Why Did You Stay? The instant Sunday..., Rebecca Humphries
Why Did You Stay? The instant Sunday..., Rebecca Humphries
List: $27.99 | Sale: $19.59
Club: $13.99

Why Did You Stay?: The instant Sunday Times bestseller
A memoir about self-worth

Author: Rebecca Humphries

Narrator: Rebecca Humphries

Unabridged: 10 hr 28 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/07/2022


Synopsis

'Fierce. Game-changing. Urgently necessary. Brilliant, brilliant and did I say brilliant?' EMMA THOMPSON
'Pacy, vivid, compelling and very, VERY funny ... it will help so many' MARIAN KEYES
'A fucking classic. Required reading for all women and men and I believe it's going to be the book of 2022' BRYONY GORDON
'Fuck, this is good. Every page feels important' LUCY VINE

Actor, writer and hopeless romantic Rebecca Humphries had often been called crazy by her boyfriend. But when paparazzi caught him kissing his Strictly Come Dancing partner, she realised the only crazy thing was believing she didn't deserve more.

Forced into victimhood by the story, Rebecca chose to reclaim her power, posting her thoughts on social media, including advice for other women who might be experiencing what she realised she'd managed to escape: a toxic, oppressive relationship. A flood of support poured in, but amongst the well-wishes was a simple question with an infinitely complex answer: 'If he was so bad, why did you stay?'

Empowering, unflinching and full of humour, this book takes that question and owns it. Using her relationship history, coming of age stories and experiences since the scandal during Strictly, Rebecca explores why good girls are drawn to darkness, whether pop culture glamourises toxicity, when a relationship 'rough patch' becomes the start of a destructive cycle, if women are conditioned for co-dependency, and - ultimately - how to reframe disaster into something magical.

'The best [book] about relationships since Three Women' CAROLINE SANDERSON, THE BOOKSELLER
'So funny and heart-breaking. So stunningly written. For any woman who has been asked 'why did you stay?', Rebecca Humphries' book is a hilarious and brilliant read' SUSAN WOKOMA
'Very, very good' PANDORA SYKES
'A magical, magical book' GLAMOUR
'So thoughtful and moving and funny and sad and great, I love it so, so much. I resented having to put it down' DAISY BUCHANAN
'Her thought-provoking story should be required reading for anyone in a relationship' DAILY MIRROR
'A memoir every woman needs to read' RED MAGAZINE
'This book isn't an ice-cold revenge opus; it's a diary of self-discovery, a celebration of friendship, resilience and finding one's self-worth...is it worth the hype? Absolutely: I had to stop myself from reading it one grateful gulp' LAURA PULLMAN, STYLE

About Rebecca Humphries

Rebecca has written for Vogue, Elle, the Guardian and the Telegraph on relationships, singledom and womanhood. In 2019 she spoke at the House of Commons on behalf of the organisers of the Women's March London about gaslighting and the media.As an actress, Rebecca has most recently appeared in Ten Percent (Amazon Prime), The Crown (Netflix) and Friday Night Dinner (Channel 4).All of the above has happened following her public break up in 2018.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Books and a Brew on October 04, 2022

I feel a bit harsh giving this two stars. Not because I feel sorry for Rebecca Humphries. If anything, I empathise. My last relationship ended at 34 and I resonated with much that she spoke about. I just found this quite hard to follow, jumping between the relationship and the aftermath. I also found......more

Goodreads review by Georgia on September 23, 2022

quite long but also entertaining if you're interested in hearing about loads of horrible things seann walsh has done (naturally!) and also are hyped about strictly returning and want to read some oblique gossip about the dancers (i have done a lot of wikipedia research and have concluded that the me......more

Goodreads review by Tash on June 30, 2022

An extremely candid, sincere and empowering memoir from a fierce woman reclaiming her identity and self-worth after a very public break-up. Humphries explores the ins and outs of toxic relationships, co-dependency and the impact of pop culture on the expectations of love, recalling her own experienc......more

Goodreads review by Emma on July 31, 2024

I enjoyed this! I think it would be a really great and validating read if you've been in a toxic relationship with a narcissist or dealt with a lot of gas lighting behaviour!!......more

Goodreads review by hayley on November 17, 2022

"Sometimes anger gets you places." I went into this book as someone with roughly five minutes' worth of research on what Strictly Come Dancing is, who Rebecca Humphries is, and who Humphries' ex-boyfriend (who she refers to as He in this book) is. Basically, I was largely unaware of what prompted the......more


Quotes

Her thought-provokingstory should be required readingfor anyone in a relationship Daily Mirror

Brilliant, universal writing on toxic relationships and heartbreak. A Heart Shaped Bullet for the modern age

This book isn't an ice-cold revenge opus; it's a diary of self-discovery, a celebration of friendship, resilience and finding one's self-worth...is it worth the hype? Absolutely: I had to stop myself from reading it one grateful gulp Style

The best [book] about relationships since Three Women [...] Set to be this year's summer smart female read for women of all ages The Bookseller

Why Did You Stay? is anything but a simple question, and Humphries is nothing if not comprehensive in her answer - but she is also funny, tender and wise i Paper

A memoir every woman should read ... a frank, funny and sometimes confronting deep dive into why so many women mistake controlling relationships with toxic men as what they think love should be Red Magazine

Fierce. Game-changing. Urgently necessary. Brilliant, brilliant and did I say brilliant?

Pacy, vivid, compelling and very, VERY funny ... it will help so many

A fucking classic. Required reading for all women and men and I believe it's going to be the book of 2022

Fuck, this is good. Every page feels important