Review: Don't Jump

Summary: Don’t Jump, chronicles a woman’s quest to find her place and purpose amidst sex, drugs, rock n’ roll and celebrity. It’s a story of unfulfilled potential, addiction, and bad behavior. Ultimately, it’s a story of redemption, told with levity and a wicked sense of fun.

Don’t Jump takes us backstage and off-screen with a world famous athlete, rockers, movie stars, and some of the biggest names in comedy. A unique female perspective, it’s an inside view from outsider. From the kings of late night, to America’s #1 shock jock, to the top sitcom earners of all time, we glimpse their humanity, previously unexposed.

Andi’s story drives Don’t Jump––her descent and her resurrection. The celebrities who populate her life add spice and flavor but, it’s Andi’s perceptions that fuel the narrative. Smart, sassy and sexy, she projects confidence and success. But beneath her cool exterior, she knows she's "simple, boring and fat."

Seeking solutions for her disintegrating marriage, tumultuous show biz ups and downs, her slow and painful recovery, and mid-life transition, Don’t Jump explores Andi’s journey to make her life count. -- Random Content

DON'T JUMP: SEX, DRUGS, ROCK 'N ROLL... AND MY F**KING MOTHER by Vicki Abelson is not a book that I'd normally pick up... yet the description sounded intriguing. I love tell-all books, and while DON'T JUMP isn't exactly a memoir, I suspect there's a fair amount of truth to the stories.

DON'T JUMP is a novel about Andi, a woman who experiences quite a few ups and downs as she tries to find herself and her purpose. Andi is a smart woman who tries her hand at acting, comedy and then promotion while living a pretty wild life by my standards. (In fact, she seems to have led a very similar life to author Vicki Abelson.) Andi has encounters with a popular sports star, famous musicians, actors, and comics; and she doesn't hesitate to share all of the juicy details in this novel.

Andi's life experiences are interesting to say the least. Her partying ways and then her clean up efforts are well chronicled; however, it's her insight into not only the world of celebrity, but her own personal struggles, that make this book worth reading.

I am glad that I read DON'T JUMP and I definitely enjoyed parts of this novel. The writing was smart and hilarious which I appreciated, but there were also parts of this story that were very tender and heartwarming. I especially liked that the story showed both the ups and downs of Andi's life and career and that ultimately it was one of redemption.

I certainly was shocked by Ms. Abelson's honestly, which was brutal at times, in telling this tale. (Here, I'm assuming that many of Andi's stories were, in fact, the same as Ms. Abelson's.) Having said that, I enjoyed these scenes which were no doubt interesting! Whether is was stories about her bosses, the men in her life, or even her own personal issues, these descriptions were truly honest even if that portrayed Andi in a bad light. In fact, there were some scenes that were so "honest" that they were almost difficult to read!

I will admit that there were parts of this book that just didn't hold my interest like I had hoped -- namely some of the parts about her career. I definitely enjoyed the stories about her early acting career and I really liked the ones about her attempts at comedy; however, once she began describing her promotion work at clubs, I found my interest waning. Overall, I think the book was a little too long and a few sections could have been cut, but that's just my opinion.

DON'T JUMP is a roller coaster ride through one woman's life. Recommended to fans of roman a clefs and celebrity tell-alls!

Thanks to Get Red PR for providing a review copy of this book.