*received for free from netgalley for honest review* actually a lot better than i thought it would be, finished the book in one day and thought this would be one of those chapter here chapter there books lol would buy

Part memoir, part analysis of MLMs and Girlboss Culture. It’s interesting material and works best when talking about statistics and the reasons why people are motivated to join and stay in MLMs, but tends to be vague and repetitive for the length. Additionally, the book reads as someone still in the process of extricating themselves mentally from the MLM - in a book about the problems with hustle culture and capitalism, Paulson is surprisingly generous towards her time in an MLM and explicitly states that she’s happy she did it. The critiques of white supremacy are superficial and clash with the author’s moderate stance on politics.

I think a more convincing author would wait a few more years and put more distance between her and the company before trying to write a compelling reflection on it. I think the overall message is also weakened by the fact that she now owns a subscription-based Sober Mom network (?), which the last 15% of the book is an ad for.

I really enjoyed this one. Thank you, NetGalley for sharing this with me. I'll definitely be looking forward to reading more.

I really appreciated having the opportunity to listen to this. I also purchased my own copy of the book. Having the audio was a nice addition. I loved the tone, and I recommend that, even if you get the book, you get the audio as well.
Thank you to Orange Sky Audio and NetGalley for an advance copy of this audio in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

If there is one thing about me, it's that I love anti-MLM books. I will always pick one up when I see one. I want to be very clear that I have no sympathy for the author nor do I think writing this book makes up for the harm that she did. But was I entertained? Absolutely. My husband and I listened to this together and had to pause it over and over in shock of how bad things kept getting, especially before the author became sober.

I do wish that she had done one of two things with the narrative structure, though. She frequently referenced that MLMs use white supremacy to be successful or that they take advantage of minorities. However, she never went beyond surface level with this. I wish she had either a) kept the story focused on her own experiences and made it even more Bravo-eqsue without mentioning these other issues, or b) done a deep dive into the systemic issues. Because she mentioned the issues, but never dove into them, those parts felt very unnecessary and just bloated the book.

Overall, I do recommend this, but as entertainment rather than education.

This got a little repetitive at times, but - in general - I thought it was very interesting and "juicy." The audio was fantastic! (This paired perfectly with the recent Netflix documentary on Lularoe!)

Fascinating!! A really cool book that is informative, interesting, and frankly captivating as it discusses a huge part of culture. I loved this audiobook!

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

I love that this audio book was the author themselves. It always gives a great visual when the author of a nonfiction semimemoir tells their own story. And she had stories.

It was nice to see the MLM crash and burn perspective from a successful insider who has so much remorse and "oh my gosh, I really did that? This is what I worked toward?" She approached it with acknowledgement of her hindsight bias but without bringing much 'pity me' to the table, which I can respect.

Definitely a must trad for true crime lovers, especially if you're into super culty stuff.

This book is an examination of how the author joined up with an unnamed MLM company, reached top earner status, and then left it behind after realizing how much it was damaging her health and family life. It takes a deep dive into her particular journey but it also talks about general MLM things including structure, pay, recruitment, and the life style you are forced to adopt while working for the companies.

This book was just fascinating. You’re watching the downward spiral of someone into destruction via MLM but the author makes you understand and sympathize with the reasons she ends up where she does. I’ve never been involved with an MLM in any way but I have watched a lot of anti-MLM content on things like YouTube and TikTok so I did have some basic knowledge going into this. Hearing it from someone that was involved this deeply in one of the companies was another thing all together. I’m glad that the author got out of her MLM and I hope that all of her friends that are still involved manage to extract themselves before they can have more damage inflicted upon them. In this the author states that everyone involved with selling/recruiting for an MLM is both a victim and an abuser. This does an amazing job of showing how that is true.

I believe that everyone involved with/knows someone that is involved with an MLM needs to read this book. It may help someone leave. I also recommend this for general readers. The information is well put together and is truly a fascinating read.

I read this as an audiobook and I recommend it that way. The narration was wonderfully done and really added to the story imo.

This was a #mindblowing behind the scenes look at MLM and its cult culture. I was a AVON Rep many moons ago and it was all about the discounts for crap and did not need. Its all the same concept--bring folks in, you sell to and recruit more folks and hustle yo azz off as these MLMs higher ups work some serious mind and physical control. This shit was deeep! I wonder how many folks came for her after revealing all this ratchetness. This was a great and informative read. This would be a great NETFLIX documentry or mini series. #HeyHun #NetGalley

What a fascinating listen this was. A member of a generation that is chronically online, I considered myself to be pretty familiar with MLMs. This audiobook opened my eyes to what I wasn’t seeing on the surface: the cult of togetherness and girl power and white supremacy.

The author does a great job mixing her own personal experience in an MLM and educating the reader on how these organizations recruit, promote and trap the mainly white women that join them. The author was also the narrator and I enjoyed hearing her story in her own voice.

This is a great read for anyone who has been in an MLM, has a friend or family member in one, or is just generally curious about the psyche of the members of these groups!

Thanks to OrangeSky Audio and Row How Publishing for the the ALC!

This book was fine. I think I spent too much time on Anti-MLM youtube to be amazed by this story.

Overall, I think if you don't know anything about the predatory behaviors of MLMs, this is a good intro to them.

An interesting inside look into MLMs. While not as engaging as other recent varied format releases tackling the same topic this was entertaining and I enjoyed it! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the audio arc!

Really well written. This was an excellent book written from the perspective of someone who made it pretty high up in an MLM before realizing how predatory and exploitative they can be. This was really well researched and eye opening in a lot of ways. I am someone who has almost been sucked into an MLM and also worked for an MLM adjacent company so I can recognize some of the same signs. I found this to be really interesting and not too wordy or preachy. I really enjoyed it from start to finish. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4 stars

Emily Lynn Paulson describes her time in an MLM and all the problematic, cult-like behavior she experienced as she rose up to the top ranks. This book is an in depth view of what it was like being in at the top and how it actually isn't as glamorous as they make it out to be.

As someone who consumes a lot of anti-MLM content, hardly do we get first hand experiences from people who were at the top of MLM companies. Emily Lynn Paulson describes the strain being in the MLM put on her, her family, and her friends. The book made me laugh, cry, and everything in between. It was heartbreaking to watch the slow downfall of Emily Lynn Paulson's life as she rose up in the ranks of the MLM. I love how honest this book was. At no point was it bashing MLMs just for the sake of it. Instead, she explored both the positives and the negatives of her time in the MLM.

I loved how well the book flowed, almost like a story. It had my attention from the beginning to the end. I also loved her as the narrator in the audiobook. I find books to be even more compelling when read by the author. She did an incredible job with pacing and depicting the emotion in each scene.

One problem I did have with the audiobook was that several parts appeared to be edited in later. The quality in those sections was noticeably different. My only issue with the book itself was that at times the author used slang that I found to be unnecessary and could quickly date this book. Each time this happened, I got taken out of the book a little bit.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and am glad that Emily Lynn Paulson took the time to share her story. This is an incredibly important book and I encourage everyone to read it.

*3 stars*

This was informative and well written. I think it would be great for fans of Amanda Montell’s Cultish that want to learn more about the dark side of MLMs. It’s not new, there are a lot of books, documentaries, and podcasts about MLMs, but it is a great jump in point for someone new to the world. Paulson’s first hand experience really shows the thought process that leads people down the MLM road.

This was narrated by the author, which can be a detriment in some instances but I think she did a good job. The audio did sound a little echoey but not so much that it was distracting.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ALC of this work. All opinions in this review are my own.

Hey, Hun is an entertaining read that spills a lot of tea about the inner workings of the MLM world. I appreciate the author's efforts to address the systemic inequalities inherent to MLMs. That said, I feel like the writing mentions rather than dives into those issues. Overall, this book was better when it was juicy gossip about MLMs and not trying, with mixed success, to be something more.

I have read, watched, and listened to many (MANY) books, docs, and podcasts about MLMs, so consider myself well versed and maybe even a bit oversaturated on the topic. But there is so much that makes Emily Lynn Paulson's take on this well covered topic both unique and important. For one, most MLM stories are told from the perspective of people who range from unsuccessful to having their lives fully destroyed by these predatory companies. This is the first account I've read from a successful MLM rep, who actually achieved the dream that only a tiny percentage of people do and left by choice. This not only provided an inside look at some of the most unsavory parts of the MLM machine, but also provides an interesting take on how MLMs endure. Paulson does a great job explaining the factors that over road her misgivings about the questionable recruitment behavior that she engaged in.

Secondly, the cornerstone of Paulson's narrative is the role white supremacy plays in the MLM industry. While this has been touched on or implied in other materials, Paulson makes it a central part of her thesis, fully articulating how MLMs both perpetuate and rely on white supremacy to thrive.

Paulson is a great narrator of her own audiobook - clearly narrating her experiences without shying away from the hard things.

I do think this could have been a bit shorter - it felt slightly repetitive at times. But, overall, if I was going to recommend a single MLM resource, it would be this one.

Thank you to netgalley, OrangeSky Audio, and Row House for the opportunity to read an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I knew this was going to be a solid book when she quoted Amanda Montell's Cultish within the first 30 minutes. Plus that Illuminati lipstick cover is perfection.

I can't get enough of multi-level-marketing exposes. LuLaRoe documentary on moldy leggings? I've watched it. Pyramid scheme podcast? I've listened to it. Buzzfeed list of Best Responses to Delusional DMs from MLM Reps? I've read it at least twice. Are you a bit ridiculous like me? Then this book is RIGHT up your alley.

Emily Lynn Paulson is a former mega rep, gIRl bOsS bAbEeeee and she is here to spill some tea, errr skin serum. In this book she presents us a story that's an amalgamation of her and her friends' MLM experiences. In this book she calls the company they worked for Rejuvenate (probably to keep from getting sued), but a quick Google search shows that Emily's MLM of choice was Rodan and Fields (which I've always thought sounds more like a Nicholas Sparks book).

Sometimes my jaw would just drop at some of the things that happened to these folks. I figured I'd heard it all when it came to MLM stories, but there's still a lot of juicy stuff here.

I won't lie. By the end when she was talking about how her friends are using their MLM "skills" in other cringey ways, I couldn't help but think - Wait. Is Paulson doing the same thing with this book? Is she using her former skills to now sell this book?? And honestly, she probably is a bit. BUT it's an actual product. And it's a great book, so good for her.

I absolutely loved this book. Funny informative self-deprecating empathetic aware. I’m recommending it to all my friends. So much love.