pam. britney. julia.

a note about my celeb memoir essay | + lists, links, recs!

Dear ones,

Toward the end of 2023, I was immersed in the harrowing lives of three women: Pamela Anderson, Britney Spears, and Julia Fox. I had been commissioned to write an essay for the print edition of the Cleveland Review of Books putting the buzzy celebrity memoirs in conversation, and I really leaned into the assignment. I have different parasocial relationships with each of their mythologies, and to varying degrees I consider myself a fan. Pamela’s admirable (even if inconsistent) political leanings, Britney’s ability to perform such bangers, Julia’s nearly Marina Abromović-esque performance art existence. I was drawn to their respective working class backgrounds, their complicated relationships to sexual agency. For the review I wanted to consider these three books situated within this post-#MeToo moment. Each of these women have been extremely harmed by various men, but their storytelling was not the stuff of #MeToo testimony. Instead, they offer a much-needed nuance to conversations around pain, love, sex, and exploitation that I found to be profound. 

And the issue is finally out! My review is in the company of so much brilliance — Stephanie Ginese, Brontez Purnell, Conor Bracken, Miriam Gordis, to name just a few—and none of it is available online. I hope you’ll consider a purchase to support independent media and really solid writing and criticism. (That said, the online essays/reviews on the CRB website are also *excellent* and worth exploring!)  

Also, I wish you could smell it. There are few things as good as the smell of a hot-off-the-presses independent print publication on thick paper. I felt like this, inhaling it.

Below: recommended reading, an updated reflection on Kinds of Kindness (I went from almost hating it to kind of appreciating it), my summer 2024 playlist, and more. Summer sale is still happening, you can get full access to all the newsletter content for just $30.

love & solidarity,

raechel 

PS: If you’re local to Cleveland we’ll be celebrating the issue release at The Rhizome House on July 20th! I’ll be reading! 

PPS: I’ve also written about Pamela for the newsletter, you can find that here.

Reading.