Open Book

by Jessica Simpson

She already has this world to grow up in, and I want her to feel safe enough to love herself and the body that God gave her. Not waste the time I did being cruel to myself. Standing in front of the mirror at seventeen, pinching a tiny vice grip of stomach fat until I bruised, because the first thing I heard from the record company after I signed was, “You’ve got to lose fifteen pounds.”

I was like a lot of women who get their wish: I loved being a mom, I just didn’t love being me.