The Half of It: A Memoir
Madison Beer
A memoir from singer-songwriter Madison Beer, chronicling the past decade of her life spent in the spotlight—the ups, the downs, and the in-betweens that you won’t see on social media. Discovered at twelve years old, Madison Beer was one of the first artists to have her entire life documented online. Over the past decade, she has navigated the spotlight as a child, through her teenage years, and now as a young woman in her twenties. more
176 pages, Hardcover
First published Harper
4.03
Rating
4257
Ratings
898
Reviews
Madison Beer
2 books 139 followers
Community reviews
Rating: ★★★★★ ”I used to look at my sensitivity as a weakness. I wondered why I had to care so much, about everything, all the time. But now it is my true superpower. I am grateful to have a sensitive heart. ” If you decide to pick up Madison Beer’s memoir you should probably get yourself a big box of tissues - i wish i had because i now have a pillow full of my own tears. more
although short, this is a vulnerable memoir (including journal prompts and answers to fan questions) touching on madison’s rather unique experience of navigating childhood fame, growing up under the eyes of millions online, and dealing with mental health struggles. i’ve seen a few reviews which say they wish there was more depth here, but madison is only 24 and has a lot of life left to live, so we can’t really expect wealths of wisdom, and i don’t think that’s her intention with this book anyway. she said in a video that she reads a lot of self-help and mental health non fiction, which is quite obvious from the writing style / some of the advice given, but if that works for her, then good for her. . more
*audiobook*excuse me while I go binge her life support album all over again. more
i will start this review saying i am a fan of madisons beers music. i have listened to her since 2017 and i’ve even saw her live a few years ago, though i wouldn’t say i’m a fan of her in the way i’m following her moves and i watch her interviews. all i’ve known about her so far is that she was found on youtube by justin bieber, she’s had social media famous boyfriends and she’s stunningly beautiful to the point people hate her for it. so i went into reading this book knowing a lot more than nothing but without a fan perspective. this book is a short and easy read though by 60% i was struggling to finish the book. more
♥︎ 𝓃𝑜𝓉𝑒: 𝓅𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓈𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹 𝓉𝓇𝒾𝑔𝑔𝑒𝓇 𝓌𝒶𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈 𝒷𝑒𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒷𝑜𝑜𝓀 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓇𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌 ♥︎ જ⁀➴*𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴* +˚｡⋆ 𐙚˚˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚ ✧ ˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚ ✧ ˚ ༘ *𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘀*➶⁀જ “𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿. ” +˚｡⋆ 𐙚˚˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚ ✧ ˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚ ✧ ˚"𝗢𝗺𝗴 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼. " જ⁀➴*𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝘀* +˚｡⋆ 𐙚˚˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚ ✧ ˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚ ✧ *𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴*➶⁀જ𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗹𝗳 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝘁The half of it is not only a memoir by Madison Beer but also a teenager’s/young adult’s story. A human like everyone else who chose to follow her passion for music and connect with different souls. "𝙔𝙤𝙪’𝙡𝙡 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙠 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙚𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙠 𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨. more
While I really enjoyed Madison's narration of her younger years and coming into fame, I can't help but feel like the book still fell a little flat. I would have loved for her to have dug a little deeper into some of her bigger "scandals" or shared more on the touchy subjects that she only slightly breached. Her storytelling however was engaging and made for a super quick read. . more
i admire madison’s vulnerability in this memoir as she shares her personal experiences & struggles growing up in fame. whilst this certainly wasn’t anything profound (i’ve read everything she wrote somewhere else before) i still recognise the value of this book, particularly for young readers, in acknowledging contemporary issues with social media, revealing the reality behind a seemingly ‘perfect life. ’ a beautiful representation of ongoing mental illness recovery also. an enjoyable (but ultimately forgettable) read. more
it's 5 stars TO ME and that's what matters. more
I had a really hard time trying to figure out what rating to give this book, but I decided to settle for 4 stars. At the end of the day, I would give it 5 stars based on the themes, the vulnerability, the gentleness and the overall reading experience, but I believe that, from an objective point of view and in terms of the writing and the structure, it deserves 3 stars. Probably because Madison excels in other things (music of course) and not really in writing. And that's perfectly fine. I've known Madison since the release of her very first song "Melodies". more
- no rating ༉‧₊˚check tw . . *•this was truly a beautiful memoir. it was so insightful, emotional, and raw, and i often found myself tearing up while reading. i am not someone who believes that celebrities are perfect and don’t have a single problem: they are human just like the rest of us, something so many people forget. more
This isn't a memoir. It's Madison Beer's journal with a few "Ask Amy" style sections and a handful of journal prompts for the reader. When I hear the word "memoir," I anticipate a narrative-driven account of a person's life, and The Half of It is far from that. She tells us what happened and then deep dives into her feelings about it. Every chapter is so far detached from the actual events of her life, as if the reader should be able to picture everything that happened to her, as if I should already know what she's talking about and just listen to her thoughts about it. more
"I've started welcoming the chance to prove people wrong. "you could really tell how reflective madison is on her life. i liked the topics that she touched on. i would've wished for her to go more in depth about some things (e. g. more
I want to begin this review by stating that I will not review the contents of a memoir, because it is someone’s life. I don’t believe you should critique the way someone chooses to share their life with you. However, I have some thoughts about this book I would like to share. My first thought is: wow. I’m in awe of Madison’s vulnerability and honesty in this memoir. more
5 stars hands down. as someone who has a large following on social media i have never had a book make me feel so seen. madison is so pure and vulnerable throughout this book while talking about her struggles with social media and mental health. i felt like she was literally saying words i couldn’t describe about my own career. i love this woman. more
never thought i could love Madison more than i already do but this memoir proved me wrong . more
i’m in so much awe of madison beer. she is the epitome of a beautiful woman inside and out. i loved hearing about all of her experiences and i appreciate how raw and open she is in this memoir. more
2. 5 stars⭐Ugh, I think I'm coming to realize I don't like reading celebrity memoirs. I love Madison, I'm a huge fan of hers, there is so much of her story that I can relate to and unfortunate events that I have also been through. I really enjoyed finally hearing her talk about these topics and giving us her story. She had some really important advice, life lessons, and empowering quotes, but the rest of this book fell flat for me. more
“It was all blacks and whites. One day I would wake up and feel on top of the world, and the next day I would feel like an impostor in my own skin. I could never exist in a gray area. ”wow this was a strong cup of coffee. i’m so proud of madison for sharing her story with us. more
My introduction to Madison Beer came through the Monster High theme song (amazing 10/10), but I haven't listened to anything of hers outside of that and, despite how genuine this book was, and how nice she always seemed, I can't promise that I will. Still though, I picked this up in hopes of getting to know her better, and that didn't exactly happen. There are a few events that are described in the book that seemed to stretch throughout, so it's not exactly a memoir, but a retelling of those events, how she felt during, how it affected her life etc. And that's fine, she can talk about whatever she wants, it's her book and she didn't even have to open up as much as she did here, but she did it anyway and I commend her for it. I was just looking for a bit more is all. more
4. 5 ⭐️ this was so good. i literally don't know how to explain how this book made me feel. the way she talked about mental health while also giving tips/solutions was amazing. i felt so seen when she talked about her paranoia, anxiety and depression. more
“So different types of pain can all exist at once. It’s not a competition of who has it worse. And someone else’s pain doesn’t take away from your own. ”This was a memoir I wasn’t expecting but I am so glad that it was written. The Half Of It is a true testimony of ‘it’s not what it always seems’. more
tw for anxiety, depression, assault, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempt, harassment and addiction. I've known about Madison for years, but I only started listening to her music some months ago, and I've fallen in love with her voice, writing, and style. I've listened only to her two albums, but from her lyrics alone, you can tell she's had a rough time in life. The more I paid attention to her songs, the more I wanted to know her story; finding out she wrote a memoir was the perfect way to do it without relying on gossip sites or social media and letting them dictate what I learned about her. "I wasn't experiencing the true extent of happiness, either, but I was at such a low that I didn't care. more
this one is incredibly vulnerable (check your TWs) and i commend MB’s bravery in touching on all these topics and her own experiences, especially as a public figure. it always feels weird to rate/review a memoir, but it was good. i was hoping for more, and i think the book needed more. more time, more context, more grit, who knows. it brought me to the edge of the cliff and i kept waiting to be shoved off but maybe that’s a me thing loli recommend :). more
wow. rtc but overall rating: 5/5⭐️s. I really hate rating memoirs but if I had to put a number beside it. it would 100% be that. . more
I love Madison Beer, so excited for this <3~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Update: I finally got a copy of this book from the library, sometime this weekend I would love to just curl up with it, some chocolate, and a box of tissues, whilst bingeing her discography/filmography, in order to pay it the respect it deserves~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~4. 5/5 stars. This was only 160 pages but I feel like there’s so much to talk about. Full unpacking to come :). more
the vulnerability within this book is spectacular. madison is such a sweet and genuine soul, and being able to dive into her story through her own words was so healing and moving. . more
i love this book with my whole heart. you’ll need a box of tissues and ice cream if you’re going to read this book . more
completely commend madison, who im on a first name basis with now, for sharing these chapters of her life. i am not sure i was the right audience for this -- would be a great read for younger girls, and im sure her fans loved it. i think her memoir serves as a sad sad reminder of the absurdity of fame and the zoo we agree to buy a ticket to. tbh i feel weird rating memoirs like homegirl was being vulnerable what am i supposed to sayps i think im now craving a hailey bieber memoir where she just takes us through the past 5 years for 800 pages. more
Filled with pages about the effects of social media and childhood fame, I would not have called this book a memoir. After reading the book, I empathize with Madison’s experience and her anger and hurt are valid, but it got a little repetitive and I found myself skimming a lot of the 160 pages. Barely any personal stories, except for perfectly curated ones that she has been breaking down in greater detail during her interviews for book promotion. Although they are raw and vulnerable, they are so carefully told. After reading the book, I still know nothing about her upbringing, her friendships, her dynamics with her parents or even how it was to move and live in LA so young. more