Skip to main content
Digital Audiobook
This Will Only Hurt a Little by Busy Philipps

Listen to a sample

00:00
00:00

This Will Only Hurt a Little

Publisher
Little, Brown Book Group
Publish Date
18 October 2018
Run Time
7 hours 56 minutes
Format
Audiobook

Not available in your country

We don't have the rights to sell this audiobook where you are. If it's already in your library you can still listen to it in My Books.

What to expect

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER


'Busy is a legit writer with a voice as clear as a bell' Tina Fey

'Funny, refreshingly candid memoir about Hollywood, motherhood and BFFhood' Cosmopolitan

'Judy Blume meets Karl Ove Knausgaard meets one brave woman from Arizona' Miranda July

A memoir by the beloved comedic actress known for her roles on Freaks and Geeks, Dawson's Creek, and Cougartown who has become 'the breakout star on Instagram stories . . . imagine I Love Lucy mixed with a modern lifestyle guru' (New Yorker).

Busy Philipps's autobiographical book offers the same unfiltered and candid storytelling that her Instagram followers have come to know and love, from growing up in Scottsdale, Arizona and her painful and painfully funny teen years, to her life as a working actress, mother, and famous best friend.

Busy is the rare entertainer whose impressive arsenal of talents as an actress is equally matched by her storytelling ability, sense of humor, and sharp observations about life, love, and motherhood. Her conversational writing reminds us what we love about her on screens large and small. From film to television to Instagram, Busy delightfully showcases her wry humor and her willingness to bare it all.

'I've been waiting my whole life to write this book. I'm just so grateful someone asked. Otherwise, what was the point of any of it??'

'Candid, painful and extremely wryly funny' Stylist

'Like most women, famous or not, bad things have happened to Busy Philipps - as well as weird stuff, jawdropping stuff and heartwarming stuff' Refinery29

'This Will Only Hurt a Little has stopped me in my tracks completely' Sophie Heawood, Observer

Critics Review

  • Judy Blume meets Karl Ove Knausgaard meets one brave woman from Arizona. On the page, Philipps' toughness shines through - a rare and feminine ethical code; devoted and blunt. It's a thrill to watch her stumble right up until the very moment she storms the f*cking gates. Also: just as casually addictive as her Instastories but no guilt because it's a book

    Miranda July

  • You guys!! Busy is a legit writer with a voice as clear as a bell. This book is honest, funny, intimate, and well-observed by a person who has observed some sh*t

    Tina Fey

  • To know Busy Philipps is to love Busy Philipps (and follow her on Instagram). And now, it's also to read her funny, refreshingly candid memoir about Hollywood, motherhood and BFFhood (with her Dawson's Creek castmate Michelle Williams, of course)

    Cosmopolitan

  • If you think you know Busy from her Instagram stories, you don't know the half of it. This book delves deeply and candidly into Busy's life in a way that will surprise and delight you. She does not shy away from the darker stories, but she'll make you laugh (hard) while you read them. You might not even know if the tears or from laughter or sorrow or recognition. You will see yourself in the book. You can't help it. We are lucky to have Busy's rigorously authentic book (personality) in our lives

    Jenni Konner

See more reviews
  • Ruler of Instagram and our hearts Busy Philipps brings her frank humour to the book world

    Elle (28 Best Books to Read This Autumn)

  • Busy Phillipps's frank and funny memoir highlights why she's our Instagram crush bar none

    Red (Ten books to read this October)

  • [Explores] the tricky path of growing from a girl into a woman, supporting friends through the hardest of times, grappling with motherhood and keeping things on the funny side. Busy's a lovely and entertaining voice to spend some quality time with

    Stylist

  • Calling out abuse on set, the expendability of being an actress/woman and the slings and arrows of love, friendships and selfhood, Philipps lets rip while inspiring readers on how to navigate life

    Emerald Street

  • Like most women, famous or not, bad things have happened to Busy Philipps - as well as weird stuff, jawdropping stuff and heartwarming stuff. Over her 20 years in the industry, she's seen it all, and she's here to share it all in her candid, thoughtful and hilarious book debut

    Refinery29

  • Candid, painful and extremely wryly funny, this memoir from actor Busy Philipps deals with the heavy (assault, bullying, post-partum depression) and the happy (meeting best friend Michelle Williams, building a career, learning to speak her mind). All you need to know is Tina Fey is a fan

    Stylist

  • [Busy Philipps is] even more candid and even more loveable than in her famous Instagram Stories . . . hugely refreshing . . . She's a star ascending and everyone loves her for it

    Independent

  • [Busy Philipps is] a charismatic, relatable storyteller . . . the book is unabashedly honest and personal about everything: motherhood, marriage, family, friendships, anxiety, ageing, Hollywood, and sexual assault

    Refinery29 UK

  • This Will Only Hurt a Little has stopped me in my tracks completely and made me rethink everything
    we think we know about shiny, sunny social media stars. Reading it felt like a punch in the guts . . .

    Observer

  • Aptly, the cover of Philipps's memoir is Instagram bait: the star wears a Pepto Bismol suit, pussy-bow blouse and gold hoop earrings the size of curtain rings. It is bold, gutsy, pretty, but with an edge - and has nothing on the raw impact of the stories . . . Though true to the tenor of her Instagram posts, there are also anecdotes to make you cackle: from the gawky teen years in Arizona, via her early 20s on the febrile sets of teen dramas and on to motherhood catastrophes

    Evening Standard

  • As funny as her infamously iconic Instagram Stories, the moments chronicled [in This Will Only Hurt a Little] with her signature wit-from her friendships to 'staging her own surprise wedding, conquering natural childbirth with the help of a Mad Men-themed hallucination, and more'-will leave you with a smile on your face

    Elle

  • A funny, insightful memoir

    Stylist

  • A freewheeling tour through Busy Philipps's career, relationships and on-and-off-again stardom

    New York Times

  • Frank and often painful yet extremely funny, this memoir from actress Busy Philipps will have you hooked from the first page

    Love It

  • In the Hollywood actor's down-to-earth memoir, she writes about the sexual assault she experienced aged 14, plus the sexism that's still rife in the film industry. It's open, honest, and utterly wise

    Elle (Best Feminist Books to Gift this Christmas)

  • Perfect for fans of 1990s TV and pop culture in general. Actress Philipps covers her time in shows like Dawson's Creek and Freaks and Geeks, while also talking about growing up, making it in Hollywood and becoming a mum. I listened to it as an audiobook, which Philipps herself read. Really entertaining

    BBC (Online)

User Reviews

No reviews yet.

Details

Author
Busy Philipps
Narrator
Busy Philipps
Duration
7 hours 56 minutes
Release Date
18 October 2018
ISBN
9780751576221
Format
Audiobook
Publisher
Little, Brown Book Group
Genre
Autobiography: general, Biography: arts and entertainment, Memoirs

Synopsis

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 'Busy is a legit writer with a voice as clear as a bell' Tina Fey 'Funny, refreshingly candid memoir about Hollywood, motherhood and BFFhood' Cosmopolitan'Judy Blume meets Karl Ove Knausgaard meets one brave woman from Arizona' Miranda JulyA memoir by the beloved comedic actress known for her roles on Freaks and Geeks, Dawson's Creek, and Cougartown who has become 'the breakout star on Instagram stories . . . imagine I Love Lucy mixed with a modern lifestyle guru' (New Yorker).Busy Philipps's autobiographical book offers the same unfiltered and candid storytelling that her Instagram followers have come to know and love, from growing up in Scottsdale, Arizona and her painful and painfully funny teen years, to her life as a working actress, mother, and famous best friend.Busy is the rare entertainer whose impressive arsenal of talents as an actress is equally matched by her storytelling ability, sense of humor, and sharp observations about life, love, and motherhood. Her conversational writing reminds us what we love about her on screens large and small. From film to television to Instagram, Busy delightfully showcases her wry humor and her willingness to bare it all.'I've been waiting my whole life to write this book. I'm just so grateful someone asked. Otherwise, what was the point of any of it??''Candid, painful and extremely wryly funny' Stylist'Like most women, famous or not, bad things have happened to Busy Philipps - as well as weird stuff, jawdropping stuff and heartwarming stuff' Refinery29'This Will Only Hurt a Little has stopped me in my tracks completely' Sophie Heawood, Observer

About xigxag

xigxag is an independent, UK-based audiobook platform and the UK's only B Corp certified audiobook company. We offer nearly 150,000 audiobooks, all with professional human narration. No AI-generated voices. xigxag is rated an Ethical Consumer Best Buy for audiobooks and a top-rated ethical bookshop.

There is no subscription. You buy the audiobooks you want, you own them permanently, and prices start at $13.95. The more you listen over the year, the less you pay per book, and there is always a selection in Listen for Less from $7.95. You can also send audiobooks as gifts using our audiobook gift cards or in-app gifting.

Every audiobook on xigxag has honest reviews covering both the book and the narration, and our community features make it easy to share what you are listening to, discover what others recommend, and find your next listen.

Download or stream on iOS, Android, or in your browser. Browse the full catalogue at xigxag.co.uk.