What do you think?
Rate this book
Under Construction: Because Living My Best Life Took a Little Work
For fans of Open Book and Sell It Like Serhant , a heartfelt, humorous personal memoir and relatable guide to overcoming obstacles, wising up about romance, and getting ahead in your career from the star of Netflix’s hit reality show Selling Sunset .
In this engaging, witty, and inspirational memoir, Chrishell Stause shares her story of living an unconventional childhood in small-town Kentucky marked by periods of homelessness, family addiction struggles, and dreams of one day being on a daytime soap, all while managing the local Dairy Queen. Through resilience and grit, she overcame obstacles and pushed past every barrier in her path to become one of the most envied luxury realtors in Los Angeles and buzzworthy cast members in reality TV.
She takes us behind the scenes of Selling Sunset , reveals never-before-told stories from her life in soaps, and even pulls back the curtain on her highly publicized love life, offering insight not before shared. With her signature honesty and charm, Stause also gives tangible advice based on the lessons she’s learned over the years and offers unique insight about how to stay resilient and positive no matter how many times life knocks you down. Under Construction is for anyone who wants to remember that no matter what happens or how, you have to get up, dress up, and show up, and walk back into the room stronger than ever before.
In this engaging, witty, and inspirational memoir, Chrishell Stause shares her story of living an unconventional childhood in small-town Kentucky marked by periods of homelessness, family addiction struggles, and dreams of one day being on a daytime soap, all while managing the local Dairy Queen. Through resilience and grit, she overcame obstacles and pushed past every barrier in her path to become one of the most envied luxury realtors in Los Angeles and buzzworthy cast members in reality TV.
She takes us behind the scenes of Selling Sunset , reveals never-before-told stories from her life in soaps, and even pulls back the curtain on her highly publicized love life, offering insight not before shared. With her signature honesty and charm, Stause also gives tangible advice based on the lessons she’s learned over the years and offers unique insight about how to stay resilient and positive no matter how many times life knocks you down. Under Construction is for anyone who wants to remember that no matter what happens or how, you have to get up, dress up, and show up, and walk back into the room stronger than ever before.
208 pages, Hardcover
Published February 8, 2022
182 people are currently reading
4820 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 388 reviews
February 17, 2022
I unashamedly love Selling Sunset and was excited for this book, hoping there would be some behind the scenes info about the industries Chrishell has worked in, but honestly I was pretty disappointed. I found the book extremely light on details and mostly filled with platitudes and “self-help”. The best parts were about Chrishell’s childhood, but the book timeline was confusing and jumped back and forth between events. There was a lot of repetition.
I still think Chrishell is a super smart woman putting great energy out into the universe, and I hope she continues to be incredibly successful! This book just wasn’t for me.
I still think Chrishell is a super smart woman putting great energy out into the universe, and I hope she continues to be incredibly successful! This book just wasn’t for me.
February 22, 2022
I really enjoyed this, Chrishell is not my favourite from Selling Sunset but it was nice to hear some of the background from the show as well as her upbringing, and how that affected her mindset.
October 10, 2023
To listen to Under Construction... I was inspired by Netflix's series Selling the Sunset. Chrishell was one of the most favourite characters, so listening to it made me feel that I knew a little more about her. So I have listened to her book on Audible and it costs one credit. It was narrated by the author, herself. And I loved the book. It might be that a physical book is not so interesting. Because on the audiobook we can hear her voice while listening to the whole story of her life.
February 21, 2022
I have very low expectations when it comes to a celebrity memoir. Like extremely low. But this somehow didn't even meet those??
There was no narrative arch, no organization, and a lot of repetition. I feel like Chrishell had ample opportunity to tell us about her past that gets brought up all the time, but it was very surface level and shallow. If she doesn't want to get into all the details, fine! That's her prerogative. But she kept bringing up being homeless, her "unconventional childhood", and her eclectic parents without so much as telling us... anything?
If she didn't want to go into her childhood maybe she could talk about behind the scenes of the industry- reality show or real estate- but she did neither of those, either. She kept repeating herself, the timeline was all wrong, and when I got to the end of my Kindle book, I thought it had glitched because surely that wasn't all?
I wish I had read an article that "spilled the tea" about what was in her book, and saved myself the money.
There was no narrative arch, no organization, and a lot of repetition. I feel like Chrishell had ample opportunity to tell us about her past that gets brought up all the time, but it was very surface level and shallow. If she doesn't want to get into all the details, fine! That's her prerogative. But she kept bringing up being homeless, her "unconventional childhood", and her eclectic parents without so much as telling us... anything?
If she didn't want to go into her childhood maybe she could talk about behind the scenes of the industry- reality show or real estate- but she did neither of those, either. She kept repeating herself, the timeline was all wrong, and when I got to the end of my Kindle book, I thought it had glitched because surely that wasn't all?
I wish I had read an article that "spilled the tea" about what was in her book, and saved myself the money.
February 22, 2022
Chrishell is a queen 👑
February 8, 2022
I first came to know about Chrishell from watching Selling Sunset, and she quickly became my favorite on the show. I also rooted for her on Dancing with the Stars.
🔨 Some of my favorite parts from UNDER CONSTRUCTION were when Chrishell talked about her childhood and life before she was on TV. I knew very little about her past, and reading about her experiences and drive for a better life was really inspiring. Chrishell is vulnerable when talking about her family, past relationships, and losing her parents.
🔨 I of course loved reading the parts about Selling Sunset. Although, it was sad reading about her relationship with Jason since they broke up before the book released.
🔨 On TV, Chrishell comes off as down-to-earth and genuine. It was no different when reading her stories. I recommend reading this if you are a fan of Chrishell’s. UNDER CONSTRUCTION is a quick, witty and vulnerable memoir.
🔨 Some of my favorite parts from UNDER CONSTRUCTION were when Chrishell talked about her childhood and life before she was on TV. I knew very little about her past, and reading about her experiences and drive for a better life was really inspiring. Chrishell is vulnerable when talking about her family, past relationships, and losing her parents.
🔨 I of course loved reading the parts about Selling Sunset. Although, it was sad reading about her relationship with Jason since they broke up before the book released.
🔨 On TV, Chrishell comes off as down-to-earth and genuine. It was no different when reading her stories. I recommend reading this if you are a fan of Chrishell’s. UNDER CONSTRUCTION is a quick, witty and vulnerable memoir.
March 3, 2022
Was excited for this because I have watched her on DOOL & Selling Sunset.
Sadly, a very superficial telling of her life story without any detail whatsoever. I didn't learn anything I didn't already know.
Also her "Construction Tips" were very similar to Matthew McConaughey's "Greenlights".
Sadly disappointing.
Sadly, a very superficial telling of her life story without any detail whatsoever. I didn't learn anything I didn't already know.
Also her "Construction Tips" were very similar to Matthew McConaughey's "Greenlights".
Sadly disappointing.
March 6, 2022
I didn’t read this thinking it would be amazing, but this could have been a 1 page essay. 3 paragraphs, tops. Honestly, the repetition of detailing her humble beginnings took away from her success/extreme rise monetarily. WE GET IT. Any tidbits drama-wise are all covered on SS. Nothing new, just confirmation that what we saw was true. The only thing I walked away from this with as new info (to me) is that she was once in line to be the bachelorette. I still think she should do it! I would watch. She’s beautiful and likable on screen for sure.
April 13, 2022
I'm always going to be all about someone from Marshall County pursuing their dream and making it in the entertainment business so this was a lot of fun to read. Also, I love reality tv so Selling Sunset falls in that category for sure!
February 9, 2022
cute lil frothy celeb memoir (you get what you expect). chrishell is so sweet! went to her book signing with wendi and we took an extremely awk picture with her 😤
December 27, 2022
Loveeee Selling Sunset and of course read this book because of that but this was a whole lot of words saying a whole lot of nothing.
There was a nauseous amount of toxic positivity and “inspiration” and it felt like a weak attempt at a self-help guide at times rather than a memoir.
On to the writing component, Chrishell tries too hard to be funny. She’s 40 and maybe I’m misinterpreting her being just another cringy millennial but I felt that she makes great efforts to be relatable with gen z through the language used.
Additionally, the writing was disorganized. It appeared she wrote down any and all thoughts that came to mind in the moment and never reorganized them to make sense. The chapters jump back and forth between her life events and repeated some of the same moments over and over. This all led to the book not flowing well.
As for content, there was nothing new and intriguing that dove deeper into her life. Almost everything she talked about is already out there on either social media or from what we’ve seen on the show. In my opinion, public figures writing books should mainly do so to tell a story that’s never been shared (e.g. Jennette McCurdy).
Overall, this was another celebrity putting a book out just for the sake of putting it out. Not everyone needs to (poorly) write a book!!!
There was a nauseous amount of toxic positivity and “inspiration” and it felt like a weak attempt at a self-help guide at times rather than a memoir.
On to the writing component, Chrishell tries too hard to be funny. She’s 40 and maybe I’m misinterpreting her being just another cringy millennial but I felt that she makes great efforts to be relatable with gen z through the language used.
Additionally, the writing was disorganized. It appeared she wrote down any and all thoughts that came to mind in the moment and never reorganized them to make sense. The chapters jump back and forth between her life events and repeated some of the same moments over and over. This all led to the book not flowing well.
As for content, there was nothing new and intriguing that dove deeper into her life. Almost everything she talked about is already out there on either social media or from what we’ve seen on the show. In my opinion, public figures writing books should mainly do so to tell a story that’s never been shared (e.g. Jennette McCurdy).
Overall, this was another celebrity putting a book out just for the sake of putting it out. Not everyone needs to (poorly) write a book!!!
July 12, 2023
Needed letter u for a challenge. Never saw the show, but the audiobook was a quick and fun read.
Read
February 17, 2022This was a perfectly decent audiobook, that provided a surface-level glimpse into this celebrity's life.
I listened to the audiobook and that is the way to go. She has a nice voice and read it well.
I listened to the audiobook and that is the way to go. She has a nice voice and read it well.
February 6, 2024
I love selling sunset, totally a guilty pleasure show of mine along with the real house wives.
Chrishell Stause is my favourite on the show so of course I listened to this on my way to and from work.
Even though this was a short book it still packed a punch, she lets you in on her home life and past struggles as well as her divorce that happened on the show and gives her take on topics that were front page news from the show.
Her story is relatable, she tells her story in a funny and witty way, going into detail but not too much.
Her vulnerability was refreshing and interesting these stories wouldn’t be easy to share with the world.
I admire the way she has handled fame and the harsh rumours and gossip about herself. You see her flaws and all.
Highly recommend if you’re a fan of reality tv, selling sunset or just need an interesting listen on the way to work.
Chrishell Stause is my favourite on the show so of course I listened to this on my way to and from work.
Even though this was a short book it still packed a punch, she lets you in on her home life and past struggles as well as her divorce that happened on the show and gives her take on topics that were front page news from the show.
Her story is relatable, she tells her story in a funny and witty way, going into detail but not too much.
Her vulnerability was refreshing and interesting these stories wouldn’t be easy to share with the world.
I admire the way she has handled fame and the harsh rumours and gossip about herself. You see her flaws and all.
Highly recommend if you’re a fan of reality tv, selling sunset or just need an interesting listen on the way to work.
March 22, 2022
Малко повече драма ми се искаше, но беше много симпатична книга за това как е порастнала и е станала тази, която е.
July 6, 2022
Four Friends, Four Opinions, 1 Blog
Lydia: 2/5
The synopsis of this book claims it to be witty, inspirational and engaging. Descriptions that I personally did not experience when reading. I thought it was boring and the ‘advice’ that Strause gives are things you could literally Google.
I thought learning about her past life experiences was interesting, like the moments she explains her experiences with homelessness and the addictions in her family – those were the only times that I really found myself hopeful that this book could be more than your typical celebrity autobiography.
Unfortunately it just didn’t speak to me at all. While I typically love Chrishell on the show, she should definitely stick with real estate / reality TV and stray away from writing books.
If you love the show (which I do) then I do recommend you pick up this book, but don’t expect it to be life changing or riveting. The best parts were learning about her history and how that affected her actions in the future.
Megan: 2/5
I love Selling Sunset. I binged it because I couldn’t get enough of the glamour, the homes, and the drama. When I heard that Chrishell wrote a book, I couldn’t wait to pick it up. I normally don’t read non-fiction, but figured why not? Thankfully the book was short, but it still took me longer than necessary to finish. Maybe I went in with too high of expectations, but this was not my favourite book.
I was hoping this book would be a biography, talking about her life growing up, especially since Stause has mentioned a few times on Selling Sunset that her family experienced times of homelessness. On the flip side, I would not have complained if it delved into more behind-the-scenes of the show. However, Stause tried to combine both and ended up missing the mark altogether. The book felt like it was all over the place. It was constantly switching back and forth between her past (growing up) and present (Hollywood and Selling Sunset) and the transitions weren’t always very smooth. The book itself could have used some more editing. There were many run-on sentences and the tenses weren’t consistent, sometimes changing needlessly within a single sentence.
Stause has done well for herself, and she tried to use her experiences to motivate her readers to achieve their dreams. She had some good points, but others felt superficial or a downright humble brag. I wish this book gave me more instead of staying on the surface level for everything. Stause is my favourite agent on the show; she seems to be very genuine and down-to-earth. Unfortunately, that was not what came across in her writing. I would still recommend reading it if you love the show, but don’t go into it expecting it to be life changing.
Check out our full review here:
http://fourhousesreview.ca/2022/04/27...
Lydia: 2/5
The synopsis of this book claims it to be witty, inspirational and engaging. Descriptions that I personally did not experience when reading. I thought it was boring and the ‘advice’ that Strause gives are things you could literally Google.
I thought learning about her past life experiences was interesting, like the moments she explains her experiences with homelessness and the addictions in her family – those were the only times that I really found myself hopeful that this book could be more than your typical celebrity autobiography.
Unfortunately it just didn’t speak to me at all. While I typically love Chrishell on the show, she should definitely stick with real estate / reality TV and stray away from writing books.
If you love the show (which I do) then I do recommend you pick up this book, but don’t expect it to be life changing or riveting. The best parts were learning about her history and how that affected her actions in the future.
Megan: 2/5
I love Selling Sunset. I binged it because I couldn’t get enough of the glamour, the homes, and the drama. When I heard that Chrishell wrote a book, I couldn’t wait to pick it up. I normally don’t read non-fiction, but figured why not? Thankfully the book was short, but it still took me longer than necessary to finish. Maybe I went in with too high of expectations, but this was not my favourite book.
I was hoping this book would be a biography, talking about her life growing up, especially since Stause has mentioned a few times on Selling Sunset that her family experienced times of homelessness. On the flip side, I would not have complained if it delved into more behind-the-scenes of the show. However, Stause tried to combine both and ended up missing the mark altogether. The book felt like it was all over the place. It was constantly switching back and forth between her past (growing up) and present (Hollywood and Selling Sunset) and the transitions weren’t always very smooth. The book itself could have used some more editing. There were many run-on sentences and the tenses weren’t consistent, sometimes changing needlessly within a single sentence.
Stause has done well for herself, and she tried to use her experiences to motivate her readers to achieve their dreams. She had some good points, but others felt superficial or a downright humble brag. I wish this book gave me more instead of staying on the surface level for everything. Stause is my favourite agent on the show; she seems to be very genuine and down-to-earth. Unfortunately, that was not what came across in her writing. I would still recommend reading it if you love the show, but don’t go into it expecting it to be life changing.
Check out our full review here:
http://fourhousesreview.ca/2022/04/27...
March 4, 2022
really interesting to learn about chrishell’s life but pretty cheesy life lessons. definitely props to the ghost writer though they really captured her voice
June 25, 2022
Short & sweet! I loved this one.
Chrishell remains so authentic and graceful despite everything she does being a headline in the tabloids. She comes from humble roots and I love her grit and determination. She is definitely not someone that was handed everything. Chrishell is a celebrity that I look up to - having gone through losing both parents and being notified that her ex was filing for divorce via text all while going through a global pandemic and shooting a season of Selling Sunset. Her story is not typical of most celebrities and even if you are not familiar with her, I would recommend listening to her memoir via audiobook.
I loved that the book was narrated by her, as well.
4/5 stars
Chrishell remains so authentic and graceful despite everything she does being a headline in the tabloids. She comes from humble roots and I love her grit and determination. She is definitely not someone that was handed everything. Chrishell is a celebrity that I look up to - having gone through losing both parents and being notified that her ex was filing for divorce via text all while going through a global pandemic and shooting a season of Selling Sunset. Her story is not typical of most celebrities and even if you are not familiar with her, I would recommend listening to her memoir via audiobook.
I loved that the book was narrated by her, as well.
4/5 stars
March 14, 2022
I enjoyed listening to this book. Only short but I like Chrishell and enjoyed listening to her story. Some great advice also offered throughout.
February 28, 2023
Went into this thinking it would be an easy breezy celebrity memoir (which, yes, it was), but it's also a unique take on workforce development, on-the-job training, and transferrable skill sets.
February 3, 2023
Probably like 4.5-4.75 Stars honestly, I never give 5 stars unless I’d read it again or it made me feel things. But this book is more than 4 stars in my opinion. I watched maybe a few eps of Selling Sunset, it seemed fake to me honestly so I stopped, so I’m not really sure why Chrishell’s book spoke to me in a way that I was like “yeah I wanna read that!” But I’m so glad I did. Coming off of another celeb memoir where the I really liked the author but then reading her life story left me feeling so MEH about her I was very pleasantly surprised with how much I like Chrishell. She seems like a very genuine person and I only wish good things for her. My only criticism is that her book, like most celeb memoirs I’ve noticed lately, lives sections for like their advice. This is a real turn off for me. Y’all aren’t licensed professionals, stop giving people self help advice. I will say hers were not very preachy and I think she genuinely likes to help people so I’ll give it a pass but that is my only criticism of this book. I would recommend to any Selling Sunset fans or just those who enjoy celeb memoirs in general.
February 10, 2023
3.5
For those of you who don’t know Chrishell, she’s an actress, was formerly married to Justin Hartley, and stars on Netflix’s popular show “Selling Sunset”.
Chrishell is super sweet. (Not that I know her personally, but she seems it 😅) When I found out she had written a book, I wanted to add it to my TBR list.
Although I knew most things in the book, I didn’t know all. Chrishell had a very hard childhood but it takes a lot to turn it around. She put in the effort and look where she is now, selling million dollar homes in L.A. She truly did have a vision and with a positive attitude and lessons she’s learned over the years, anything is possible.
For those of you who don’t know Chrishell, she’s an actress, was formerly married to Justin Hartley, and stars on Netflix’s popular show “Selling Sunset”.
Chrishell is super sweet. (Not that I know her personally, but she seems it 😅) When I found out she had written a book, I wanted to add it to my TBR list.
Although I knew most things in the book, I didn’t know all. Chrishell had a very hard childhood but it takes a lot to turn it around. She put in the effort and look where she is now, selling million dollar homes in L.A. She truly did have a vision and with a positive attitude and lessons she’s learned over the years, anything is possible.
November 23, 2024
Hella disappointing, didn’t really learn anything new about her. 🥱
September 8, 2022
Love Chrishell but not this book.
May 5, 2024
1/5 ⭐️
Love her- hate the book. Idk who gave her the idea that she was capable of writing a how-to do life right book but that person should be cancelled. Hated this book, hated the vibe and only finished it to say I finished it. I disliked this book from the very beginning.
Love her- hate the book. Idk who gave her the idea that she was capable of writing a how-to do life right book but that person should be cancelled. Hated this book, hated the vibe and only finished it to say I finished it. I disliked this book from the very beginning.
February 21, 2022
Ms Stause comes across as a positive, likable person with a good outlook on life. She doesn't seem to need to denigrate others, including her ex-spouse.
June 17, 2022
I would have loved to give more stars, but this book unfortunately felt very rushed. You can tell that Chrishell is not an experienced writer, and it bothered me that so many memories repeated throughout the book. Plus I noticed spelling mistakes 😥
Other than that Chrishell comes across as a nice person and it was definitely interesting to read about her life and experiences.
@sophia - immer noch das beste Geburtstagsgeschenk
Other than that Chrishell comes across as a nice person and it was definitely interesting to read about her life and experiences.
@sophia - immer noch das beste Geburtstagsgeschenk
March 18, 2022
big chrishell stan! almost froze to death at her book signing with monica! memoir itself is cute, some parts read more like a self help book but i enjoyed the selling sunset tidbits
March 19, 2022
Chrishell is one of my favorite cast members on Selling Sunset, and I enjoyed learning more about her life/upbringing in this memoir. Even though it was a fairly short read, Chrishell still offered a deep dive (and her take) on a lot of topics that have been splashed across the internet/tabloids. Ultimately this book helped me to better understand/appreciate the author after learning about all that she has overcome in her life thus far.
March 29, 2022
This was rough to get through. She has such a great story but it was so unorganized that it distracted from her actual story.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 388 reviews