When I posted that I was listening to Paulina’s memoir on Instagram, she responded herself (!) to tell me that she wouldn’t really call it a memoir. And she’s right – it’s a collection of essays that are meditations on grief, beauty and aging. One of the central themes is grief. When her husband of thirty years, Ric Ocasek, lead singer of the Cars, died unexpectedly in 2019, Paulina discovered he’d written her out of his will. At the time of his death, they were separated but still living together. She still considered him her best friend so she was shocked that he left her out of his will. His will stated that it was due to her abandoning him, which she did not understand. A large portion of the book is her reconciling the fact that she is simultaneously grieving Ric while feeling betrayed by him.

She also writes about transitioning from a young model who was valued mainly for her beauty to an older woman who is finding her voice. She’s candid about her struggles with the process.

I was impressed with how well-written this book was. Since she wrote a novel without a ghostwriter in 2007 (which I’d like to read now), I’m assuming she didn’t use a ghostwriter for this book either. She didn’t graduate high school but educated herself by reading a lot when she started modeling at fifteen. She’s not just a pretty face.

No Filter wasn’t what I expected and got a little repetitive at times but I still enjoyed listening to it. ( )