pages: party, sober, just one can't hurt, repeat. Of course, this happens with addiction, the constant cycle, but the repetition in this book is lazy and comes with no real reflection or true moments of clarity. Meanwhile, she dates loser after loser. While she resented the Susie Homemaker life with her homebody first husband, a police officer, with her second husband, Cody Herpin, Jodie writes that she wanted to just stay home with him and cook and have a normal family life. This shift is a good opportunity for Jodie to expound on what prompted this change; instead, she quickly moves on to the saga of her surprise pregnancy. Suddenly, baby Zoie changed her life, and she determined to be sober because there was a new life growing inside her. It is banal and a complete cop-out (not that it cannot be true, but instead of making this story her own, she goes the generic Lifetime route). The last part of her book reads like a template for other memoirs. Her most successful sobriety attempt thus far (114 days sober on the day that she turned in the manuscript) deserves more space and reflection in the book. Instead, the last part of the book is extremely rushed, attempting to end the book neatly and pat like a "Full House" episode: baby Zoie was born, changed her life, and though she slipped temporarily, she's sober now. She doesn't truly delve into her own light bulb moment. In a few lines, she simply states that her baby forced her to sober up.

One comes away from the book with the feeling that Jodie really hasn't hit that light bulb moment. Intellectually, she knows that drugs, alcohol, and certain people are destructive (she parrots this tirelessly in the book), but nothing in the book indicates that she "gets it" yet. There are too many pat statements, too many aphorisms. The book has the same vibe as "Behind the Bell" by Dustin Diamond--a former child star fallen upon hard times needs a quick buck and decides to write a quick memoir without any real self-reflection behind it. No doubt that Jodie has had a tough but interesting life. Everyone knows about the stereotype of the former child star: growing up and no longer being cute; casting directors and audiences unable to see past your catch phrase; drinking and drugs; rehab; financial trouble. There are dozens of stories out there. Jodie could have written a unique and contemplative memoir; after all, we all know the stereotype. How about a real look beyond that from someone who has had so many ups and downs? How interesting her story could have been given the squeaky-clean sitcom that defined many people's childhoods. But Jodie offers nothing more than a sanitized and cliched account.

"How rude!" That catch phrase became a blessing and a curse to young Jodie Sweetin. From the ages of 5 to 13, she starred as middle child Stephanie Tanner on the TGIF sitcom Full House. There's not alot of behind the scenes dish since Jodie was close to all of her co-stars and viewed them as a second family. Once the show ended it's run, it was back to the real world and life as a teenager. Jodie was picked on by jealous classmates so the transition was pretty bumpy. The ghost of Full House kept her from landing other roles as well.

She took her first sips of wine while attending a cast member's wedding at 15 and that led her down the road to addiction. She married a cop by the age of 20 and delved further into drugs after becoming bored with being a homemaker. Her husband had no clue. The idea of little Stephanie Tanner scoring meth from an adolescent drug dealer is slightly humorous in a sick way. Mostly it's sad. She eventually divorced her husband and went in and out of rehab. She even hooked up with a guy she was in recovery with. Do you think it worked out? Am I typing this in English?

It was especially interesting to read about her biological family's (she's adopted) heavy drug history. Ever heard of addiction being hereditary? Maybe there's some truth to it. It's obvious that Jodie's got a long way to go, but I think she'll make it with the love of her parents and her little girl. I'm pulling for her!

The things that impress me the most about Jodie's story is, 1) she survived, 2) she never had a run-in with the law, and 3) she was never the victim of a violent crime. If she suffers any physical or mental after-effects of her abuses she doesn't mention it. It's not a long story; she's not very old, after all, and her bad times didn't last a very long time. She didn't have the type of traumatic early childhood that, say, Drew Barrymore had. But nevertheless it's a jaw-dropping story. The money spent is unreal. At least once she listed a recipe of all the drugs she had in her body at any given time and that, too, is eye-popping. How this girl managed not to overdose, not to wrap her car around a tree, not to do any jail-time, not to be raped or worse is miraculous. If the story seems vague or hurried at times, those times when she was on multi-week benders, it's probably because she doesn't remember most of it. She focuses a good deal on her many recovery attempts, and I got the impression that she spent nearly as much time trying to recover as she did high. My heart went out to her much beleaguered parents, though she really hardly ever mentions them. (I admit, I would like to see her parents write their own, brief story about what they went through and how they handled their ordeal, watching their grown daughter destroy herself.) Fortunately, her solid, loving upbringing comes back to her just at the right time and for the moment, seems to be on the right path. It's written in a very informal, conversational tone. It's a good read.

I am surprised to find this book did not get lower reviews. In the preface Jodie explicitly states she doesn't expect any one to feel bad for her. The rest of the book suggests otherwise. In every chapter she is making excuses for her behavior and blaming others. Though she states she is in recovery and blames herself for her addiction, no other details in the book are consistent with that thought. Also she still seems to be very self centered and I'm not convinced she feels truly sorry for everyone she hurt.

I've read many memoirs and this was not an interesting story. Poorly written without much deep insight, it was hard to follow and have sympathy for Jodie. The book constantly jumps around for different periods of time. She clearly shys away from giving the real details and her sense of humor was a little strange and misplaced. Most difficult was her stories about her second husband and how horrible he was. It was almost like she wanted everyone to be on her side because he wouldn't get a job or do chores. Well that's what happens when you marry someone in Vegas while on drugs. Instead of listing details of how annoying he was, it should have been as simple as explaining that they shouldn't of been married in the first place. She clearly has a lot of maturing to do.

I don't recommend wasting your time reading this book. If your looking for an insightful honest memoir about child star drug use, read Here's the Story by Maureen McCormick.

I was excited to read her book, though I'm not sure why I expected more. It was an easy read and was written just like she was talking, with not much insight more than an account of her drug-induced life. I can't believe she would write that she quit cold turkey because she was pregnant, so I'm not sure I still believe it. Either way, its ok but not worth more than a few bucks and a few days that you have nothing better to do.

I admit I was curious to read the story of the Full House alum-I had caught snippets of her addictions and problems here and there. That being said, it was a very typical biography of a drug addict. I am surprised that she never got arrested, though. The writing itself is pretty good, she doesn't seem to blame being a child star too much on her problems, and the amount of money she spent on drugs and fluky hangers-on is amazing.

The first two thirds of the book is fairly breezy reading, but bogs down towards the end. It comes to a wrap pretty abruptly. She seems to blame everything on her husband-he didn't do drugs-but even slacker dads who play video games (goodness knows there are plenty of them out there) can care about their children. After all, she lived the partying lifestyle to the fullest and that is what you get when you live like that and make foggy, rash decisions. She was also hiding her drinking from him so it seemed to me his concerns were justified. I also think the book came out a little early in her recovery. 3 months and change is too early for a "I'm really done with drugs, really, really, for reals this time", especially since she admits to relapsing even after she had her child-which according to her, is the crux of her quitting. I guess only time will tell. But all in all, not a bad read and interesting to people who want to know what ever became of....

I was very excited to read this book. I was a big fan of Full House growing up, and I had hear bits and pieces about Jodie's meth addiction through the years. However, I (along with the rest of the world) had no idea how bad the whole thing really was. Honestly, I walked away from this book with the thought "How can she even still be alive after all of that?!?" It is almost surreal that a person could do that many drugs and drink so heavily for so long and still be somewhat cohearent in daily life. And now she's pregnant again with her 2nd child. I just hope this guy is prepared to help Jodie stay clean, because obviously she has a lifetime of addiction struggles ahead of her.

Overall, it was a good read, but as others have mentioned, a but rushed at the end. Her story is nowhere near finished and I won't be surprised to hear about future relapses from her. I wish her the very best.