Memoirs and autobiographies are not typically my go-to genre for reading. My non-fiction reads usually consist of true crime. However, I will make exceptions for Real Housewives and because Garcelle Beauvais has become a force to be reckoned with on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, I jumped at the chance to read her memoir. We only see glimpses of her life on the show and I wanted to know more about her.

The memoir begins with Garcelle’s upbringing in Haiti. She is part of a family broken by her father that left her at a young age and was raised by her older siblings as her mother had to work to support the family. She makes her journey to the United States as a young girl to Massachusetts and after a few years the family ends up in Florida

Miami is where she is discovered by Eileen Ford and promptly moves to NYC. She writes bluntly about her struggles as an up-and-coming black model/actress in the industry. Reading about her experiences as not just a young woman in the modeling world, but a young black woman is eye-opening.

Despite her struggles, Garcelle makes a quite successful career for herself with roles in Coming to America and The Jamie Foxx Show. Although I remember her first from Models, Inc. I was a big Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place fan and I remember watching Models Inc when it aired, and I was bummed when it was canceled. She writes a lot about her acting career and the friendships & relationships she has made throughout her career, especially with Jamie Foxx.

Garcelle goes very in-depth about her two marriages and her children. On Real Housewives, she has spoken candidly about her marriages and her children, however, she provides a lot more insight about the relationships and self-reflects on choices she has made. Garcelle has been open on the Real Housewives about one of her son’s addiction struggles and I found it admirable that she does not use his story to tell her own. She writes only from her point of view without providing too much detail and simply states that it is not her story to tell.

For Real Housewives fans, if you’re expecting a bunch of tea from behind the scenes with the other cast members, prepare to be disappointed. There are only a few pages about Garcelle’s experience on Real Housewives and her castmates. She talks at length about her “non-negotiables” when agreeing to another season; having sit-downs to hash out her issues with castmates Kyle Richards and Lisa Rinna regarding comments and accusations made during season 10. Most of which fans already know about. The real juicy stuff is sprinkled throughout in stories about her career before the Housewives.

Love Me As I Am is a memoir of a determined and resilient woman’s journey of self-acceptance and breaking through barriers. It was an enjoyable read to learn more about Garcelle and her life. While it isn't going to be a Pulitzer Prize-winning book, it certainly did not deserve to be thrown in the trash.

I received an Advanced Readers Copy of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions included herein are my own.

Thank you Netgalley and Amistad for the advanced copy of this book! I have loved watching Garcelle on the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills - she is such a breath of fresh air and I knew her memoir would be more of the honest, no nonsense personality fans have gotten to know on Housewives. I really enjoyed getting to know Garcelle’s story from her growing up in Haiti to her early start as a fashion model and years in the entertainment industry. Garcelle talks about motherhood, femininity, sexuality, racism, and much more. I loved that this book was more about her story, and that she was very respectful and didn’t use this book to bash others. A must read for fans of celebrity memoirs and fans of the Housewives franchise.

What a fun memoir! I’ve known of Garcelle since Coming to America but was really introduced to her on the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. It was so fun to learn more about her personal life, who she really is as an individual and not a celebrity, and how she embraced her sexuality later in life to find true happiness and more fulfilling relationships. I learned so much about Garcelle, but also felt like I was getting great advice from someone who’s “been there” and knows what she’s talking about.

My thanks to NetGalley and Amistad for an advance reader’s copy.

𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐌𝐞 𝐀𝐬 𝐈 𝐀𝐦 by Garcelle Beauvais is an inviting narrative in which Garcelle writes affectingly about many topics including her family, career, love life, and so much more.
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I didn’t know much about Garcelle before reading this book. I’ve seen her on television shows and movies including𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘑𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘹𝘹 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘸 and 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘰 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢. I also vividly remember her modeling work from back in the day. But, I’ve never heard much about her personally. I’ve always viewed here as part of a small group of actresses that allow their work to do the talking for them.
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Consequently, everything I read in this book was new information to me. And although I’ve seen her scripted work, I have never watched her on 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘸𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘏𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴, or 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭, the unscripted projects. Making this my first time hearing her life stories.
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In this memoir, Garcelle strikes a perfect balance between her personal & professional life. I found it authentic and relatable in many ways.
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What I enjoyed most is that she doesn’t shy away from sharing the challenging parts of her life. She writes about everything from racial inequality, to the devastation of infidelity. There’s a chapter where in which she writes about her oldest son Oliver, who once battled addiction. In this chapter she courses gracefully over an obviously painful subject. She does an amazing job of walking the tightrope of sharing how his addiction impacted her life, without unintentionally telling too much of his personal story. I thought this was such a classy move and unwavering display of a mother’s love!
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𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐌𝐞 𝐀𝐬 𝐈 𝐀𝐦 gave me everything I was looking for. It was an entertaining, easy read. I think readers will be undoubtedly charmed & inspired by her story.

I loved this read. I love Garcelle and have enjoyed her on the Housewives series which made me super interested in this book! She’s so down to Earth, sensible, funny and most importantly, relevant and real. This was such a refreshing read.

Love Me as I Am is a great tribute to her hard work and background that made her the woman she is today. This memoir had a perfect balance of touching on aspects most of us are looking for (RHOBH tea for me) but also detailing individual stories and memories that shaped Garcelle’s life. It was such a quick read because I couldn’t get enough, and I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about her journey and self discovery! If you love a celebrity memoir this is a great one to add to the list!

I wanted to learn more about Garcelle because although I knew who she was from the “Jamie Foxx Show”, I hadn’t known much about her personally until she joined RHOBH. This was a chance to see what makes her tick. It’s hard to critique a memoir because that is someone’s life, whether you find it interesting or not. Nonetheless, I thought the organizational structure and what was included to be a bit random. Garcelle certainly shared some private things, but they were done like a sprinkle here and there so her memoir seems a bit surface level. It’s a fine, quick read but just not one of the more memorable memoirs I’ve read. Perhaps the audio version adds that connection. 3 stars ⭐️. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the advanced copy for review.

As a major Real Housewives fan, I was ecstatic to receive an ARC of LOVE ME AS I AM by Garcelle Beauvais. I didn’t know much about Garcelle before she became a Beverly Hills housewife a few seasons ago, but I instantly loved her on the show!

My thoughts on this memoir:
-absolutely loved her chapter about joining the RH franchise and her experience the first season
-her Bill Cosby & OJ stories were wild 😳
-she dishes out some great pieces of advice such as creating your own happiness & not relying on others for it

All in all, I really enjoyed learning more about Garcelle’s history, but would have loved some more tea 💁🏼‍♀️ If you’re a Housewives fan, pick this up for a quick read!

Thank you netgalley and Amistad Publishing for giving me this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Love Me As I Am- Garcelle Beauvais

Easy breezy memoir about the life of Garcelle Beauvais, international model and actress turned reality TV star and cohost of The Real. Garcelle gets deep into her past growing up in the country of Haiti, and how much of what she saw in her childhood has affected the decisions and lifestyle today. As someone who has seen Garcelle on my TV but didn't know much about her history, this was a great introduction into getting to know her better. There were some good nuggets of both insider gossip as well as just life lessons that Beauvais included, and overall was an enjoyable read! I feel I have a greater understanding of Garcelle as a person, and enjoyed this memoir!

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I made quick work of this brief memoir. I had never of Garvelke Beauvais before she joined the Housewives franchise. I watched her for one season and then I dumped all the Housewives. What I saw of her on the show I liked. She was a straight shooter and called people out on their malarkey. Her book discusses her life and I found it interesting to discover more of her background story. That she even talks to her second ex husband after what he did shows that she has a very forgiving nature.
For anyone who likes a Housewives story, be sure to check this one out.

I love Garcelle when she was on the Jamie Foxx show. Garcelle's memoir is bold, intimate and honest. She focuses on her Haitian heritage, family, career, marriage, divorce, motherhood and life. She shares on her life experiences that led to she who is today.

I am a huge Real Housewives of Beverly Hills fan, and an even bigger Garcelle fan! I loved learning more about Garcelle’s early life, her husbands and divorces, her fertility journey with her twins and how she got where she is in Hollywood. Garcelle is impressive and this book made me appreciate her more! She spills some Hollywood and RHOBH tea, so get ready! Thanks to NetGalley and Amistad for giving me an advanced read’s copy of this book in exchange for a honest review. I am so excited to tell my other Bravo friends to check this book out when it comes out in April.

An amazing and intimate memoir by Garcelle. It was so touching and honest.

Thank you Netgally, HarperCollins-Amistad for the advanced readers copy.

I love Garcelle so much. I was needing my Real Housewives of Beverly Hills fix, so reading this book came at the perfect time.

From the moment she stepped on to the show, I liked her and could tell she was going be one of my favorite Bravo Housewives. This book soldifies that for me even more! Garcelle is real, loyal, honest, and warm and those qualities shine throughout her book as well! I loved learning more about her childhood and how she became who she is today. I loved diving deeper into her life and learning more about stories she has covered briefly on RHOBH. There was some interesting stories and some that literally gave me chills. If you are a fan of Garcelle, I recommend reading this book. You won't be disappointed.

**Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an advanced copy of this book and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion. I am posting this review to my Goodreads account immediately and will post it to my Amazon & Instagram accounts upon publication.

When I found out Garcelle was coming out with a book I was ecstatic! I'm an avid watcher of the Real Housewives and while I know she's done a lot more than just reality television, my connection with her is watching her on Housewives. I enjoyed her book and not once did I find myself getting bored with it. I was interested in learning about all the ups and downs she had to face not only in her personal life but in her professional life as well. Could not put it down and I highly recommend it!

Not great. I almost DNF. The paragraphs were long and rambling, and her stories repeated themselves. I really felt like I had to force myself to finish this one.

I love Real Housewives, so I was excited to read this autobiography. However, I wish Garcelle went deeper in some chapters, glossing over parts. I did enjoy reading about her life story, from being in Haiti, moving to the States, and her experience having children and being married. It was very straight-forward writing, which I would expect from Garcelle! Overall, enjoyable, but a little fluffy.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Amistad for the advanced copy.

It was interesting to hear about Garcelle’s career and life, but ultimately, I felt like she could’ve delved deeper. There were moments when I thought she’d give more detail and she kept it very surface level.

Garcelle’s voice is present in this autobiography, but not prominent. I felt like some of the chapters need work to fit into the themes she’s attempting to write to. It’s an interesting read and quick read. I’m curious to see what the end result is when it’s published!

I will be the first to say I do watch Real Housewives of Beverly Hills with all its glitz and glamour. Then that twinkle started to fade until Ms Beauvais showed up. From the very beginning I knew there was a reason why she changed the course of the show and that was her honesty. So when I was approved to read an ARC copy of her book I was glad to see my opinion of her was correct. She is a very real person who hold nothing back.

Starting with her humble beginnings in Haiti where she never really knew her father. Yet she came from a loving family where there strong women were front and center. Her grandmother who ran a candy shop type establishment, a mother who was a nurse and had three marriages and seven children, who made sure her children worked hard, went to church and never forgot where they came from.

She tells the story of her leaving her family to become a model. A decision made easy for her since her father returned to the family which wasn't the best thing for her. How she worked hard meeting new people and coming across the hazards of living in New York. Meeting her first husband and marrying after a short time and becoming a mother at a young age. What I admired about her was how she described the pain and suffering as a mother when her oldest son was through a really rough patch. what she as a mom wanted to do the get her son through this terrible.time. She was so so real. Describing her IVF treatments and the betrayal of her second husband I felt she poured out her heart and soul out as I read on.

I have read many stories of celebrities, but I must say this is the first one where I felt that she was like an everyday person. Without her glitz and glamour I feel that you could grab a coffee or glass of wine hang out and talk about your inner most thoughts. Discuss a problem you are having and finding a friend who will always have your back. After reading this heart wrenching, love fest especially when talking about her mother. I know why she's my favorite housewife. Shes a truth telling, no hold back person who will do anything for family and friends. Plus I also liked some side stories Jamie Foxx, Bill Cosby.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC. I would recommend this book to anyone.

I love Garcelle as an actress and a human SO dang much, so I refuse to give her book a bad rating. But truthfully, this read like a middle school book report and I just couldn't make it all the way through. I would still encourage anyone interested to pick it up and will support this wonderful woman in all her endeavors!