If you think you won’t have to hear about Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast member, Taylor Armstrong, now that their endless second season is finally over, you’re wrong. The media circus is only beginning for the recently crowned New York Times best-selling author of Hiding from Reality: My Story of Love, Loss, and Finding the Courage Within (if you don’t believe me, read it and weep, folks! She’s 15 on the non-fiction list (for combined print and e-book sales) right underneath Tina Fey’s memoir. ).
Now, I know that the best-seller list includes sales from the publishing company to book stores, and doesn’t take into account returns, so this best-seller list status might be very short-lived, but we can all bet that the self-promoting Taylor is going to use “New York Times best-selling author” on her resume forever and ever, even if she never makes it back on there again.
Her Amazon reviews, usually a good way to take stock of how the public truly feels about a text, are extremely negative, so I think book sellers will start to see this book getting placed back on the shelves and in the discount book bin in just a few weeks.
One person who probably has several hundred copies of the book in his house is Taylor’s psychiatrist Dr. Charles Sophy, who we can all remember from his awkward visit to the SUR opening in last season’s penultimate episode. He remains a huge fan of Taylor, and even gave an interview to Radar Online while at her recent Los Angeles book signing, saying “I’m so unbelievably proud of Taylor for the strength to keep going, and for still doing the hard work while still mourning the loss of her late husband, and going through the process of mourning the loss of Russell, and being a single mom. The book signing was very emotional for Taylor and there was an outpouring of emotion from the people that came out to support Taylor.”
Dr. Sophy even told a heartwarming story of women who were inspired to leave their abusive husbands due to Taylor’s book:
“There were three sisters that came to the book signing last night. They were in Los Angeles, vacationing from Hawaii, and decided to come. They told Taylor that their mother had been in an abusive relationship for most of their adult lives, and after reading Taylor’s book, their mother decided to leave him.”
Well, if Taylor’s book really is inspiring women to leave their husbands, then we can give her credit for that. Taylor’s tales of abuse are still being questioned, even after she posted a medical report from her infamous eye injury to her Facebook page (only to remove it moments later). On the three-part reunion for Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, none of the ladies seemed to really advocate for Taylor, except for Kyle Richards. Unsurprisingly, Kyle was the only cast mate to show up at this book signing.
Speaking of Kyle, she’s posted her final Bravo blog of the season, calling it “draining and emotional.” She also describes how she felt watching Kim admit to her alcohol problem during the final interview with Andy Cohen:
Watching Kim sit across from Andy and say “I’m an alcoholic” touched me beyond words. For Kim to put herself out there in front of millions of people and admit that was a huge step in her recovery. Since the beginning of Season 1, all of the girls in the cast have been kind and supportive towards Kim. Although, they knew of her struggles, they respected her choice to deal with it privately. That is something I will never forget.
Funny how Kyle neglected to mention that the only people who have ever brought up Kim’s troubles on-camera, were she and Taylor. Kyle during the infamous limo fight, and Taylor during the reunion when she insinuated Kim was in an “altered state of mind” during dinner in New York City. In any case, Kyle reports Kim is doing well, writing “Kim and I sat together yesterday and read through so many heartwarming e-mails from all over. Kim is doing so well. Each day she is stronger, happier, and moving forward, one day at a time. . .”.
One person who certainly has Kyle’s number is Lisa Vanderpump, who also put in her final Bravo blog of the season, thanking the fans, and referring to her disappointment at some of the comments that were made.
“I have few regrets this season, but I have been more deeply disappointed when watching the footage of some of the negativity. I would never allow, out of allegiance to my friend, somebody to repeatedly trash a friend of mine who was totally unaware of the situation until it had been aired. That is something I just can’t fathom.”
If I know anything about the housewives and their cycle of drama (and I’d like to think that I do!), that little paragraph is setting up a totally new dynamic for season three.
TELL US: HAVE YOU READ TAYLOR’S BOOK? WILL YOU BUY IT? DO YOU THINK SHE IS A ROLE MODEL FOR ABUSED WOMEN? WHAT DO YOU THINK OF DR.SOPHY’S COMMENTS? DO YOU THINK KIM IS FULLY RECOVERED? WHAT DO YOU THINK OF LISA’S COMMENTS IN HER BLOG ABOUT THE DISSAPOINTMENT?
