Over the past two weeks, I read Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny by Holly Madison while on the elliptical. Thinspiration, amirite?
Y’all, that was actually a sarcastic remark. Throughout the book, Holly discusses the body dysmorphia she experienced. As someone who thought she was chubby, circa 2002 (it has been awhile, people), at 6’2″ and 145, I identified.
Holly Madison gets in some zingers. I laughed out loud when she mentioned that the ever notorious Hugh Hefner’s bedroom suite looked like a set of Hoarders or as she put it, “Whore-ders.” I love that wordplay.
She discussed how diligently HMH documented his life by way of scrapbooking. “He was so fastidious about his public image and about having every moment in his life documented and recorded in a way that showed his life the way he wanted it shown.” Upon reading this, I thought of oh, so many bloggers who only show the parts of their life that is essentially everyone else’s highlight reel. Vintage scrapbooking sounds a lot like contemporary Instagram-ing, right?
When there is a story that feels super one-sided, I get suspicious. I wanted to believe that all of the tea that she was spilling was true, but save for Bridget Marquardt, she did not have many positive memories of anyone. I would have liked to purchase the seasons of Girls Next Door and trace her narrative from the book with that of the television show for further context. Unfortunately, the Girls Next Door is not available on iTunes, Netflix, or Hulu.
Would I read it again? Yes. Holly Madison’s book was juicy as eff and though I felt slightly suspicious of how she painted herself and others, I loved her end message. What was it? You will have to read it to find out.
Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny by Holly Madison
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