For my birthday this year, my friend Andrea gifted me with a three-month subscription to Audible. Considering I have been devoting more of my time in the car to listening to podcasts, listening to audiobooks felt like the perfect extension of this new habit.
Before downloading the Audible app, I had never listened to an audiobook before. Really! I’ve never read a book on an e-reader either. I think in some ways I haven’t wanted to give up on the ritual of reading a book, holding it in my hands, folding over the pages to save my place.
But truthfully, it’s been rare to get the chance to sit down and read a new book. So I was really excited to experience a book in a different way. Plus, I liked the idea of listening to a story in the author’s voice.
Enter Busy Phillips, and her new memoir “This Will Only Hurt a Little” that was just released in October. With my Audible subscription, I could use my monthly credit to download a book, so I decided to wait until Busy’s book was released to set it up.
I first knew of Busy Phillips when she was Audrey on “Dawson’s Creek,” but in the years since, I’ve grown to love her honesty and candor on social media. I had seen her talk and post a lot about her memoir leading up to its release. The revelation on Instagram about her rape at the age of 14 in the midst of the Dr. Ford/Judge Kavanaugh hearings was so brave and raw. It helped me realize that there was so much I didn’t know about her, and I wanted to know more.
Without a doubt, I can’t imagine experiencing “This Will Only Hurt a Little” in any way other than listening to her stories in her own speaking voice. I’m sure I would have her voice in my head if I read the physical book, but I know it wouldn’t be the same.
As a fan of pop culture, I loved hearing stories about her experiences in the entertainment industry, whether she was describing her time on “Dawson’s Creek” or her involvement in helping to write “Blades of Glory.” As a mom, I loved how she described the bliss and horrors of being pregnant, giving birth, and becoming a mom. As someone who finds that certain songs are autobiographical and inextricably linked to life moments, I loved how the chapters were named after songs that were key to the stories within.
There are so many moments that took my breath away and made me cry, but I don’t want to spoil the stories by saying which ones specifically. I will say that her moment of visiting the Vatican was so spiritual, and special, and satisfying.
Busy is a very expressive person, so it was a joy listening to her tell stories about her childhood and college life. I especially loved when she was imitating her mom’s voice. Everything she describes, from dislocating her knee thanks to a mosh pit at her middle school dance to working as a life-size Barbie doll at toy fairs in New York City, is so wildly ridiculous and yet perfectly Busy.
Listening to her book has inspired me to want to go back and watch “Freaks and Geeks,” and watch her new show on E!, “Busy Tonight.”
I can’t recommend this book, and audiobook in particular, enough. The stories are funny, honest, heartbreaking, and revelatory. Busy is such a refreshing person to have in the public eye, because of her brutal honesty. She has worked hard for many years and always been true to herself.
Over the course of about a week, I listened to Busy’s book on my way to barre classes in the early mornings, or driving around running errands with Margot. I finished the last couple hours of the book driving back and forth to Detroit for the election. By the end, I was so sad that the book was over. I miss listening to Busy in the car. If she didn’t already have a show on E!, I’d want her to have a podcast for me to listen to. The book is truly like listening to your funniest and most expressive friend talking and telling you stories.
If you’re looking for a good listen (or a good read, but really, LISTEN TO IT), download “This Will Only Hurt a Little” by Busy Phillips.
Here’s a little taste of it: