Ashley Judd

I think Ashley wrote about her own family so people would buy the book because had she written a book just about the horrors women in third world countries face not many would be read. The bits about her family were a way to give voice to the real message she wanted to bring to light. Much of this book was hard to read and just broke my heart. I came away with 1) famous, rich people can have just as screwed up life as anyone else. 2) I need to thank God more often that I was born in America show more and for the blessings I have. 3) I don't think much of Naomi Judd show less

Ok people. If you know me, you know I am a tiny bit obsessed with the Judds so when my MIL loaned this to me, I figured I'd read it and get the lowdown on life with Naomi and Wynonna.

Well, I got some dirt but it's as much about the relief work that she has dedicated her life to and that part is really interesting, especially if you can ignore the 12-step recovery program language it's all written in. I do think she is trying to be honest about her life and the choices she's made It's show more interesting to think about what motivates people who go into relief work. Altruism to be sure, and working for the greater good, but I'll bet there are a fair amount of folks who come from backgrounds that include neglect or abuse and are working out something of their own alongside whoever they are helping.

I also think about people who pick up the book thinking it's just about the Judds (my MIL, for example, who loaned it to me) and ended up reading about aids and prostituted women and rape and IV drug users all over Asia and Central America. I am sure it was very eye opening for her and prob. in a good way. show less

Ashley cries, sobs, weeps and bawls seemingly on every page. This downbeat memoir, in which she makes herself the main character in stories about her half-sister's paternity and therapy, is not worth the $1.99 that I paid for it.

The author is much more like her narcissistic mother than she cares to admit. That is the memoir she needs to write.

This is an very powerful, thought provoking book. I picked it up thinking it would just dish some dirt on the Judds. Naomi and Wynonna are always out and about dropping bombs about each other in the media. Ashley is hardly ever seen with them and I was sort of wondering why. This book answer that but it is so much more. The stories Ashley tells of women suffering in third world countries, selling their bodies to keep them and their children from starving is heartbreaking. I don't know how show more you can read this book and be a woman and not be moved by our sisters in suffering. The book opens up with Ashley's work with PSI which among other things brings education about how to stay safe sexually to women in countries living such abject poverty. PSI is working to empower women and to cut the rate of AIDS. Some of the stories are so difficult to read and at times I had to put the book down and step away for awhile. The middle part of the book is about Ashleys own recovery from sexual abuse and certain family situations. Honestly this dragged for me. Everything is spoken about in vague terms and after reading some of the stories in the beginning of the book Ashleys suffering doesn't seem so great. I mean she has an attractive, loving husband, tons of money and a house in Tennessee and a castle in Scotland to live in. I know her mom was kind of selfish but after seeing women literally dying on the streets of Cambodia, Africa, and India, it just doesn't seem too bad. The last part of the book was devoted to more charity work and Ashley's time at Harvard. I applaud the work she's doing. I would want to rescue every woman in this book and she tries her best but there are cultural confines that constrict her efforts. One of the groups she mentions is Women for Women which I first heard about on the Oprah show. They do amazing work by giving women jobs and a trade in order to break the cycle of poverty. I recommend this book to everyone so they too can see what really goes on beyond just the parts of the world that the tourists see. show less