Book Review: Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny
Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny by Holly Madison
Publisher: Dey Street Books
Paperback Release Date: May 10, 2016
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
Lost in Wonderland . . .
A fairy-tale dream that became a nightmare, and a woman whose strength helped her find a way out to the other side
At 21, small-town Oregon girl Holly Cullen became Holly Madison, Hugh Hefner’s number one girlfriend. But like Alice’s journey into Wonderland, Holly’s plunge down the rabbit hole took her to a world where all was not as it seemed. The fairy-tale life inside the Playboy Mansion—which included A-list celebrity parties and starring in a number one television show—quickly devolved into an oppressive routine of strict rules, manipulation, and battles with ambitious, backstabbing Bunnies that nearly drove Holly to take her own life.
Down the Rabbit Hole is her introspective account of her time inside the Mansion: the drugs, abuse, infamous parties, and Holly’s real behind-the-scenes life with Bridget, Kendra, and Mr. Playboy himself. It is also her chronicle of healing and hope. By telling her story, both a cautionary tale and a celebration of personal empowerment, Holly reminds us of the importance of fighting for our dreams—and of finding the life we deserve.
Down the Rabbit Hole is Holly Madison’s memoir that is mostly of her life living in the Playboy Mansion as Hugh Hefner’s number one girlfriend. It’s fascinating how a smart woman like Holly – she has several college credits – could be manipulated into staying at the Mansion under Hef’s strict rules for over six years. It wasn’t for the money – contrary to popular belief, he did not give his girlfriends a lot of money. They each got a relatively small allowance for clothes and beauty treatments and that was it. In return, they lived at the Mansion and had to be in a 9pm every night and were not allowed to spend even one night away from the Mansion without Hef.
I really liked reading all of the behind the scenes info Holly shared about The Girls Next Door the E! reality series that Holly starred in with two of Hef’s other two girlfriends at the time, Kendra and Bridget. I loved that show when it was on. I figured there’s some editing trickery and whatnot in reality TV but I didn’t realize how much! There was a lot in The Girls Next Door. Now I want to find old episodes and watch them again to see if there are any clues about what was REALLY going on during that time at the Mansion.
When Holly finally breaks free of Hugh Hefner’s hold, she immediately takes up with famous magician Criss Angel, who turns out to be even crazier than Hef! I love that Holly tells all in that relationship too, the good, bad and ugly.
The book ends with Holly finding ostensibly true love with her husband Pasquale Rotella. Ironically, just as I finished the book, she and her husband announced they are divorcing. Could another memoir be in the works? Sign me up – I want to know what happened!
Holly is surprisingly intelligent and incredibility honest. If you like celebrity memoirs, you’ll like Down the Rabbit Hole.
