Ep. 248 For the Love of Celebrity Memoirs with Chelsea Devantez

Written By Megan Caballero

Comedian and Emmy-nominated TV and film writer Chelsea Devantez joins our first Stacks episode of 2023. Her Celebrity Book Club podcast breaks down celeb memoirs with a roster of Chelsea's funniest friends. We get into how Chelsea started the show, and why she wants to spend time lifting up the stories of the rich and famous. We also ask ourselves why we love to hate these books so much.

The Stacks Book Club selection for January is The Meaning of Mariah Carey by Mariah Carey with Michaela Angela Davis. We will discuss the book on January 25th with Chelsea Devantez.

 
 

Everything we talk about on today’s episode can be found below in the show notes and on Bookshop.org and Amazon

To support The Stacks and find out more from this week’s sponsors, click here.

Connect with Chelsea: Instagram | Twitter | Website | Celebrity Book Club
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TRANSCRIPT
*Due to the nature of podcast advertising, these timestamps are not 100% accurate and will vary.

Traci Thomas 0:08
Welcome to The Stacks, podcast about books and the people who read them. I’m your host Traci Thomas, and it is our first episode of 2023! Welcome back, party people. Today I’m speaking with Chelsea Devantez. Chelsea is a stand up comedian, actor, Emmy nominated TV writer and filmmaker. She’s also the host of the celebrity book club with Chelsea Devantez podcast where she breaks down and recap some of the best and worst celebrity memoirs. Today, Chelsea and I talked about the role of celebrity memoirs in the culture, her forthcoming book of essays and a few celebrity memoirs we simply cannot wait to read. Our January book club selection is the meaning of Mariah Carey, written by Mariah Carey with Mikayla Angela Davis. We will discuss it on January 25. With Chelsea Devantez. Quick reminder, everything we talked about on each episode of the stacks can be found in the link in the show notes. And we now offer episode transcripts which you can also find in the show notes. New Year New you right? Well, why not jump on the stacks pack this year and support the work of this podcast. The stacks is a completely independent black woman run podcast and we rely on the support of listeners to make this show every single week. When you join The Stacks pack for as little as $5 a month. Not only are you supporting the work of this podcast, but you also get things like bonus episodes, our lively discord community, a monthly virtual book club and from now until the end of January our incredible reading tracker, which will help you with that new year’s resolution to read more. It’s super easy to join head to patreon.com/the stacks and be a part of the stacks pack. A special shout out to our newest members of the stacks pack. Taylor Sutherland, Emily McDowell, Sarah Davis and Colleen Mulaney. Thank you all so much. And thank you to the entire stacks pack. Alright, now it’s time for my conversation with Chelsea Devantez.

Alright, everybody, it is the first episode of 2023. And I am so excited to be joined to kick off this year with Chelsea Devantez. She is the host of the celebrity book club podcast. And you’ll frickin love that show. If you haven’t listened yet. It’s a great time. And you’ll be even more excited because we’re doing Mariah Carey later this month. But Chelsea is also a TV writer. She’s writing her own book, which we’re going to talk about today. Hopefully, if she’s allowed to talk about it. It’s coming out later this year. So Chelsea Welcome to the stacks.

Chelsea Devantez 2:32
Thank you so much for having me. I can’t believe I’m kicking off the year. But I feel very honored by that choice. Like we can like really bring the vibes to to what we want for 2023.

Traci Thomas 2:42
That’s exactly right. And it’s funny because we’re obviously not recording this the first week of the new year. But when I was thinking about who I wanted to have for January, I was like Who do I want to have to bring vibes to the New Year? And also, who do I want to end my personal year with and I was like, I want someone fun. I want someone who’s got a personality. I want someone who loves books, but also doesn’t take things too seriously. So that’s why I was like Chelsea, hopefully she says yes, she’s my gal.

Chelsea Devantez 3:06
I am thrilled to be chosen, and I’m thrilled to be considered all those things.

Traci Thomas 3:11
So let’s just start kind of where we always start. Can you just tell people a little bit about yourself?

Chelsea Devantez 3:16
Yes. So, where to begin? I’ll begin I’ll begin most recently, which is that? I’m a TD writer. I was just writing on a show called not dead yet, which is not out yet. not out yet. And also called not dead yet. My mom did text me last week and said which episode of which episode of dead to me is yours. And I said none. I wasn’t on that show about our shows not even out. i She watched all three seasons looking for my name. Yeah, it wasn’t gonna happen. So-

Traci Thomas 3:48
What a good mom though,

Chelsea Devantez 3:50
Such a sweetheart. Yeah, so I just wrapped on that. And I’m currently developing my own TV shows with Tennant. 20th Century Fox, which I’m super excited about before that I was Jon Stewart’s head writer for his comeback on Apple. And then years before that, he actually gave me my first TV writing job on a show of his that never even came out, but we spent a year on it. Then I’ve written on a bunch of other shows. And I’m the host of celebrity book club with Chelsea DeMonte says very specific about the title and we recap and celebrate women’s memoirs. Sometimes we do a memoir, a men’s war, but not often. I really like to elevate the women’s books because they are actually written so differently honestly from the men’s usually. And I love them so so very much which is why I say we celebrate them sometimes sometimes we’d be making fun of them. You know, we call up the blogs, but I actually really fucking love those books. Oh, can I swear on this podcast?

Traci Thomas 4:45
Yes. That’s basically all we do. Okay, good. Okay, good.

Chelsea Devantez 4:49
So yeah, so I host that podcast and yeah, that’s me.

Traci Thomas 4:52
Okay, that was great intro I have first of all, I have a very specific and to the point question, are you doing Spare by Prince Harry on your show?

Chelsea Devantez 5:01
So I really gone back and forth. Because it’s a men’s-moir. I’m already like, I don’t know. And I’m actually leaning towards No. And here’s why. I know tell me because I put on the Megan and Harry Netflix documentary. Yeah. And I actually maybe made it five minutes before I was no longer watching it. And I know, it’s gonna sound weird, but it really startled me that they had separately taken solo selfie videos during the tumultuous time at the castle. You know, they’re like, I just can’t believe this is happening. I’m like, wait a minute, why don’t you each separately? Yeah, turn on your camera. And record these like, you know, I DMs? I guess for this later documentary. And I’m here to love them. I want to be on their side. But I just sort of felt like, you know, I think it might be a little too curated for me, including the fact that I’m not sure. I’m just not sure I trust his men’smoir. That’s, that’s the honest truth.

Traci Thomas 6:04
Okay. Okay. I will just say this casually. Okay. If you decide to do it, I must do it with you.

Chelsea Devantez 6:10
Okay, okay. Well, now that might change me. If that’s your book, then we got to cover this.

Traci Thomas 6:15
Well, so here’s the thing about me, every book is potentially my book, because I love to read books and talk about books. And I also am happy to talk about something that I love or something that I don’t love. So I’m like when other people I’m like, whatever you want to read, we can read. But we’ll we’ll circle back. Okay, we’ll come back to Harry. I want to know, I’ve heard you talk a little bit about like your relationship to celebrity memoirs. You’ve read them since you were young. I think you said Jane Fonda as was maybe your first or-

Chelsea Devantez 6:40
Delta Burke. But Jane Fonda was an early on book as well.

Traci Thomas 6:45
Yeah. So you’ve got like a long history with this. I want to know why you decided to turn your love of celebrity memoirs into a podcast. And like, what, what made you say, You know what, we should be celebrating these books more.

Chelsea Devantez 7:03
You know, it was truly truly a surprise to me that this podcast happened, which I can’t believe given how, how it is such a big part of my life. Now. It’s something I deeply treasure. I don’t have time for it. And I just keep fucking doing it. Because it means so much to me. So it is pretty wild how it came about, because I do. Listen, I’m a little trihard. I mean, I’m here to make effort. I got ambition. And I did not want a podcast. I was like, I do not want to be another comedian with a podcast like I am good on that. And what happened is that I was on a girls trip drunk and a hot tub reading Jessica Simpson’s open book, because I had on preorder brought it with me on the trip at all the girls in the house also worked in TV. So they were all taking a nap. I was out in this hot tub, just like I think I had a TR on because someone had brought Dr. Oz, you know, I’m just like reading this book. I was like, Man, this book is her memoir is just way better than most. And also then unfortunately, you would expect from her because of the way culture had painted her. And so from the hearts of I was like, everybody got to know how good this book is. So I get out my phone, taking pictures of the pages, and I start sort of scrapbooking slash Spark Notes scene, Jessica Simpsons open memoir on my Instagram stories. So I’m pulling quotes, I’m making thoughts. I’m just sharing it. And people responded like crazy, either. They were like, I love celebrity memoirs too. Or they were like, I can’t believe how good this book is. And I was like, Well, if you think that books good, you should like hear about some of my others. And I had previously kept this part of me a secret because because and now I’m like, I cannot believe it. But you know, it’s so wild to me that these books have existed for so long have like them are not the most powerful women in our culture, opening up the intimate details of their life, how they got their what they’ve lived through, even the like glossy fake ones still have dirt and juice in them. They’ve been around for the whole time giving us the secrets to who they are, and how they got there. And somehow culture painted them as trash lit as idiotic, like money grabbing like little buddy books. I had given into it where I was like, I don’t want anyone to I want people to think I’m smart. And cool. So I’m like not going to tell him that I read these books as if they are my weekly Bible depending on which ones out. Right? So anyways, I was like, Oh, you got to read these other books. And people were like, this needs to be a podcast. And I said, No, thank you. And then But then very quickly was like maybe it should be a podcast and the pandemic hit about two weeks after I put this podcast so I put this podcast pitch together on February 19 2020. Gosh, yeah. And then, oddly, the pandemic created this space where I’ve never done a recording in person ever. It was always over zoom, I was always alone in my room. And I was really intensely facing myself and who I was and life was an is really scary and hard. But I had this come to Jesus moment where I decided, like, I didn’t want to hide who I was anymore. And I before the podcast started, I had a moment with my best friend Kinsey where I said, I don’t think I can talk about these books without sharing parts of my life that I’ve never shared before, not even with like, like even my best friend Kinsey, you know, she knew my the details of my life, but I hadn’t even gone into depth, you know, with her, right? I was just not a very sharing person. And she really heard my therapist brought me to a place where they’re like, you know, I think you can safely do this without wrecking your mental health. And I started opening up while talking about the books, and it totally changed my whole life.

Traci Thomas 11:00
Wow. Oh, my God, I love that you said so many things that I want to talk about. One of the things I want to touch on is sort of like about why maybe we don’t take these books seriously. And I think there’s like a really obvious answer, which I just probably like sexism, right? Yeah. But I love you know, I’m a person whose brand is to be a somewhat serious reader, and I love them. I press so many, like, I read Jessica Simpson, a person that I was like, someone was just like, it’s really good. I was like, Okay, fine. Demi Moore, a person I do not care about. I’ve read hers. Hers is fantastic,

Chelsea Devantez 11:34
phenomenal book, but not the same. I was like, I’m not gonna like this book. It’s one of my favorites. It’s

Traci Thomas 11:39
one of my favorites. I do read some of the men’s ones like I read Will Smith. There is a I don’t know if you’re into sports, but there’s a basketball player named Andre Iguodala, whose book is called the six man is it good? It is one of the best sports memoirs I’ve ever read. It’s fantastic. His ghostwriter? I can’t remember who it is his ghostwriter the fucking genius, like I was blown away. And he’s the sixth man on the warriors like, he’s not even like Steph Curry.

Chelsea Devantez 12:06
Some people are really meant to have books. They just really are. It sounds like he is one of them.

Traci Thomas 12:11
Yes, totally. But so like, I guess the question is less? Why don’t we take them seriously? And the question I guess more is, why are they so popular? Like, why do we like having books that we think are trash but also like, just like devour ravenously? As a culture?

Chelsea Devantez 12:26
Yeah. What’s funny, you say that I do think times have shifted, I think now we’re all devouring them. ravenously I do think there was a moment in time where we really treated them like garbage. Right. And still, if you go to a yard sale, you are going to find a celebrity memoir, which is also the reason to go to them. But I mean, I guess all I can do is speak for myself when I say that, like this is gonna sound ridiculous. But like when you’re a child, having fairy tales really help you the same way, I guess, when we used to teach children about like Greek stories, but basically, you have these like, icons and players that represent these, like certain stereotypes and kind of help you understand like morality in the world, and blah, blah, blah, blah. I think that’s what celebrity memoirs are for adults, where like, we have these characters these like icons who represent you know, Jessica Simpson, who was representing being like the dumbass blonde, you know, and then, you know, what is it chicken or tuna, whatever. And then you have like your Jane Fonda who’s known for being an activist, and maybe being anti the Vietnam War, and like such, you know, and we know them, we know their lives, we know their love stories. And then you open up these books, and you just shift your entire understanding not only of them as a human, but then of what culture was doing to you in the moment, they were shaping your culture. So like, I still remember being at the grocery store, looking at US Weekly, and Jessica Simpson is on the cover with those jeans with huge pockets and black tank top and they’re like, she’s fat. She’s the fattest person we’ve ever seen. And I remember looking at it going, yeah, she’s a whale. Also, I, at that point in time was being called the same things in high school, you know, and I was like, and I’m a whale. And this is the worst thing in the world. And you read her book. She’s like, you know, I did not want to like fat shame or make other people feel bad. But let me tell you the truth of that moment. I was a size four. I was 120 pounds. I said, what? I remember those photos. I go, I Google it. I dropped to the floor. My soul never came back. Yeah, my brain now as an adult looking at this photos, it’s just the smallest human

Traci Thomas 14:34
yellowest assignment, the dreamiest body ever

Chelsea Devantez 14:37
dreamiest tiniest, most miniscule. And I’m say miniscule is important because they were calling her huge, you know? Yeah. And yes, that shaped me and how I saw my body and how I saw other bodies and then to like, go in her memoir, and, and realize also what she was going through the time she was getting out of this, like really abusive relationship with John Mayer. All of a sudden, like all the moments I was so cruel and awful to myself just have this like little domino effect. You know, like, Oh, that was perceived wrong because of how people wrote about her. And now that she’s telling us who she is, I can like change my own self.

Traci Thomas 15:13
Right, right. That’s so interesting, because I do I remember that so well to like, because it’s not like I remember those moments. And I also still think of her as like, remember when she got really fat? Yeah, like, that’s like a story that I tell myself about Jessica Simpson, even after having read her book and knowing that it’s not true, but like, it’s so ingrained in her narrative that we’ve been taught that, like, she was skinny, and then she got fat. And she’d let herself go or something like,

Chelsea Devantez 15:40
I mean, it’s ingrained its own narrative, like, you know, the sweet little ghost writer or somebody in that books, wrote these really beautiful things about that specific chapter about not hating your own body, not projecting it onto other people’s bodies. Later in the book, she’s like, I have been such I’ve abused alcohol and pills so intensely, that the doctor is telling me if I get this tummy tuck, I will die and my children will be will be motherless. And I’m still going to do it. Because I’m so ugly. It’s in the same book. You know, you’re like, No,

Traci Thomas 16:12
we learned this and then we moved on,

Chelsea Devantez 16:16
because, trust me, I was so hideous, and I brought my mom into the room. She said, Jessica, please don’t kill yourself. You need to be alive. This isn’t worth it. And then she goes, then I got naked in ekk Ed so naked, I got fully naked. And basically her mom looks at her body and is like, yeah, okay, let’s go to the plastic surgeon. And they’re all like it, it would be better for you to be dead than to have some excess skin on your body from like having children. And so I’m not gonna I don’t think she learned from her book I but I do find kind of processing and talking about these things have really reshaped like, reshaped how I look at myself. And I have like, grown immensely in really positive directions by getting to see meet someone else grow positively and negatively.

Traci Thomas 17:02
Right. One of the things I love about your podcast and just you in general, from everything, everything I hear you talk about is like, you do such a good job of like you said, celebrating these books and like celebrating these stories. You can tell that you’re a fan, you know, like of the form when you listen to the show. And I’m wondering like, for yourself for your personal identity. You’re a TV writer, you’ve you’ve been an actress, you’ve been like you’ve done all these things. Where do you when you list off, I’m Chelsea to Vaughn Tez like where does podcast host of celebrity book club person come in? Like, like for you? Like do you identify as that first because it just feels like you’re so in that I’m like, does this Is this her? I know it’s not like you’re a one but like is does it feel like you’re a one in your heart?

Chelsea Devantez 17:49
It’s it’s my a one in my heart. It is the last thing on my career. I honestly wish it wasn’t there. I mean, I I am I worked so hard to be these other things. Were even just me like a commentator on other people’s art. I take really seriously because I spend my life creating the same art. There are people I talked about who I am with at events. Do you know what I mean? Like, like we can I also think to toot my own little horn. It is also what makes me I think a little bit good for this type of podcast. I think it’s it’s so easy to be vicious about celebrities and pop stars and like make fun of people which is like, you know, totally fun fine, but I wanted to be an artist. I wanted their lives. Honestly. Lots of people want their lives like whether they want their specific lives or not like the idea of like money or attention or praise or beauty is like things people want so I don’t find like a lot of worth and being like are they so fucking stupid? Because people usually doing that. This is a lesson I’ve learned regardless of the fucking bucks. The people in my life who would be like, Oh my God, that fucking sucks. That fucking sucks. That fucking sucks. The moment they were offered the chance to do that thing they would do it which is all good but I don’t like when people tear certain things down. I think it kind of like points to something inside you you know being inside them you something and so I really tried to age engine to myself of like, like, these are people creating art and even when I think like they’re a fucking dumbass, or perhaps the book was is more of a magazine.

Traci Thomas 19:21
Okay. JLo is not an extended magazine. Which was also what her documentary was.

Chelsea Devantez 19:29
It’s hard. She’s She cannot drop the curation. She can’t. And then she’ll attempt to do curated vulnerability. And she still misses and she she said it in her documentary. She said, No one will ever know what I’m thinking or what I’m feeling very proud of that. And I said, that is clear. That is clear, very clear. But she knows vulnerability sells for women right now in this moment. So she keeps,

Traci Thomas 19:54
like trying to do it. But she’s, it’s performance at vulnerability. Yeah,

Chelsea Devantez 19:58
yeah. And so it’s it’s But even that, even that there’s some like gems in her book that like really did like, touch my heart. So anyways, you said is, is I don’t like I love being a podcast host and I also like it’s the thing I should stop doing like I am too busy for this. I should stop doing it and I don’t because I love it so much. But yeah.

Traci Thomas 20:16
Okay, because you’ve talked about not shitting on things. I’m going to make you short on something. What’s the worst? What’s the worst celebrity memoir you’ve ever read?

Chelsea Devantez 20:24
Also, by the way, if you if it deserves if you truly it has earned being shit on I always shut on it. I just don’t think I think it’s funny to shit on things when you don’t actually need it. You know, where you just like you hate it because it causes you pain not because it deserves hate. Right, right, right. A book that really, really, really I infamously hated and felt really bad about it because I don’t like tearing books down was Liz FERS it like gave me the even me feel. Yeah, I don’t know anything about her. I didn’t really either. I kind of went in with open arms. She’s like a kind of Chicago. Yeah, yeah. But she was she meant a lot to a lot of people in a certain point in time. And so yeah, someone else chose her book, my friend Katie from Chicago, and the book was like it, I felt repulsed from it. And it’s called horror stories. So I think she purposefully was like, let me tell the worst stories I can think of, but in doing so, really made me be like, you’re a bad person who actually hasn’t lived through that much. Yeah, it was like it. Oh, God, it was stories about like, I honestly don’t even want to pass them on. They’re like, it’s like, ignoring a dog. And then the dog is dying. Like I just had it like it.

Traci Thomas 21:38
Yeah, God. Oh, my gosh, okay. We’ll move on from that. You’re writing a book? Yes. Are you excited? Yes. Are you terrified,

Chelsea Devantez 21:47
terrified, terrified? Sometimes I have. I had a pretty intense panic a week ago, where I was like, What am I doing? What am I doing? Like? Why am I gonna do this? And I really are gonna do it. Yeah, I think so.

Traci Thomas 22:06
Have you done your final pass? Like, are you done with it,

Chelsea Devantez 22:08
I made the final pass now. So I did, I finished the first draft this summer before my wedding. And then life got so intense. I was like developing some TV shows in the wedding. And I had to push the book, which I’ve never really never pushed a deadline in my life, I really reached my limit with writing a book because it’s so hard. And I couldn’t do the rewrite, and like, do the writing at the same time. So the book got pushed to a winter. So now I’m supposed to turn in the final draft in three weeks.

Traci Thomas 22:40
Okay, fantastic. It’s gonna be great. We’re rooting for you. You will of course, every with every one once it comes out. But here’s what I want to know. You are a person like myself, who talks about books. I am famously not a writer. So I will never be writing a book, hopefully knock on wood. So I have no problem talking about books freely, comfortably. It’s not never going to be me. Now it’s going to be you. Do you feel like you’ve taken anything that you’ve learned from reading celebrity memoirs? And like, brought it into your book? Do you think of your book as a celebrity memoir? Because you are sort of a celebrity? Like, how are you thinking about your book in relationship to the work that you do?

Chelsea Devantez 23:18
I don’t think it’s definitely not a celebrity memoir in that, like, I think, hopefully, people will read about it, it will be reading about my life being like, Who is this again? I mean, that by hopefully isn’t like hopefully more people by the book, then who know me personally, like more than my friends and family. By but it is a very similar format where like, I’m, I’m not doing start to finish. Basically, every chapter is the title of a woman in my life, who and then the story is kind of through line to that, but they really are the kind of the big, iconic moments in my life. Some of the women’s names are like enemies, you know, it’s like, it’s just like, women shaped me loved me, were my heroes or villains, right? Everything from celebrities in my life to, you know, friends to teachers. So it’s kind of all throughout. And I definitely took so, so much and just even from like, I’m not going to tell you like what my grandparents did for a living in the book. Do you know what I mean? Right? That is something that celebrity memoirs, and then my granddad it’s like, no, stop, no, stop. I went to Hollywood, I cannot go two generations back, like you can give me your like, unless it has a purpose in your story. I think also, the reason I shaped my book, the way I did was that sometimes, oftentimes celebrity memoirs are just sort of like, there’s this structure where it’s like, and then and then and then and it’s kind of like a montage of childhood moments or a montage of a moment in life. It’s like the food was like this, my grandmother this one time this and it’s kind of you’re just kind of in this like mush of someone’s life versus like, tell me a story, beginning, middle and themes takeaways. Right. So that’s really, I really tried to craft things like that. And I’m doing my best right now not to get lost in my own sauce. I don’t know if I’ll succeed. But I, I am trying to remember something that I think a lot of celebrity memoirs, in particular, forget, which is that this is for other people to read, for entertainment. Sometimes they’re just like, and then here’s a list of songs. Here’s a list of songs, and just kind of what year I recorded them. And I’m trying to remember sort of purpose. And I’m really trying to remember who I was as a teenager when I picked up these books, and I needed something so badly from them. And the times when I got something, and how it truly they were life changing. For me, I’m hoping to put something like that in my book. So that if someone ever picks it up, like it can, I can pass on, like what was given to me, you know,

Traci Thomas 25:55
right, right. Oh, I’m sure you will. I feel like there’s always like, really great takeaways on your show when you talk about your life and stuff. So I feel like, if that’s any inclination, I’m, I’m assuming your books gonna have that too, which will be fantastic. I hope so. Yeah, it’s gonna be it’s gonna be great. We’re rooting for you. Everyone’s rooting for you. I’m sure your publisher is too. Sure they want you to do it. Do they would like if I wrote a good book, yeah. How, how much? How do you break down your life? How much of your life is actually dedicated to doing the show? And how much of your life is everything else that you do? And how much reading are you doing?

Chelsea Devantez 26:34
So, great point, let’s see if I can do this. So when I was on the show, the show I was just on, and I’m usually writing on a TV show. That’s kind of like a 14 hour day. It’s really intense. And so then in the evenings to like to go to sleep, I’ll read sometimes I’ll read a book. And like one setting, the one thing keeping me going is I’m an extremely fast reader. I’ve been a very fast reader. I know ever since I was a kid. Yeah. So I read very fast. So that’s good. I always read with a pen, which really helps me. So like I kind of making the beat sheets for the podcast, I had to go go through the book and see like what I marked up again, and it kind of all comes back to me. And then on the weekends, I’m usually like writing scripts, I try to have a little bit of a social life. And then the podcast. It’s like, I listened to the edits while I’m driving to work. And like, do my own edits on top of the producers, because I can’t seem to seize control. And I’m familiar

Traci Thomas 27:35
with that. Yep, yep.

Chelsea Devantez 27:36
You know how that goes. About? is I? There are times I have no, I’ve made the joke a lot. But there are moments where I’m like, how am I going to do this, and then there’ll be pockets of time, like the time I’m in right now where I catch up, where we’re just going to like, do a ton of books all at once. So that’s kind of how it’s going. And I do worry that if I get on set soon that that I’d have to take a podcast break which I’ve never done.

Traci Thomas 28:02
I’ve never done it either. Yeah, it’s it’s

Chelsea Devantez 28:05
it’s so like, this is like such a Core i feel like the the processing on the podcast is like such a core of my I don’t know, positivity, mental health, something I it’s hard to give it up.

Traci Thomas 28:17
That’s, that’s really nice. I was gonna say it’s such a core just like my routine. I just know how my life is going. Because shows come out on Wednesday. Like, yeah, where am I have I done the edits for Wednesday? Like, where are we? Yes. But I sometimes fantasize about taking a break. And then I but the thing about me is if I take a break, I’ll never come back. Oh, no, then you can never take a break. I can never take a break. I mean, I had fucking twins and didn’t take a break. Oh, yeah, I got I rewind, take a break. I took a break. But I pre recorded everything. So my kids came in December, but because they were twins, I thought they could come early. So I finished recording and like had everything done by November 2019. They came in December and then I didn’t record again until February 2020. And I used to record in person and then the pandemic right and i i was like having to go back to work with three month old twins and a fucking pandemic. It was a nightmare. But we’ve never missed an episode. So oh, I don’t think I’ll ever take a break.

Chelsea Devantez 29:11
I love it. I mean, I think the I took a fake break by pre recording a bunch and then during the break caught up for the next week ridiculous.

Traci Thomas 29:19
Yes, that’s what I’m doing. But today is my last day of working when you and I are talking and then I’m taking a break for two weeks, but I’ll be just reading for the first five weeks of the year. So of course. Okay, we’re gonna, we’re gonna take a quick break, and then we’ll be right back. All right, we’re back. I did not prep you for this. We do a thing called Ask the stacks where people write in and they ask questions for us to answer. Normally someone writes in, but this time I have seized the reins. I’m asking you a question because I love celebrity memoir, and I get to ask you some book recommendations. Whoever wrote him, I’m ruining your life. Here’s what I want to know. I love a celebrity memoir. I do listen to a lot of them on audiobooks. Are there any great celebrity memoirs from like the past a little bit, maybe from like pre 2010 that are really juicy and great, that are narrated by the author. Do you know Oh, an audiobook person. I’m

Chelsea Devantez 30:17
actually I’m only a physical book copy person. I have notes in them. And I and I got it. I can almost never do the episode any other way. But I do believe Jane Fonda recorded her. Now, hers is 600 pages long.

Traci Thomas 30:31
Yeah, I’m questioning that. But it’s great is great.

Chelsea Devantez 30:34
And also it came out in 2005, which is the year I read it in and it’s taught me. I think that’s why I like inclusivity was always a part of my like feminism and activism, I think was Jane Fonda. Which I because I didn’t, I didn’t always have the best education. And so I was like, Where did how did I know this? How was this like, in my bones? I think in part, that was her book. Because she Oh my god in her book. She’s talking about climate change and how it’s her dedication to fight it in 2005. That is years before it becomes popular. She is talking about racial issues in a way where you’re like Jane Fonda.

Traci Thomas 31:13
You got this right. Right, right, right. Okay, so that

Chelsea Devantez 31:17
one’s really good. Let me think of another I don’t know if they’re audiobooks. Okay, if they’re not audio, I can I can suss that out. Okay, Carol Burnett. Great. Really? Yeah, really great. One Delta Burke’s was my first one. So it always has a special place in my heart. It is a half style book.

Traci Thomas 31:33
She will teach you something about makeup tips.

Chelsea Devantez 31:37
But I really I really loved the other parts of that. It’s tough because I read them when I was younger. It’s like Brett Butler’s had such a lasting impact. I

Traci Thomas 31:45
don’t even know who Brett Butler is.

Chelsea Devantez 31:47
She She was a famous comedian at the time. It calms her no. And she Yeah, her book just had a lot of trauma in it really spoke to me Roseanne Barr’s book, it’s like a different Roseanne. But you know, I was looking for like comedians, books like those were some like, Oh my god. Katharine Hepburn’s book. Yeah, those are some really good ones.

Traci Thomas 32:08
Okay, I love it. Thank you. I’m gonna think I’m gonna start with Jane Fonda. Okay, we’re gonna get to all the stacks books questionnaires, you do not have to only answer with celebrity memoirs. Just you know you if you have other books, only answer. That’s fine. You have my permission to do whatever you want. But I didn’t want you to think like celebrity memoirs. Okay. Two books you love one book you hate.

Chelsea Devantez 32:30
I love Demi Moore’s inside out. I love I just read Betty Gilpin memoir. All the smart women in sorry, all the women in my brain. They’re not all smart. Got it? I hated Matthew Perry’s memoir.

Traci Thomas 32:48
That one seemed like it was a funny icky, like

Chelsea Devantez 32:51
a fun hate read. But if I didn’t, I wasn’t a fan.

Traci Thomas 32:55
Yeah, yeah. Okay, what’s the last fucking great book you read?

Chelsea Devantez 33:00
Last Great, great book I read. So I’ve been reading tons of celebrity memoirs other than Betty Gilpin ins I also really loved brandy Carlisle’s and I became a huge fan of her music to the point that I read the book on Monday. I was seeing her in concert on a Friday. It was Kismet.

Traci Thomas 33:21
Not a fan before I had no idea who she was. Okay, so this memoir has come up on the podcast by music writer guy, and he was saying like, Oh, it’s so great. And I was like, I don’t know who she is. He’s like, you’ll love it. But he was a huge fan. And I was like, I don’t fucking bleep and I had

Chelsea Devantez 33:36
no idea who she was. I’ve also the audio book is incredible. And hers any musician who does a memoir, the audio book is the one to go to because it’ll have music in it.

Traci Thomas 33:47
Right? Well, right Carrie one. She sings she doesn’t

Chelsea Devantez 33:50
she sings she does impressions.

Traci Thomas 33:52
Oh my god. Yeah, that’s how I’m gonna read.

Chelsea Devantez 33:54
Oh, hers is an incredible audio book. Yeah, brand new Carlos. I was like, Who is this? Someone wanted to do my podcast was like, I guess I started playing your music as I was reading it. There are certain parts where she’s talking about songs. So I started playing the songs and then I put it on my podcast when we were talking about that part. I would put the song in that part because it deeply moved me I think she’s, she’s in my top five musical artists at this point.

Traci Thomas 34:18
Oh my god. Okay. Yeah. Okay, I’ll do it. I’ll do it. I’ll do it. What are you reading right now?

Chelsea Devantez 34:22
Right now I am in the middle of rue Paul’s memoir. For the podcast. I also am reading lessons and chemistry, which is a fiction book that my friend recommended. I’m also in the middle of vanishing half and I’m in the middle of kindred, which I also started watching on FX. So

Traci Thomas 34:41
I’m enjoying it. The book is fantastic. I have not watched the show yet. I’ve heard from people they’re very different. So my understanding is that like they start in the same place but really diverge. Yeah, so you might end up with like two totally different experiences and you know

Chelsea Devantez 34:56
what I have to say like I really have been looking for good shows to watch So, this is so I can’t leave I’m saying this on a book podcast, I might go for

Traci Thomas 35:03
the show. Like I might go for the short time

Chelsea Devantez 35:07
I’ve been really liking it and I, I was telling my husband or I’m newly married. So every time I say, oh my gosh, um, but if somebody hasn’t Yes, or one thing I like about the show it is it has a it’s, even though it’s on FX, it’s not taking itself. It’s not like totally up its own ass. It’s kind of just like a good juicy show. Like I say this in a positive way. But there’s a little bit of like a network quality or a little bit of a CW to it in a way that I am enjoying, like, it’s not an unknowable or unaccessible show. It’s like it’s there for the taking.

Traci Thomas 35:41
I would I would describe the book like that also, like, I feel like Kindred is that’s the one whenever people are like Octavia Butler, like start there. That’s the one where you can start. That’s the entry point. It is science fiction. It is speculative fiction, but it’s not. You’re not going to galaxies, you’ll know all the words, you don’t have to create, like, there’s no Middle Earth, like you’re just in the south, you’re in LA, you’re in the South. That’s it, front and back. What are some books that you’re looking forward to reading? When I reached out to you said there’s a bunch of really exciting celebrity memoirs coming out the beginning of next year. So I’d love to hear which ones you’re excited about disenchanted

Chelsea Devantez 36:18
with is coming out with a second book. Pamela Anderson is coming out with a book now. Judging from her blog, and what she said about the book, I don’t think there was an editor and I don’t think there’s any comments or grammar.

Traci Thomas 36:31
This is perfect. I

Chelsea Devantez 36:32
think it’s gonna be just a free range. Pam Anderson, we’re done. And I’m looking forward to just like seeing what’s up, you know, we’re gonna do a for Valentine’s Day episode, we’re mostly going to focus on hers. But I’m also going to pull in Tommy Lee’s book and what he said about her, I love doing I love when couples who particularly have broken up have memoirs. She said she said a little he said she said and then Paris Hilton’s given us a memoir, she’s someone else talk about curated vulnerability. My tough take on her is that like, I think she really did open up with with what happened to her in those high schools that they that her parents sent her off to, but I wanted to go there, but I’ve looked into it. And it’s like, she also found like, oh, right now, it’s super hot to be vulnerable and open up and like talk about trauma. So I’m gonna like, kind of do it a little bit, but I’m still the same old person. So I’m, I’m interested to see what’s in that book, I just want to know. So I know it’s incited and hash, has a posthumous memoir coming out. Her first one’s like, really incredible to look back on, and we’re bringing it on the podcast. But you know, we’re first one’s called me crazy. And it’s really about being queer in a society that rejects that. And her second book is called Call me and, and she was writing it at before she died. And I think there’s like a lot to be learned about what makes a woman crazy. What made a woman crazy in the 90s and early 2000s. And how like, maybe that was your only option if you didn’t want to be subdued or bludgeoned into something else. So I’m really yeah, I’m really excited for that.

Traci Thomas 38:14
How do you decide what you’re going to read? Next? Like, do you go off recommendations from friends? Are you just like scouring the celebrity memoir blogs? I don’t know. Yeah,

Chelsea Devantez 38:25
I mean, we really are paying attention to just like, it’s kind of a little bit easy, because it’s like what’s coming out. So definitely, like new new hot releases. We have like the upcoming schedule. Also, because I am writing a book, I have a book agent, like we have access to all the like, literary and gummies. Right. So that makes it easy, then it’s just a decision of like, am I gonna read Harry? Harry Styles? Am I going to read Prince Harry’s memoir or not, you know, and there? And the answer is now maybe. But that kind of makes it easy. And then there’s just I have stacks of books in my office of just tons of memoirs I’ve already read they’ve already been out and so then I’ll go and fill it in with those books.

Traci Thomas 39:06
Yeah, I love what you’re gonna read Harry’s just because the title is so perfect. Although like, it’s so

Chelsea Devantez 39:13
funny. It’s so fucked. No British culture and you don’t know that. You know, monarchs, kids classically, you know, the kid that wasn’t going to take the throne. It’s called the spare. That was a very confusing title for many people when it came out. Was it? Yeah. They’re the people who didn’t know that. Were like, why?

Traci Thomas 39:32
I guess I Okay. Well, if you didn’t know that, I guess it wasn’t great. But when I saw that, I was like, Yo, she’s coming for throats. Even if it’s just in the title. He’s like, Fuck you guys. Yeah, like you guys. You treated me like shit. I fucking hate you. But I also love you. I love you, Granny. I named my daughter after you even though you guys were monsters to me. But we’ll get there. Okay, you’ve talked about a lot of books you’d like to recommend what’s uh, what’s like a book that someone recommended to you that you just loved.

Chelsea Devantez 40:02
You know, my train, think of a non celebrity memoir. Oh, in high school, my English teacher gave us the book of embraces by Eduardo Galliano, and it’s one of my favorite books. To this day, something I never would have come across. If it wasn’t for her. It’s tough for people to recommend celebrity memoirs to me, because I already know about them, you know, but sometimes there’s a book that someone will really push to read where I’m like, Are you sure? And weirdly, Jennette McCurdy is was that for me, where I was like, Yeah, I cover it, but like, whatever. But a friend was like, so hard up for it. And it’s the best to me. It’s the best celebrity memoir of the year. Yeah.

Traci Thomas 40:45
And so that was good. Yeah,

Chelsea Devantez 40:47
that was good lesson.

Traci Thomas 40:47
No, I have a lot of thoughts about that one. Because I feel like one of the things that I really struggled with with that book, like I thought I loved how she wrote it in the vignettes I thought that saved her. I thought that was like such a strong choice, because it made the book move quickly. But one of the things that I think really frustrated me about not the book, but maybe the response to the book was how people were like, celebrity children, like we should never do this bubble bought and I felt like her book gave readers and people who like view, celebrity culture from the outside and excuse to be like, All celebrities are freaks and weirdos because like, and I felt like it like confirmed biases people have about actors in a way that I just was like, I don’t know, this is sort of an easy, it’s a hard read. But it’s an easy read, because of course, her mother’s a monster, and she does all the monstrous things that a monster would do. And I don’t know, there was just something about the way people responded to it. That made me feel weird. I don’t know if I’m articulate. Yeah,

Chelsea Devantez 41:41
I think that’s a really fair point. I also think, I think if you specifically took her book and went like, oh, all celebrities, when really she’s talking about child celebrities,

Traci Thomas 41:54
which is That’s right. Sorry. That’s very old actors,

Chelsea Devantez 41:58
I have to say like, and being in the business like, it is my it is truly majority fucked up. The parent who works as hard as you have to work to get your child to be a star, usually something very, very dark is going on having very around them myself having known people who work in children’s casting and quit because it is too sad. And I think, specifically, the fact that like only 15% of child’s wages are put aside for when they’re 18 means all of that income is the families. There’s this incredible documentary that I don’t even remember the name of now. It’s really old. But it’s about this famous apartment complex in LA where parents would stay with their kids in pilot season ticket their kids rolls and like, it is just it’s really all of the same flavor and the same ilk. And yeah, though her mom was on the extreme side, I think even I do think it’s a little bit of a fair, I think it’s a fair take. You do what I do. And listen, I am someone who when I was three years old, asked my mom how you get in the TV. She said, you get an agent. I said, Let’s get one. And she said no. It’ll ruin your life. I think she missed out on millions of dollars. I wait I do. I’m saying this is a bunch of industry. I’m like, You should have put me in I bet I would have done great. So. So, but I mean, like, I think it’s tough. The proportion of kids who became celebrities and are pretty intensely dealing with like substance issues, like even like the Olsen twins. Like, I think it’s a really high percentage versus people who became actors. Like later in life. The percentage goes down a little.

Traci Thomas 43:38
Yeah, no, that’s fair. That’s fair. I liked the book. I did that on audio. But I think my best celebrity memoir of this year was Viola Davis. See? Okay,

Chelsea Devantez 43:46
so Viola Davis, I really I also really loved that when I am at the end of the day, I’m a comedian. Viola, not a

joke, non SCI comedy. I would say it’s miles away from the book and funny, it is a she’s funnier. She is

funny. And I think I think it was so hard for her to tell that story because it is such a brutal story. That there just wasn’t space for that and so it can’t be my favorite only because I do want a few last and above and and I feel

Traci Thomas 44:16
now you’re swaying me. I think they were both great. I think it was but both of them did the thing where it was like confirming our worst suspicions about Hollywood like all of these women are damaged and like they very well might be. But I don’t love it. I don’t love it.

Chelsea Devantez 44:32
I love that you’re say this. I mean, I am in Hollywood. It is brutal. It is yeah. Everyone tells you they’re like oh, the business is so hard. Oh my god I went to acting school big regret, but it actually they’re like, if you can do anything else you should. It’s brutal. And you’re like fuck you. I’m gonna make it and now that I’m here, I’m like, this is 1000 times worse than I ever could have imagined.

Traci Thomas 44:55
And I try also went to theater school, and I could do something different. And I am doing something. But I have so I am industry adjacent, right? I have so many friends who are in Hollywood and in the theater and all these things. And I sort of feel like I think what it is about those books is it’s like, I think the industry really fucks you up and can really damage you too. And I would like a little more credit for that. I feel like it was too much like my life is fucked up. So I became an actor. The industry Yeah, yeah, yes, I agree. The industry is a nightmare. Anyways,

Chelsea Devantez 45:27
those are the industry just look at Ariana Grande, as told through Jennette McCurdy is memoir, by the way, Jennette McCurdy not a good audiobook. That is a book that he didn’t like it. I like Well, I I think not good in comparison to like, if you could choose that is able to read because the literary quality is so high. And when she is speaking through her book, because I’ve listened to some of it. She’s really pushing through that. Yeah, I mean, she’s getting through it. She’s like, and she versus someone in the audiobook who’s like sit like you can hear Jessica Simpson get emotional. You can share them in the stories and I think those meta audiobooks when you have to choose Yeah,

Traci Thomas 46:03
I think as a book, or is like a story, I think that genets is better but as an audiobook said them both on audio I think I liked violence more because her performance is just I mean her fucking always and she’s giving she’s giving you see and she’s giving you be my

Chelsea Devantez 46:18
gosh, like if I listened to on audiobook I bet I would have a different again. I loved this book. It was just you know, it was all darkness. Yeah.

Traci Thomas 46:26
Well, I’m glad that those are two of your favorites because those are the two I read this year. Like, feel good. And I did well, Smith’s but his was his was good. But his also that curated vulnerability. Oh my god

Chelsea Devantez 46:37
is to the moon i When Jada comes out I’m going to do Jada and Will’s together on the podcast because Oh, together. I think we’ll get a full tail. is hers coming out this year? It’s coming up. 2023 Yeah, in the fall.

Traci Thomas 46:49
Can I do that

Chelsea Devantez 46:50
get you into that one. I want to do you have to Will and Jada as well. Yeah, I’ve

Traci Thomas 46:54
already read well, I’m ready to do well, I’ve been I’ve been dying to talk about loans for a year for like, Okay, let’s

Chelsea Devantez 46:59
see. What do you do? Are you in Harry’s are you doing Jada is this is the ultimate Sophie’s Choice.

Traci Thomas 47:05
I think I got to do well and Jada. Okay, I like that. Because when I saw the slop. I was like, this makes sense. I had finished the book of the week before I was like, Oh, this fucking tracks. Oh, my God is coming in and reading the book. Yes. When I was reading the book, I was like something dark, something dark this week comes and then I see the slap and I was like,

Chelsea Devantez 47:23
oh, there was a moment I didn’t punch my father when he was beating up my mother and I and I want to rectify it. And if I can’t, I’ll be a broken human. And in that moment, Chris Rock was Daddy. Jana was mama. And he

Traci Thomas 47:37
was like, I am dropping. Yeah. Oh my god. Okay. Okay. Okay, we’ll save it will save it will save it. Back back to questions about books. Do you have favorite bookstores?

Chelsea Devantez 47:47
You know, I really try and do libraries. If I’m going to write in the book. I try and do thrifted books. So I like thrift. books.com my favorite bookstore is what’s the one with all the plants?

Traci Thomas 48:01
Skylight? No, no, it’s is it? in Silverlake? No. On in Romans?

Chelsea Devantez 48:11
No. Oh, the last bookstore which is? And it has this like

Traci Thomas 48:16
beautiful last bookstore is a downtown. They have one in Pasadena too. Yes. There’s Yeah. I didn’t know there was one downtown. Oh, the one downtown is the one where people always take the Instagram photos where it’s like, oh, well,

Chelsea Devantez 48:26
you know what? It’s called last books.

Traci Thomas 48:29
Oh, okay. Last one in Pasadena. Okay. God, we talked about every bookstore in LA. Um, okay, this is sort of our speed round. What’s the last book that made you laugh? Casey Wilson’s memoir. Okay, last book that made you cry.

Chelsea Devantez 48:47
I cried. And I cried a lot of them. I cried. I cried reading that eagle pins.

Traci Thomas 48:51
Okay, memoir, last book that made you angry.

Chelsea Devantez 48:56
I’m Matthew Berry’s memoir.

Traci Thomas 48:59
Last book where you felt like you learned a lot.

Chelsea Devantez 49:02
One book that actually really shifted my daily life is Rue McClanahan ‘s memoir, which has a phenomenal, phenomenal title, which is my first five husbands and the ones who got away an incredible, incredible memoir, I absolutely loved it. And in it, she’s actually talking about how she gets into these fine marriages that she doesn’t really mean to be into. And the way she talks about it and the way she comes away from it. She really drills this thing into your head which is like just say, I’ll think about it. When someone asks you something, just say I’ll think about it, just say I’ll think about it. I have an intense people pleasing, that comes from a very dark place of even just like survival, just like I have to make sure everything’s good. And I always get myself and I get myself into lunches. I don’t want to be a part of dinners purchases, like I can’t negotiate all give you double. And so her book really drilled it home in a way where like I move through my life and I’ll add I’ve learned to say can I Think about it and it’s really helped me out.

Traci Thomas 50:02
I love that for you. If you I really am not a people pleaser, I am quick to know quick and no thank you. Or I just don’t respond. Oh, I just wait.

Chelsea Devantez 50:14
Oh, monologues and pages and writing emails I don’t want to be

Traci Thomas 50:21
Do you have a problematic favorite book?

Chelsea Devantez 50:24
I don’t have a problematic favorite. But I did just read Angela Lansbury is for our New Year’s episode because it’s a health and wellness book with some black stuff in it. And it’s, it is so problematic. I shouldn’t have been able to enjoy it as much as I did. But I kind of just like found the problematic parts funny and had a great time. I love that.

Traci Thomas 50:47
Is there any book that you think people would be surprised to know that you love?

Chelsea Devantez 50:51
Yeah, there was a book called Tales from the dugout, about this triple A player and his life. And I don’t even remember who now but I remembered it at some point recommend, you know, to someone be like, Man, this book is awesome. And they were like, this book is the worst book I’ve ever read. And so I think perhaps it was in my life in a moment where

Traci Thomas 51:13
somehow that was good to me. You needed you needed to know.

Chelsea Devantez 51:17
Also the same with the tipping point. I don’t know, like, not a book I would like in my life. You know what I mean? Like, we can look back and be like, it was it was kind of like pseudoscience and like I remember be like, Man, this book

Traci Thomas 51:28
jams. Yeah, no, I used to love him. And then I read his like one of his more recent books, and I was like, Oh, God, well, that’s my personal Nemesis and he’s definitely on my problematic fabless. Yeah,

Chelsea Devantez 51:38
for sure. Yes, I would say that’s my problematic. I don’t want to call it a favorite anymore. Like not holding it in esteem. I’m not gonna defend it. I’m just sort of like, Oh, I do remember loving that. And that was probably not great.

Traci Thomas 51:48
Not great. Yeah. If you were a high school teacher, what’s a book you would assign to your students?

Chelsea Devantez 51:55
You know, I would assign a Cicely Tyson’s. I would assign jolly Parton’s because, and I would assign them together particularly when learning about civil rights. Because the way they both discuss you know where they were and what happened when JFK died. The way Martin Luther King’s death is not in dollies but is in any in every I’m not just dolly but it’s an every black man Morris memoir is like the moment Martin Luther King died. And, and that kind of touch point is in and out of other memoirs, same way with modern memoirs. 911 We have a thing on the podcast we call 911. The purpose pipeline, where like, they’re like 911 happened, and this is what I did. So it’s like 911 happened just the Simpsons like, I am gonna marry Nicholas che, like 911 happened. And that’s another one that I just read 911 happened Ricki Lake, like, I’m getting a house in Malibu. So anyways, there’s these touch points in history, but I would say like reading about it through these celebrity memoir lenses, it really makes a story stick. It just feels a lot more real than reading about in a textbook. And I think it’s proven to stay in your brain when it’s tied to a narrative when you’re working through history, then really just like what history was like living in the moment, which is so different than when we like, talk about it in the textbook is this like, intense time where it’s like, really, you’re just humans living in this moment? It’s like different for everyone.

Traci Thomas 53:14
Yeah. I rarely asked this question, though. It’s been on a questionnaire since the first time we ever did the show, which but I’m gonna ask you because you’re a TV person. Is there any book you’d like to see adapted into film or TV?

Chelsea Devantez 53:26
You know, I personally was like, Can I adapt any Moore’s book? I actually wants the friendship story in Tina Turner’s book about her and her best friend, I would like to adapt that into a series myself again. Mica Kelly’s memoir is not out yet. But it’s all the themes I’m deeply in love with, which is like single moms and survival and growing up poor and I’m like, I haven’t even read it. I’m like, maybe that should be doing it. Yeah.

Traci Thomas 53:53
Yeah. I love that. Okay, last one. If you could require the current president of the United States to read one book, which would it be?

Chelsea Devantez 54:03
Oh, man, it’s tough because I feel like all of the great social policy books like everything from nickel and dime, like that’s on their list, you know, so they’ve read it. So let me think, let me think particularly of what celebrity memoir, I would want them to read Gabrielle Union’s first memoir.

Traci Thomas 54:21
Hmm, that’s the we’re gonna need more wine. Yeah, we’re gonna need more white. Listen, they’re

Chelsea Devantez 54:25
gonna have a great time reading it, but also they’re going to learn a lot, and it has a lot about shame and trauma in it in a way that I think Biden could really, you know, no, Biden’s actually gone through a lot. Um, I think that’d be good. But let me think if I can think of one more. What book would change the world? Okay. You know what, it’s it’s it’s maybe Jane Fonda’s okay, because they really need to get their climate shit together. And they’re gotten lost together. And I think that book back that that book could maybe do it.

Traci Thomas 55:04
I love it Jane Fonda and Gabrielle Union saving America to celebrity memoirs on a time. All right, everybody This has been Chelsea Devantez. As you can find her on the socials, you can find her podcast which you must listen to. It’s very fun. Her books going to come out later, we’ll share all that when it gets here. Chelsea and I will be back on Wednesday, January 25. To discuss the meaning of Mariah Carey by Mariah Carey, my girl and Cam fucking wait. And that’s gonna be awesome. There will be spoilers. So read the book. Get ready people. Happy New Year. Chelsea, thank you so much for being here.

Chelsea Devantez 55:39
And happy new year. Thank you so much for having me.

Traci Thomas 55:43
And everyone else we will see you in the stacks.

thank you all so much for listening. And thank you again to Chelsea Devantez for being our guest. Chelsea will be back on January 25 to discuss our book club selection of Mariah Carey’s autobiography The meaning of Mariah Carey written with Mikayla Angela Davis. If you love the show and want inside access to it, head to patreon.com/thestacks to join The Stacks Pack. Make sure you’re subscribed to The Stacks wherever you listen to your podcasts and if you’re listening through Apple Podcasts or Spotify, be sure to leave us a rating and a review. For more from The Stacks, follow us on social media at thestackspod on Instagram at thestackspod_ on Twitter and check out our website thestackspodcast.com. This episode of The Stacks was edited by Christian Dueñas, with production assistance from Lauren Tyree. Our graphic designer is Robin McCreight and our theme music is from Tagirijus. The Stacks is created and produced by me, Traci Thomas.

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