Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything cover art

Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything

A Memoir

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Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything

By: Alyson Stoner
Narrated by: Alyson Stoner
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About this listen

*AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER*

Actor-dancer Alyson Stoner narrates their revelatory and incisive memoir—from family violence and betrayal, to eating disorders and religious trauma—may begin in Hollywood, but its chilling relatability will resonate with anyone navigating identity, privacy, purpose, and mental health in a digital age. This audiobook contains clips from the song "Stripped Bare," by the author, Alyson Stoner.


“The author’s voice—equal parts self-deprecating and unflinchingly childlike in its pitch and earnestness—translates beautifully to audio. They add warmth and timing to the humor, while also giving weight to the more vulnerable gut-punch moments.” — Booklist

Raised on soundstages and studio lots from the age of six, shuffling between auditions for Disney Channel, Cheaper by the Dozen, or Missy Elliott music videos, Alyson Stoner experienced many of the defining moments of childhood inside the bizarre fishbowl of Hollywood. From working eighty hours a week at eight years old, to learning how to distinguish fan mail from kidnapping plots, to TV execs saying they weren’t “anorexic enough” to stop working and get help, Alyson struggled to find stability and sanity in a chaotic world.

In Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything, Alyson shares their powerful story for the first time, detailing a turbulent home life fractured by substance abuse, harrowing accounts from rehab, the messy process of discovering their sexuality in church, rebuilding a life after an early professional peak, and charting a path of self-discovery and advocacy. With striking introspection, Alyson connects the dots across the entertainment industry ecosystem, child development, and media culture, exposing the “toddler to trainwreck pipeline” of child stars and sparking timely conversations about success and society’s enchantment with fame.

Bold, entertaining, warm, and galvanizing all at once, Semi-Well-Adjusted Despite Literally Everything is more than a personal memoir: it’s a beacon for industry reform, a road map for breaking the bonds of generational trauma, and a testament to the freedom and strength that come from finally trusting your own voice and power.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press

Acting & Auditioning Biographies & Memoirs Entertainment & Celebrities Entertainment & Performing Arts Inspiring
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Thank you for choosing to share these fearsome stories. What important work you still have to do! Keep up the fire- you’re crushing it!

Beautifully written, raw and integral

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I loved the book and feel so sad for childhood actors. such a hard life they don't have the mentality to understand

Excellent story highlighting many issues

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The story took me on an unexpected journey and for a story that followed chronological events it flowed beautifully.

Beautifully honest

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