Off with My Head: The Definitive Basic B*tch Handbook t… (2024)

I appreciated getting to hear more insight into the events of 2020 and beyond from Stassi but felt overall this read like most of my own drafts of writing for class where I was trying to hit a page/word count and would realize I had talked about the same thing in only slightly different sentence arrangements to make that possible. I want more variety, I want more references! But still, the details about her starting to date Beau, you know those made it worth it to me personally.

How to survive rock bottom? Be rich, famous, and patient enough so that you don’t have to own up to or actually learn anything from your mistakes.

Another dumpster fire like her last book, read my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I enjoyed her first book and had no real expectations for this one since I phased out of VP rules when they brought new people on and didn't keep up with anyone on social media.

I had heard Stassi was "cancelled" and honestly feel like cancel culture sucks. It does the opposite of what the woke folks think it will do...but I digress.

I loved hearing her side of the story. I really enjoyed hearing the growth in her voice, whether from being cancelled, getting married, becoming a mom, or just growing up - I have to say I really like this Stassi.

She is so in tune with herself. She is high maintenance, yet lived in sweats and had no shame. She loves a bougie Nieman's lunch, but can appreciate a solid taco bell dinner.

I just really enjoyed this and if you go in knowing its Stassi's story about growing up, I think you'd enjoy it too!

Ugh. She is the absolute worst. How to survive getting ‘cancelled’? Be white, wealthy, and connected and just wait for people to forget. 🙄

Stassi Schroeder’s follow up to her NYT best seller Next Level Basic covers her complete cancellation - from her reality series on Bravo, her podcast, book tour and animated series - all in one fell swoop.

Schroeder starts with an explanation and an apology, along with how she moved forward from her multiple racist remarks and complete ignorance regarding BLM and the #metoo movement (part of which was done by hiring a diversity coach.)

The rest of the book focuses on holding herself accountable and the ways her life changed by that cancellation - at the start of the pandemic and the beginning of her pregnancy. She covers meeting Beau, her husband, and of her difficult relationship with her mother.

Though OWMH is definitely not going to get Stassi another reality gig, it'll probably bring more haters out of the woodwork. But after reading this, I think shes's definitely mentally and physically prepared for that. And I also think she's finally grown up a bit.

After an irritating experience with Next Level Basic: The Definitive Basic Bitch Handbook, I'm happy to say Bossy Stassi has redeemed herself a bit. OWMH could have included more details people actually care about, but had enough to keep me entertained for a few hours and made me like her more as a person.

90% of this book is silly AF

It’s extended multi cosmo articles

Does cosmopolitan still make a magazine?

But where it’s interesting is in its Soviet style indoctrination.

You see Stasi got cancelled for going mean girl on someone who had slept with a friend’s beau.

Big mistake was the subject of her annoyance was black.

Major cancellation

So Stasi began her r education camp time

“Faith felt it was about race because there is an actual serious problem between the Black community and the police in America. I understand that now, but I didn’t then. I had a lot to learn.”

Ah the brainwashing

“An apology that not only had to get approved by Bravo (ironic considering they fired me two days later)”

The Soviet level apology that’s never enough

“She wasn’t just my publicist, she was my manager and my friend. We both sat there crying on the phone, and I assured her it was all going to be okay. We could still be friends after all, right? She sobbed through the conversation and said of course. I never heard from her again.”

Friends are not friends bc knowing you would get them in trouble

“For those couple of weeks, we focused on Black history. She assigned me documentaries to watch (like Henry Louis Gates Jr.’ s The African Americans: The Many Rivers to Cross), podcasts to listen to, and books and articles to read (like So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo and “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” by Peggy McIntosh)”

Like the character in clockwork orange with his eyes grafted open forced to receive the indoctrination material

“ I couldn’t even believe I had questioned Black Lives Matter.”

The brainwashing is complete

“At one point, I was even worried that people might look at the fact that I was pinning cake recipes on Pinterest and take that to mean that I was an evil baker who wasn’t taking my canceling seriously”

The offender is now ready to apologize for ANYTHING

Oh on a lighter note Stasi uses AF, as f*ck on every other page.

Other than the revealing take on what brainwashing and social ostracism looks like in the Soviet Union 2.0, this book would make me not want to read books if this was what books were.

Wow this book was bad! I’m a sucker for reality tv star’s books because I’m always hoping for some gossip about the show or the inside scoop. This was just Stassi rambling. The number of excuses she gave measured against the number of times she claimed she was learning was wild. The premise of the book - how to survive rock bottom - was sooooo loose, I don’t know why she didn’t just write a tell all of her side of the story instead of trying to mask it under this premise. I regret making my library system spend a single cent on this trash

About what I expected. First book was better.

If you thought I would give my big sis Stassi anything less than 5 stars you thought WRONG.

3.75⭐️ this book is what it is. is it the greatest thing i’ve ever read? obviously not. but stassi was one of my fav VDP Rules cast members and it was interesting hearing about her cancelling.

4.5 stars.

I was both excited and nervous going into this book, because I do love Stassi, and I knew depending on the direction she went with this book, it could give me a different view of her. After the incident that came to light that resulted in her being fired from Vanderpump Rules and losing pretty much every other professional piece of her life (podcast, agents, upcoming projects), and becoming the newest victim of "cancel culture," there was potential for her to strike the wrong tone.

I should have known better, though, because I have continued following her since that very public cancellation. I have had many conversations with friends about not at all supporting what she did, but her punishment for a past mistake being taken too far. The problem with cancel culture is it allows little chance for redemption, or the ability to learn from our mistakes - and if we're not going to allow people the chance to show they can learn and be better, then what's the point? I feel that I, as an individual, have the right to decide if I will or will not support a public figure (or just a person in my life) based on their behavior and mistakes. And if I deem their behavior bad enough to stop supporting them, then I will do that - I don't feel like it's necessary to take everything away from them, giving themselves no real way to support themselves anymore. Honestly, if what they did was egregious enough as a public figure - lack of support from past fans will be enough to tank their career over time anyway. But I digress...

Stassi had a lot to prove with this book, and I think she successfully proved it. The book centers around her cancellation - which coincided with the beginning of the pandemic lockdown, and finding out she was pregnant - and how she dealt with and tried to move on with it. She acknowledges her background of privilege and inability to understand the implications of her actions, and how little she knew until this happened and she had to learn and work to be better. I think one of the things I appreciated most about this book was how vulnerable she was in discussing her mistakes and faults. Even as she recognizes she had (and has) a lot to learn, she also acknowledges that she's not, and never will be, perfect. None of us are.

Obviously, as a new mother myself, I could really relate to her discussions of pregnancy and motherhood. There are a few points when she talks about her experience that brought me RIGHT back to my own pregnancy, and were things I never could have understood before experiencing it myself. The idea of going through one of your life's lowest moments at the same time as one of your happiest experiences is a lot to try and imagine. The triple whammy of your career imploding, a worldwide pandemic shutting down the world, and being pregnant is overwhelming just to imagine, and it was hard to try and put myself in her position.

That said, Stassi never tries to present herself as a victim - she admits her wrongdoing (and other past indiscretions) and seems truly remorseful. At the same time, she addresses the extreme nature of cancel culture, and how hard it was to try to even think about bouncing back from a situation in which there were many that felt she could NEVER come back from or would want her to even try. Her resilience and ability to find positive things to hold onto as she tried to rebuild her confidence and her life is admirable.

Moral of this rambling review: A candid book full of nuance but also not without her signature brand of humor. Strikes just the right balance, and contains significantly more substance than her debut.

Next Level Bad.

I should have read my review on her first book and realized that Stassi is just not much of a writer.

I am actually shocked that people would actually go see her on a book tour!

This book was just one long apology that wasn’t needed.

Cancel Culture is just an 🙄 to me. Why do people care so much about what other people say? Why did Stassi feel like she had to write a whole book apologizing for doing something pretty stupid. She said she was wrong for what she did to Faith…. And she was indeed wrong…. But honestly, no need for her whole world to crumble around her.

I have no idea why her comment about Faith was played out by Faith as a race thing. It had nothing to do with race and everything to do with Stassi trying to stir up sh*t because she was pissed that Faith had screwed her good friend Brittney’s boyfriend Jax. Faith could have just as easily been white or purple. The whole event was Next Level Ridiculous. I find it hard to believe that Brittney would even marry Jax knowing he was a serial cheater, having cheated on Stassi and every other girlfriend he had. Faith was just another thirsty girl hoping to build up a storyline for the show.

Stassi then felt the need to go on her quarantined Apology Tour apologizing for everything from being white to having a small bit of fans from being on a low level cable show.

I honestly didn’t even know she had written this second book. It popped up in my suggestions from my public library and I downloaded it. I read enough to know Stassi should rename the Book Next Level Ass Kisser.

I appreciated Stassi on Vanderpump Rules and was saddened to see her go. After reading this book in it's entirety, I respect Bravo's decision.

She has such a surface level understanding of just how irresponsible and racially insensitive she's been. I was skeptical of this book in the first place as I don't feel it's the best move to release a book profitting off of finally being called out for being wreckless, but I didn't think it would get this bad.

Her entire understanding of what happened to get her fired is based on "It was a dumb joke and people overreacted to me- I'm the real victim here!" She even has a whole section on using crying as a way to manipulate others and zero mention on how her white woman tears have gotten her this far without having been held accountable for her actions prior- even while recognizing that she's used her tears to manipulate situations. She dives into other people's reaction and how hurt she was to being cancelled instead of owning up to the harmful actions she's done to lead to people being angry with her.

Should have left this book in the vault.

I didn’t have high expectations for this book, but I was hoping it would be funny like her podcast. Instead, it was super defensive about the events of 2020 and her fall from grace. I know that was the point of the book, but it went over the top. I bought the audible version, and it took me almost a month to finish it because I kept picking other audible books over it.

Remember when you were in college and you had to hit a word count so you just kept rewriting the same ideas in different ways over and over again? That was this book. Although repeatedly saying she “didn’t think she was a victim” and she “didn’t think she had it worse in COVID than anyone else”, she sure does spend most of this book trying to make you think that on your own

Oof. I liked hearing from her about the learning she has done since the Canceling, but this book is so ridiculously self-indulgent. And I’m saying that after having decent feedback for her first self-indulgent book. It’s a huge miss for me and I skimmed the last 5 chapters because I couldn’t do it anymore.

I don’t often get too excited about memoirs, but every once in a while one grabs my attention & this was one of them.

I love Stassi but this felt like a surface level class paper. Couldn’t wait for it be over. 🫠

I mean obviously this wasn’t Pulitzer caliber but what can I say I love stassi and will do anything to learn more insight into vanderpump rules lolz

I had to give it 5 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was so much better than her first book, and I enjoyed that one too.

Whether you love Stassi or you hate her, you can't deny her growth. I hate when I see comments about how the VPR cast shouldn't be parents, yada, yada. They were like 23 when they started the show. You can see their growth. Yes, they still do and say stupid sh*t but television exacerbates that. You can literally feel the love Stassi has for her daughter and you can hear how much work she has put in to make herself a better person and parent.

I remember when I first heard Stassi tell the story about what they did to Faith. It was on a podcast. It was a couple years before George Floyd was murdered by police. I remember thinking, this could be considered racist. Did I think that was Stassi and Kristen's intent? Nope. They were literally being paid by Bravo to be extra and mean girls. And their was more going on behind the scenes to fuel that mean girl spirit. I don't like mean girls and I don't agree with what they did but I also don't like people who take part in affairs (and I loathe Jax entirely).

My point is, I really do think she is doing the work. Obviously, I can't be a de facto judge on that but this book is pretty telling.

Its a great read and or listen. She is still Stassi, basic b AF :), but she is shows her growth and is very authentic to who she is.

I think Hartford will be happy when she reads it one day.

I adore Stassi. Her unapologetic personality speaks to me on another level, and I feel like she’s come so far since her Vanderpump days, but there are definitely some things reality stars should keep to themselves.

Hearing her talk about Beau gave me the ick. This man really wanted to hang the nudes (plural, as in multiple) he painted of his exes in the new house he was sharing with his pregnant wife-to-be? I strive to have the blind confidence it took to share that information with the public.

I would say 3.5.

What can I say? I love Stassi Schroeder. Even when she's bad, she's great- because we all make mistakes, we all deserve a path for growth. I'm thrilled she decided to open up about being cancelled for a second time. But this time around, I think she really made big developments in her life. She is really seeing what consequences come with ill-informed action. She really opened up about what was going on in her life at the time and how she pushed through the dark days that sometimes got even darker, and all that was set to happen but never came to pass. For her editors: I know Stassi likes the whole "AF" thing, and it's part of the vibe, I get it. But cutting back on that usage in this book and ones in the future will make this a book that can be passed down. I don't know that my future daughter would have an easy time getting through lines that include "AF" without a serious eye roll like I did. Loved the overall message though!

Fun easy read

3.5 - ish stars

Enjoyed overall. A bit repetitive, and some chapters felt like unnecessary filler (ie the chapters on social media and crying). Stassi does a great job narrating, but my main issue was the constant use of abbreviations (especially “AF”) and Kardashian/ Royal family references (I think the audio made this even more annoying lol)

I say “Good for you!” I kinda thought it was ridiculous and hypocritical when Stassi was cancel and treated like she was for basically doing what she had been paid to do on national television for years. I felt bad for her that she had put herself out there for people’s entertainment and now everyone acted like they had never said or did anything that they regretted and their entertainment was now crushing her. She messed up, on a large scale, but the world was in such a hypersensitive place at the time. Anyway, I like that she is who she is and encourages you to be who you are - truly, not just because it’s what you think people want you to be. I think she has grown and made her failures into stepping stones back up again but in a better place, so again “Good for you!”

No rating because memoir, BUT AMAZING BOOK. There was so much I didn’t know about Stassis life which reading this book helped shed some light to the situations. I didn’t read her first book, so I can’t compare but I really did appreciate this book to help apologize to her fans and explain her actions. A few things I didn’t love were her little summaries at the end of each chapter, she did such a great job explaining everything throughout the book that I felt it wasn’t needed and tended to skip those parts and I feel like the ending could of been different.

With or without this book I am obsessed with stalking her, Beau and Hartford on Instagram

Overall, this was a good read. I love any and everything Bravo related so I was very excited to read this but no lie, it was very boring at parts. I loved reading about Stassi overcome her cancellation, her wedding, and motherhood. But she easily could’ve taken out a few chapters that were pointless to the book. 3.75 ⭐️

Such a easy read. Also easier a read when you’ve watched her for the past decade and can literally hear her voice in the back of your head while reading every word.
I enjoyed this light read and loved how she put everything. Give this girl a break btw. She’s trying.