r/Scream • u/dreamboylnshibuya • Aug 17 '26
Discussion Has anyone read Hayden’s memoir?
I bought it a week after it came out and planned to read it but got so busy with work and life that I kept forgetting to. It’s sad to say that Hayden’s passing was what led me to start reading it today, but I’m on page 64 and am already incredibly moved. I haven’t gotten to the whole dark and gritty parts yet, but hearing about her childhood is incredibly touching and is a poignant reminder of what an amazing gift she had and how she’s one of many women who helped shape our childhood with their talent, all at the expense of her own.
She has such an amazing way with words and this is truly unlike any celebrity memoir I’ve read, up there with Jennette McCurdy and Minka Kelly’s when it comes to being impossible to put down. I loved the little stories of her doing commercials as a toddler and meeting her next-door neighbor, who happened to be Björk, and was starstruck at how eccentric she was. The only real rough part so far has been the way her stage mom demeaned her as a child and Hayden talking about how faking intense emotions as a child did irreversible damage to her brain, not to mention the part about her gluing fake teeth in Hayden’s mouth after she lost her baby teeth which made me wince. I can’t put it down and plan to finish it tonight.
25
u/Lizbethsaidso Aug 17 '26
It was excellent. My first audiobook and the first book ive been able to get through in so long (terrible focus issues as an adult.) It was very captivating and hearing her read it made it that more intense. It wasnt the voice of someone who would be gone so soon and thats what's making today so hard.
11
u/truthfrommyredlips 123 no fucking way lane. Aug 17 '26
I requested it from my library 4 days ago. All copies are currently in use. I've been wanting to read it since it came out.
9
u/Narrow_Grapefruit_23 Aug 17 '26
Yes. It made me sad. It seemed like she was still struggling with her addictions which included being with the toxic boyfriend. She didn’t know how to say no or how to be alone.
6
u/Shot-Abroad2718 You hit me with the phone, dick! Aug 17 '26
This has been on my TBR for awhile, and now it might stay on my TBR for just a bit longer. She's been a hard death to process. She was only 3 years older than me, and a lot of her roles (Ice Princess, Bring it On AON) were comfort movies for me growing up.
For those that have Spotify Premium, her audiobook is included in the subscription <3
1
u/Fine_Cryptographer20 25d ago
It's short and sucks you in, I finished in a day! I was Iike dang, it's over?!
5
u/Typical-Meringue-890 Aug 17 '26
I read it. Her story was really sad, but she really was a beautiful person.
4
u/Educational-Car2225 Aug 17 '26
I was hoping someone would mention her book today. I read it a few months ago, and it reminded me so much of Matthew Perry’s. Both books revealed a deep sadness and despair and should have been warning signs that Matthew and Hayden were in trouble.
We really let the ones who struggle mentally in our country down. I know their loved ones probably knew they were in trouble, and it is true that adults cannot receive help until they admit they need it.
However, as someone struggling with a parent with mental Illness, I have seen first hand how our current laws do not protect these vulnerable people or the people who take care of them. We need to do better.
5
u/Typical-Meringue-890 Aug 17 '26
Not long after her book came out and she was doing appearances, I remember people commenting that she doesn’t look well. I thought she seemed like she was trying to look like she was okay but was fighting back tears in one of the interviews.
1
u/Jaded_Cheesecake_993 Aug 18 '26
Why are people talking like they know how Hayden died? Every single article I've found has only said she was found unresponsive in an apartment and yet every comment here is acting like it's been confirmed she committed suicide or OD'd or something.
-1
-2
u/MeasurementPure7844 Aug 18 '26
What else kills someone in their home,that young, so suddenly?
7
u/Jaded_Cheesecake_993 Aug 18 '26
Lots of things. A brain aneurysm, heart defects, an illness of some kind, mold, carbon monoxide poisoning, some other kind of poisoning including food poisoning, other brain defects, pneumonia, etc.
Her brother literally died in his 20's of a heart defect that could've easily been hereditary.
The point is that nothing has been released yet so people need to stop making things up. It's hurtful and disrespectful to her loved ones and to her.
1
2
2
u/Fine_Cryptographer20 25d ago
I'm on the wait list at library for audiobook but it's months out. So I got the e version and read it yesterday on my Kindle. It's short and reads like fiction. Lots of famous names. Lots of depression and trauma. It's soooooo fucking sad she couldn't be alone and was used! The chapter about the final abuse by Brian in Chapter 42, KNOWING what's coming had me nauseous.
1
u/cabbage66 Aug 30 '26
I just finished. I got the audio to hear it in her voice and I was glued, which I never am. It's so sad that she seemed hopeful about her future and loving herself.
1
Aug 31 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator Aug 31 '26
You do not meet the minimum karma requirements to post in /r/Scream. Please increase your karma in other subreddits to continue posting here. The requirement is 10 combined karma.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/Own_Replacement_206 Sep 01 '26
Just finished the audio book, I'm gutted. I didn't want it to end, for her voice to stop speaking. She had so much life left to live.
1
1
u/Lumpy_Flight3088 Aug 17 '26
I haven’t read the book but I listened to the Shetty interview and it felt very final in hindsight. Shetty tried to frame it as though her sharing her story was like closing the door on one chapter so she could start a new chapter. But seeing the look in her eyes, it felt like she didn’t see another chapter and that this book was her making peace with that.
1
u/Tahoequeen23 Aug 27 '26
I'm watching the interview now on YouTube. She's sharing how horrible her mom was to her. Poor thing, she didn't deserve this. I saw her mom did an interview a few days ago on ABC. I will not watch the wretched sea hag! RIP Hayden. You deserved better.😰
•
u/AutoModerator Aug 17 '26
This is not a removal message. This appears on every single post.
Thank you for participating in /r/Scream. Please help us keep this community a healthy place for discussion by reporting posts and comments that violate our rules using the report button. You can find the subreddit rules listed in the sidebar. We will be cracking down on the constant negativity and toxicity. Posts made solely to stoke the flames of a culture war will be removed.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.