The widow of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner offers a raw and unflinching look at the objectification and misogyny of the Playboy mansion, her stolen young adulthood, and her journey to finding internal validation, while providing a rare look into the final days of one of the most influential men of the 20th century.
At just twenty-one years old, Crystal Harris' life changed forever when she attended a party at the notorious Playboy mansion. Hugh Hefner picked her out from the crowd, and she soon became one of his infamous "girlfriends," traveling the world and attending glamorous Hollywood parties. Yet the lifestyle that once seemed so alluring had a dark side. Hef governed the lives of his girlfriends with strict rules on everything from their looks to curfew, and Crystal was forced to compete with other women for her spot in the highly hierarchal system.
She quickly rose to the top but being Hef's number one girlfriend came at the cost of Crystal's identity outside her role at Playboy. The many talk show hosts and comedians who reveled in ridiculing her and the other young women further chipped away at her self-worth. Her fate seemed sealed when Hef surprised her with a proposal, one she could not imagine refusing. But as Crystal Hefner, she grew increasingly restless to understand who she truly was away from Playboy's toxic culture.
In “Only Say Good Things”, Crystal offers a vulnerable and clear-eyed look at how her experience with Hefner catalyzed a transformative journey from valuing external validation over all else to finally recognizing her worth. This candid and ultimately empowering memoir provides not only a fascinating look behind the scenes at a powerful cultural icon and brand, but also offers an equally powerful and counterintuitive voice and hard-won lessons about who and what determines our value as women. Crystal Hefner is a world-renowned model, advocate, and entrepreneur. A former Playboy Playmate, she now works to bring awareness to issues she is passionate about, speaking out on social media to her 10 million followers about body image, objectification, and beauty standards in the media.
