Among Kelly Ripa’s complaints here about her talk show job, she cites that they’re only allowed to focus on fluff on her show, no substance, yet here she is with a book all her own, a forum where she ostensibly could say whatever she wanted, show you her depth, yet the vast majority of this meandering essay collection is fluffy stories and thoughts. Most of these stories and thoughts have already been told on her show, so if you’re an avid viewer this almost feels like watching a series of repeats.

One of the few areas where she veers away from what’s already been said on her show is the essay involving Regis. I don’t mind the honesty that they weren’t all that friendly with one another, between their age gap, Regis probably feeling like he’d earned the right to a show all his own, and Kelly likely sick of people acting like she owes her career to him, resentment from each of them didn’t seem that out of place. However, I don’t love that this essay format allowed for cherry picking which co-host she would discuss, especially since she chose the one who can’t rebut anything. She says next to nothing about the other men who sat next to her, even though the Clay Aiken incident made far bigger news than any moment with Regis, as did the one-day boycott of her own show when Strahan jumped ship to GMA, and then there was Seacrest weathering a #MeToo allegation which for a brief time seemed to lead to fewer female guests on Live. You can’t tell me a few sarcastic comments from Regis (stuff like him suggesting she had an entourage because she wanted to replace the longtime hair and makeup people with her own) was anywhere near as interesting as the stories behind those big bumps in the road alongside those other hosts.

I just really wished this had delivered more of what we haven’t gotten from Kelly on television, not just thoughts on those tricky times with other co-hosts, but also how about her stint on Dance Party USA, or her friendship with Jerry O’Connell and what it was like to have him twice in the running for the co-host slot? We don’t even find out about her audition for All My Children here, or finding her footing as an actress, and was acting an aspiration for her or something she sort of fell into like the talk show gig? Also, at the back of the book, in the thank you section, Kelly declares Hope and Faith her favorite job ever, so where was the essay on that show in this book? How about telling us what she loved so much about doing that sitcom? Those are the kinds of things I would have been curious to know.

I like my privacy so I understand someone who feels the same way, I get not wanting to reveal much beyond the surface level (presumably that’s why the writing throughout this book had such a heavy sarcastic gloss over it, and why Kelly barely ventured outside the comfort zone of what she’s already shared on TV) but I don’t think a few more morsels about her career would be revealing to the point of invasive, and they would have given fans a bit more insight into who she is, insight that surely would have been more flattering to her than this book’s incessant fixation on appearances (this very thin woman’s supposedly “non-existant” metabolism, so much plastic surgery/botox talk, etc) and wealth (the woes of driving rather than helicoptering home from the Hamptons, declaring “Riverdale” money basically nothing, despite how life changing it would be for most people, etc.).

The almost unceasing sarcasm and often shallow subjects of these essays (two seemed to exist mostly to complain about running into fans on vacation) can often play as funny in bite size pieces on television, but strung all together, back to back in a book, it paints the portrait of someone who is vapid and oblivous to the real world. I don’t for one second believe that’s all there is to Kelly Ripa and I don’t understand why an editor working with a novice writer wouldn’t have said hey, if we don’t infuse some more heart into this book (outside of the rom-com style meet cute with Mark and parts of the empty nesting essay) then you are going to come across as one-dimensional.

The Kelly Ripa I’ve enjoyed (and will continue to enjoy), exuded warmth and understanding of genuine emotions through her All My Children character, and as a TV host, in between her quick-witted sarcasm and the jokes about shallower things, this is someone I’ve watched show compassion to co-hosts (even though she evidently wasn’t always fond of some of them), this is someone who speaks endearingly of her in-laws and who consistantly shows respect and kindness to average ordinary people who appear on her show, people who have never and will never have a professional makeup artist, Botox injections or “Riverdale” money, and their lack of those superficial things sure doesn’t seem to matter to Kelly. More of that well-rounded person should have been present in this book, it’s a disservice to her that she’s not. ( )