Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything
A Memoir
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4.6 • 45 Ratings
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- $2.99
Publisher Description
*AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER*
Actor-dancer Alyson Stoner's revelatory and incisive memoir—from family violence and betrayal, to eating disorders and religious trauma—may begin in Hollywood, but its chilling relatability will resonate with anyone navigating identity, privacy, purpose, and mental health in a digital age.
Raised on soundstages and studio lots from the age of six, shuffling between auditions for Disney Channel, Cheaper by the Dozen, or Missy Elliott music videos, Alyson Stoner experienced many of the defining moments of childhood inside the bizarre fishbowl of Hollywood. From working eighty hours a week at eight years old, to learning how to distinguish fan mail from kidnapping plots, to TV execs saying they weren’t “anorexic enough” to stop working and get help, Alyson struggled to find stability and sanity in a chaotic world.
In Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything, Alyson shares their powerful story for the first time, detailing a turbulent home life fractured by substance abuse, harrowing accounts from rehab, the messy process of discovering their sexuality in church, rebuilding a life after an early professional peak, and charting a path of self-discovery and advocacy. With striking introspection, Alyson connects the dots across the entertainment industry ecosystem, child development, and media culture, exposing the “toddler to trainwreck pipeline” of child stars and sparking timely conversations about success and society’s enchantment with fame.
Bold, entertaining, warm, and galvanizing all at once, Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything is more than a personal memoir: it’s a beacon for industry reform, a road map for breaking the bonds of generational trauma, and a testament to the freedom and strength that come from finally trusting your own voice and power.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Alyson Stoner’s memoir about surviving the many soul-crushing traumas of a childhood in show business is a deeply emotional cautionary tale. Stoner was acting full-time by age nine, starring in projects like Cheaper by the Dozen and Camp Rock. But all the while, their family life and mental health were eroding. They write with frank vulnerability about their stepfather’s violence, their mother’s addiction, and their eventual descent into anorexia. But what really stands out is an overall theme that pops up again and again: Being sold as a product and employed like an adult is just too much for a kid. It’s terribly poignant to read Stoner describe feeling urgently responsible for the livelihoods of their agents and co-workers as a 10-year-old. And every time they bond with a new, less chaotic on-screen family for a movie or TV pilot, the loss they feel when production inevitably ends is heartbreaking. With its moments of hope and eventual healing, this is a truly revelatory take on the child star tell-all.
