Tell Me Everything is Minka Kelly's stunning story of overcoming incredible odds, displaying grit and resilience to become a successful actress. I knew bits of Kelly's story - the media loves mentioning her mother Mo, who often worked as a stripper. However, the story is much deeper and more complicated than the click-bait headlines lead one to believe. Kelly's early life was painful and difficult, marred by her mother's addiction, erratic father figures, instability, poverty, exploitative older boyfriends, and other challenges. Kelly is vulnerable and honest throughout the memoir, showing incredible grace to the adults in her early life. I found her story gripping, though there were passages that were written in an amateur tone that would have benefitted from further editing. Overall, though, this is an enlightening memoir that will interest both her fans and those new to her work alike.

I knew nothing about Minka Kelly before reading this book and I was not expecting what I read! Wonderfully written and quick to and read, this book was an insightful look at a true rags to riches story!

I received an eARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley.

...and then, I found it that it was available as an audiobook with my Scribt membership, so I quickly downloaded and listened. I do find memoirs much more enjoyable when in audio format, especially when read by the author, as in this case.

This was a fascinating and often heartwrenching account of actress Minka Kelly's life from her own perspective. I always prefer a personal memoir to a third person biography because you get the personal experience and insight directly from the subject, which brings it to life. This was certainly the case here as well...

Disarmingly honest memoir where the ink must have burned as the words and memories flooded. Her childhood, if you could even call it that, as the daughter of a beautiful free-spirited stripper left her trying to hold everything together with abandonment after abandonment. Her making a life for herself was a karmic cry for stability and worth as she put herself through school becoming a surgical nurse, before establishing a career as an actor. I'm impressed by her resilience and her path to strength.

I didn’t really know a whole lot about Minka Kelly before requesting this book to read. But I’m glad I did. The prologue had me a bit confused at first, but once I got more into the book it made more sense. It was a little shocking some of the things Minka went through in her childhood, and I’m glad that she’s made a good life for herself and seems to be happy now. Thank you to her for sharing her personal story with the world!

***Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Publishing for the ARC copy in return for an honest review***

WOWOW. Blown away. I would have had no idea about Minka’s difficult past. As a big Friday Night Lights and Parenthood fan, I’ve always thought of Minka Kelly as a beautiful, talented actress. She is so so so much more than that.

An incredibly well-written, emotional memoir. Her complicated but loving relationship with her mom, everything she went through….just wow

Ive been a fan of Minka Kelly's since Friday Night Lights! I really enjoyed her memoir. It's so well written and I just want to thank her for opening up her world to us. Watching Friday Night Lights back then I would never have guessed the childhood she had and what she was going through. Its such an eye opener and I have even more respect for her! Highly reccomend if you're a fan of hers or like reading memoirs about family issues and a little behind the scenes of acting and Hollywood!

A very different type of celebrity memoir - It focuses hardly at all on her acting career (Friday Night Lights is the only acting job specifically mentioned) and instead focuses on the ways she has worked toward healing after trauma. I knew hardly anything about Minka Kelly before reading this book and her story is incredible. The abuse from the adults in her life who should have protected her as a child is horrifying and you can clearly see how she is still working to process it all. Her relationship with her mom is a big focus and she extends so much grace and empathy to the people in her life who were the cause of so much pain. At points it can be hard to read everything she went through, especially knowing that there was likely a lot more that didn't make it into these pages.

Deeply emotional & even shocking at times, Minka Kelly’s memoir was an incredible read. Detailing her childhood between Southern California and Albuquerque, bouncing from place to place with her mom (and often without her mom), abuse at the hands of many in her life and the eventual growth, grief, & therapy, I found it hard to put this down, yet still so incredibly difficult to read. I’ve been a fan of Minka’s acting for years now but this is just proof that you never truly know what is happening in someone’s life. Brave and powerful writing. Thank you to Henry Holt & Company for the ARC!

This memoir was so incredibly good!!! It was so beautifully written. Minka Kelly tells all about her life growing up. I couldn’t put this down. I had no idea what she went through. The abuse and neglect being raised by a single stripper mother. The way she picked herself up and survived. Minka was so inspiring how she made an amazing life for herself working, saving, going back to school and becoming a nurse. Her hardships with relationships due to her upbringing. This book was so emotional and heartbreaking. I bawled 😭 reading some parts but don’t want to spoil it! I watched some of Friday Night Lights and Parenthood was a favorite show of mine. Thank you @minkakelly for opening up and sharing your truly amazing and inspiring story ♥️ I highly recommend this memoir!!

Thank you @netgalley and @henryholtbooks for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Many thanks to both Henry Holt and Co. and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of Tell Me Everything.

Minka Kelly’s life has been anything but easy. She was raised by a single mother who worked as a stripper and struggled with addiction. They sometimes lived in storage units or a garage. Her bio father is Aerosmith’s Rick Dufay but he was never around long enough to make a difference in Minka's life. Bottom line: resilience and love are all we have in the end.

This was a difficult book to read. It repeatedly broke my heart and I found myself having to put down from time to time. I can understand why Minka hasn't shared the details before now. Tell Me Everything totally teaches the lesson that things aren't always what they seem.

Kudos to you, Minka Kelly for being so brave and so strong!

Raw and beautiful storytelling. I really enjoyed reading this memoir. It’s heartbreaking but also endearing of overcoming past events. I have known Minka Kelly as an actress but really did not know much about her personal life. I cannot believe what she has been through as a child and teenager, growing alongside a drug-addicted mom, a mom she could not rely on, abusive men coming and going in her life. Through her journey you see her growth and how it has taken her a while to get where she is now emotionally. I enjoyed the real raw honest storytelling. Many thanks to Henry Holt & Company and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I am a fan of Minka Kelly’s acting on Friday Night Lights and Parenthood, though I knew relatively nothing about her life prior to reading this. I think all too often it is easy to have preconceived notions about a person with the little that we know of them and so it was really interesting to learn more about Minka and her background from her perspective. Her story is one of many challenges and trauma from growing up, but also one of resilience and working to overcome these traumas. I really loved how Minka looks at her past with such empathy and grace for herself and for her mom who was responsible for many of the hardships that Minka endured. She shares how events of her past have been challenging for her to overcome and have had a huge impact on various relationships throughout her life. She reflects on what she has learned and ways that she is working to move forward.

Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Hold & Company for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

When we see Minka Kelly we see a beautiful poised young women and our thoughts are probably that she was born into wealth and led a privileged and easy life. That is not the case. Minka was abandoned and abused over and over again, but still found the resilience to overcome, to forgive and to find herself in the process. Damaged people damage others and hurt people hurt others. Confusing affection with love, it’s taken Minka years of counseling to figure things out, “but childhood trauma is tricky because the kid doesn’t know any better or different.” No longer ashamed to be a strippers daughter, Minka survived and is now proud of who she is and free to be the woman she was intended to be. This heartfelt memoir goes deep and holds nothing back helping us see that things aren’t always what they seem and telling us that that sometimes we don’t know the whole story. Raw and touching, this book shows that even in the worst of circumstances there is always hope. Thank you to Henry Holt and NetGalley for a ARC of this book.

I’m not a person to read celebrity memoirs, but for some reason this one screamed at me. I really like Minka Kelly, which may be why. Or it was my need for a different genre. Overall, this was a quick, heartbreaking read. I enjoyed the stories she shared but wished I could have connected to her as a character in the memoir more. I wish I felt more then heartbreak at the events and felt the hurt as it unraveled. Though I enjoyed reading about her rags to riches story, this one lacked emotion for me.

This memoir wasn’t what I expected going in, but man was it eye opening. Kelly’s story was filled with hardship and overcoming - truly a story of forgiveness and compassion, not only for yourself but for those around you as well.

This is not a Friday Night Lights expose, though it does have a little bit about the show within. This memoir is about Kelly’s life, how it shaped her, and how she is learning to overcome what happened in her past. I never knew even half of the details Kelly discussed and I appreciated her candor throughout. I found myself tearing up a bit as Kelly really delved into her story.

The writing in parts made the story a little confusing for me personally - I had trouble orienting when certain things happened, and the chapters were pretty long. I wanted more on some experiences and less on others. However, this memoir is 100% the story of Kelly’s life and how it has shaped her over time.

Overall a story of overcoming childhood trauma, and learning to truly forgive, have compassion, and move forward.

Minka Kelly is an incredible storyteller! I loved this book and the honesty she brought to it. It’s such a great lesson about resilience and perseverance through many obstacles and challenges. I’m grateful she made it through & can share her story. Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy.

I knew of Minka Kelly a bit, mainly that she was a beautiful actress, and she was at the end of 500 Days of Summer. This book introduced me to her in a very raw and honest way, and now I think that she's an amazing person.

This a sad story about a lost little girl who just did everything she could to survive. Parts of Minka's life were just....painful to read. She is resilient and strong and most of all, a survivor.

This is a fantastic memoir about a mother and daugher and growing up working-class in America. It's about family, and love, and the will of one girl to live her honest truth.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

If you'd asked me to make assumptions about Minka Kelly, I would have assumed that her life was similar to that of her Friday Night Lights character, Lyla Garrity. Instead, in her raw, honest memoir, Minka reveals the abuse and abandonment she experienced throughout her youth, and shows her tenacity in getting out and improving her life. Her story is deeper and more heartbreaking than I'd have expected, and I really respect the honesty she has about the things she's done to survive.

I loved this memoir! As a Friday Night Lights fan, I was interested in learning more about Minka’s story, and her memoir did not disappoint. It was an emotional read and difficult at times. But at the end, I felt inspired. I love that Minka shared her story with us. And I’m glad that I had an opportunity to read it early.