Inside Out: A Memoir Hardcover – Illustrated, September 24, 2019

I read a lot and none of my books with the exceptions of Elton John’s autobiography and Stephen King’s, On Writing are celebrity memoirs. Celebrity lives aren’t anything I’m ever interested in. I can’t recall what prompted me to look at this book or why I bought it, but I did and I’m glad that I listened to that nudge to read this.I don’t think I’ve ever read a book so quickly. I couldn’t put it down. It’s a well written, emotional, at times horrifying story of the childhood that lead to the adult actress we all know. It’s a story of strength and survival and a reminder of just how strong women are. It’s a story of going through life, learning huge, painful lessons along the way and growing from all the pain.In short, it’s just brilliant.I always liked Demi Moore as an actor. Now, I love her as a human being. I’m sure those in her orbit, must know how fortunate they are to have her in their life. I’m happy she shared her journey and hope that the rest of her life gives her nothing but joy and the happiness she deserves.

Not sure why I bought this? Demi Moore has never been a particular favorite of mine. Sure, she’s a big movie star, beautiful, has played some good parts. I could understand what the public saw in her. And I can’t say it was an enjoyable read; there’s a lot of pain in it. Still, it was worth my time and money. I had really been impressed by a role Ms. Moore didn’t even mention in her book - Laura Quinn. In it, an old woman tells a fascinating story to a young magazine writer. It takes Miss Quinn from the depths of despair, through an amazingly fortuitous series of events, and on to a long and rewarding life complete with husband, children, travel, and good works! I found the story very uplifting. Apparently Ms. Moore is not as enamored with Laura Quinn as I am? Fine. Here’s hoping Demi Moore is able to emulate Miss Quinn in the end. I’ll be rooting for her . . .

I really have to disagree with the one star reviews that bashed the book and got a lot of helpful votes. Don’t listen to those crazies. I read a lot of memoirs and this one holds up with the better ones. I found her to be very honest which is all anyone could really ask for if they want to read about someone’s life. Even if being honest means she has to say negative or embarrassing things about herself and that’s a very brave thing for someone to do. As for someone saying she is getting her “revenge” out on people, calling them out on stuff…um no. I feel she was much nicer than she could have or should have been to everyone.As for Ashton and someone worrying about what his kids will read about him some day? Get a life. They’d find out about his past even without this book. It’s already out there and he brought it on himself. Like I said, she was still very kind. I’m sure he’s not a saint now either. As for her parents - whoa. They were both obvious sociopath/ narcissists. I mean, come on. You can’t even cover that up with whatever minor good quality that might come out in either of them at one moment in time. I still don’t think she quite gets that about them. You can’t make excuses for people like that or try to justify it. You shouldn’t. So overall, I think she was way too nice to everyone she wrote about, like I said.It took me over two years to buy/read the book because I listened to bad press/gossip and assumed it was going to be over the top juicy to where you don’t even know what you can believe to be true and then assumed I’d just be listening to a celebrity put themself on a pedestal, but it wasn’t like that at all! So I’m glad I finally read it. She was in a lot of great movies, I’m glad to know she’s actually a really humble person and glad to know Bruce is a great dad. (I was curious to know more about him too which is also why I read the book, but only learned basic things about him. I’m sure she felt a lot of stuff about him wasn’t her place to tell.) I felt the book kind of ended abruptly sometime in the early 2010’s even though it was written in 2019…I felt like I could have read several more chapters than it had… but I really hope Demi continues to find her way in life and continues to thrive and grow as a person. Whether she continues to act or not doesn’t matter. I just wish her the best in her real life journey.

Couldn’t put it down. Fell in love with Demi when I was only in 7th grade and St. Elmo’s Fire was out. But this book made me feel like I’ve known her in another life. Must read!!

Demi spreads her soul out to tell a very honest account of her highs and lows. I was riveted and hope she has found peace in her journey

Leisure reading

Very courageously and vulnerably written for the sake of helping others who may relate to her life story..as many of us do. Thank you Demi

Great book ! I recommend it for all who have had and is having a challenging childhood/adolescent life. Demi rocks !

Don't agree with reviewer below. Demi's life story really is very interesting and she writes from the heart. She tells the truth and isn't afraid to say it how it is. She doesn't gloss over her sad childhood with a mother who would be up for abuse in today's society; Demi is a surprisingly sane person having been brought up by a neglectful mother - interesting to note that Demi always loved her mum, forgave her and nursed her at the end of her life.If you want to get the gossip on Bruce Willis, Ashton Kutcher and others you WILL find it in here: warts and all! You should never judge people by appearances; Demi has struggled with her weight, her self confidence and all the issues that modern women have to deal with. She comes across as a lovely person, dedicated mum, but very insecure.Brilliant read. Read it in one night! Highly recommended.

This book could have been very interesting given the life of the author but unfortunately, it is a tedious, woe is me tale where the author tries to justify her behaviour, blaming it on everything and everyone else. Every one of us encounters difficult challenges and people in our lives but our response, reaction and moving forward from them is always our choice. The responsibility for our actions, and consequences resulting from them, are ours. Normally I pass on my books to other people but the best place for this book was the recycling bin.

I have been wanting to read Demi Moore’s memoirs for a long time. I grew up in her era and loved the appeal she had. I really enjoyed her films and loved Bruce Willis. They both had a magical appeal and it was fascinating. When I heard that she had had a rough life, I am not a nosy person but have always loved to read what made people tick, I wanted to see what made Demi special. She truly had a very rough life filled with such turmoil and extreme havoc. I don’t feel sorry for her as she survived and it made her who she is today. Life is full of misadventures and mislaid plans. I truly believe that everything happens for a reason and in order to get where you are at this moment in life, especially my life you have to go through the bad in order to get to the good part of your life. To appreciate and learn from those tough times. I appreciate life now and try not to take advantage of what is with me now or what the future holds for me. From the sounds of it Demi Moore is at that same place in life now where she appreciates and loves what is right in front of her. I take my hat off to Demi Moore and her strength to not allow life to best her, nor to allow herself to wither and die. I salute your strength and love for your three daughters they truly gave you that strength but remember Demi, you had that strength within yourself from day one, and you believed.......

This book feels like a long therapy session. Its a good thing and very interesting, it is also something a lot of people can identify with. I like that there wasn't this big hang up about all the celebrity stories. Demi Moore exposes her full journey and I appreciate the conclusions she made. For anyone expecting to read about the "juice stuff", don't bother.. the piece about A. Kutcher and the topic of the threesome was described in two sentences and was directly related to her insecurities. I finished the book in 8 hours (without skipping sections) and the only reason i don't rate this a 5 is that I feel there is something missing as she talked about her daughters and their decision to not talk to her for three years. Everything else is analysed and you get to understand why (from her perspective of course) people did what they did towards her and her understanding of it, but we don't get that as her daughters (at least I didn't get it) and Bruce Willis decided to ignore her for the years she was in therapy. It feels like its missing about two chapters and I was a bit disappointed as she had not spared in any of the other descriptions.

Demi Moore considered this memoir as a helpful attempt to look back on the highs and lows of her life, to put things into perspective, and to heal and grow as a person, and it does have to be admitted that with the latter of these many people, although not publishing what they write have found help to resolve certain issues and events. I should point out that this was co-written I believe with journalist Ariel Levy, which does help with keeping a flow to the narrative and stopping things from getting too repetitive.Here then Ms Moore takes us back over her life in a quite candid and personal way, showing the warts and all, but as this book is not too long this does come across as rather condensed. We see what her life as a child was like, how she got into modelling and then acting, as well as the highs and lows of her three marriages. Coming from a dysfunctional family so it is no wonder that she herself is dysfunctional to a degree, and so we read of her fighting addictions and so on, but you do wonder if anyone has ever told her about the two types of personality, those that can easily become addicted, and those who do not, which is something we all have to come to terms with.This does make for an open and honest memoir as such, but because of its brevity there are issues that I am sure many would have liked to have been expanded, for instance at one stage we are told about her production company, but we are never told how this came about, whether it was pre-planned, or as with some other actors, something that they have fallen into quite accidentally. One thing is for sure though, whatever you think of Demi Moore as a person this book will give you a greater insight into her, where she is coming from and what her strengths and weaknesses are. As I am sure many will know before they pick this book up, this is not going to be the greatest memoir ever written or a piece of great literature, but then again this was never planned as such, and I hope that Ms Moore managed to get some closure on events from her past and is able to move on.