In this shockingly eye-opening memoir, Crystal Hefner reveals the toxicity and misogyny at the heart of Playboy and how she managed to rebuild her identity and sense of self after the devastating years with her late husband.
'I was 21 years old when I found myself on the front stoop of the Playboy Mansion, its ornate front door feeling like a route to success. I want to tell the real story of my time there - the good and the bad, the dark and the light. The story I wish I'd heard as a young woman trying to find my way in the world. Before I showed up at a party, allowed myself to stay, and made the decisions that would shape my life.'
In 2008 the Playboy mansion became Crystal Harris's sanctuary - a shimmering vestige of power and opportunity. Within months she had ascended its hierarchical system to become Hugh Hefner's top girlfriend. But her new home came at a cost. Forced to follow strict rules which governed everything from her appearance to behaviour, she began to lose her identity.
By the time she married Hef in 2012, the mansion had become her prison. Before he passed away in 2017, Hef made Crystal promise to only say good things about the decade she spent in his world. After years of silence, in this gripping and honest memoir Crystal finally exposes the toxic culture at Playboy's core and the devastating effect it had on her health.
In a world where so many still strive to achieve impossible beauty standards formed by the male gaze at the expense of their happiness, her extraordinary story of misogyny and objectification and ultimate journey to self-discovery reveals eye-opening lessons that are relevant to us all.
Publisher: Ebury Publishing
ISBN: 9781529923681
Number of pages: 240
Weight: 475 g
Dimensions: 240 x 162 x 26 mm
Lifts the lid on the bleak truth of the inside story of the Playboy empire - Stylist
A fascinating demythologising of the Playboy brand and Hefner himself - who is revealed to be an agoraphobic megalomaniac incapable of real emotion.What drew so many women to him? And why did they stay? In this absorbing memoir, Crystal Hefner grapples with these questions and many more, with admirable candour - Pandora Sykes
This was such a raw, honest unveiling of the misogyny and darkness of the Playboy Mansion. Crystal reflects on both the vulnerabilities that led her into Hugh Hefner’s orbit, and the impact that his empire had on society and other young women with such candour that I almost feel compelled to send a copy to every young woman who still believes the legacy of Playboy holds some glamour or promise. Crystal’s ability to question her own complicity in Hugh Hefner’s misogynistic world, while also reflecting on all the complex factors that led her there is refreshing, and relatable for so many women and young girls who are still sold the lie that our self-worth is tied to our appearance or attractiveness to men. - Ellie Flynn, Investigative journalist and broadcaster
I’ve followed Crystals journey almost since the beginning, I found her one day on an episode of ‘the girls next door’ at a time when my mental health was suffering so much I could barely leave my home except for work.... More
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