by Minka Kelly
First published 2023
Minka Kelly opens her life story with brutal honesty. Most people recognize her as Lyla Garrity from Friday Night Lights or Samantha from Euphoria, but her real childhood bore no resemblance to these privileged characters. She grew up with a single mother who stripped for income and battled addiction. They moved constantly across the country, sleeping in friends' apartments, relatives' homes, and sometimes storage units. Kelly woke up in unfamiliar places regularly as they searched for stability. She later connected with her father, Aerosmith guitarist Rick Dufay, and eventually reached Los Angeles where she landed her breakthrough television role. The memoir traces her path from those unstable early years to becoming an established actress and philanthropist. Kelly examines how she survived an unpredictable childhood and built a career despite the obstacles. Her story centers on finding strength through adversity and discovering that resilience and love provide the foundation for moving forward.
Genres: family-life, autobiography, contemporary, biography-memoir
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, overcoming-adversity
Setting: Los Angeles
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
288 pages · Hardcover · Henry Holt and Co.
Content warnings: addiction, child-abuse, domestic-violence