If you’re a Teen Mom 2 fan, then you probably already know about Jenelle Evans’ new memoir, Read Between the Lines: From the Diary of a Teenage Mom.
Half of that title is completely accurate:
The book is largely made up of excerpts from the diary that Jenelle kept during her teen years.
The other half is a bit more misleading, as there’s really no need to read between the lines.
Just like on TV, Jenelle is nothing if not blunt on the page, and she lays out pretty much every traumatic episode from her adolescence in thorough detail.
You may have known that Jenelle struggled with substance abuse, but were you aware she once popped dozens of decongestant pills to get high and almost overdosed in the process?
You were probably aware that she’s struggled with emotional issues, but did you know that Jenelle contemplated suicide in her teens?
It’s all in the book, and it may cause you to come away with a more sympathetic view of one of the Teen Mom franchise’s most controversial figures.
But because this is Jenelle we’re talking about, she couldn’t hold court for the length of an entire book without slipping in some jabs at her dysfunctional family.
"We never had vacations or cozy holidays," Jenelle writes of her experiences growing up.
"There wasn’t a gathering that didn’t end in a screaming match."
We’ve known for some time that Jenelle’s father left the family when she was young and her relationship with her mother has always been either messy of non-existent.
In an excerpt from the book made public for the first time today, Jenelle goes in on her siblings, explaining that they contributed to her unhappy childhood as much as her mother or father did.
"I have no memories of my older sister comforting me in times of trouble or my older brother sticking up for me," Jenelle writes.
"Ashleigh is older than both of us and she made sure we remembered it. She was snobby and b-tchy, and she no time for either Colin or me."
She adds:
"I only wanted to hang out with my cool older sister, but no. Between her words and actions, she pushed me away as hard as she could."
Jenelle describes Ashleigh as a "real stressed-out kid" who went through a lengthy "goth phase."
"She also dabbled in witchcraft and other weird stuff," Jenelle writes, adding that after her divorce, Ashleigh had a child with her ex-husband’s best friend.
She also recollects her brother’s "bursts of rage" and the time he started a fire in the attic that nearly burned down the entire house.
She adds that Colin later spent time in a "special group home" due to his emotional issues.
Sounds like Jenelle has a deeply troubled relationship with each of her two siblings.
We’re gonna go out on a limb and guess that publicly tearing them apart in a memoir probably won’t help.
Watch Teen Mom 2 online for more of Jenelle’s tumultuous past.
