Jessica Simpson is dyslexic and struggles with reading out loud.
Jessica Simpson
The 40-year-old singer has publicly revealed she struggles with the learning disorder, which involves difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and learning how they relate to letters and words.
Jessica made her confession as she celebrated the news that the audiobook of her memoir, ‘Open Book’, was named one of the best audiobooks of the year by Apple Books, as she said it was the “first time” she has ever “read out loud without hesitation”.
Writing on Instagram, she explained: “OPEN BOOK, thank you for the therapy. @applebooks, thank you for recognizing and respecting my story. Turning my fears into wisdom has been a soulful journey to say the least. I appreciate the power of this praise with all of my heart.
“Fact: I’m dyslexic and this was the first time I have ever read out loud without hesitation. I did it for the listener. I did it for my family. I did it for myself. (sic)”
Jessica’s book was also a New York Times bestseller, and was highly praised for its unfiltered look at her life and career.
The tome is an “honest” depiction of her life, and includes Jessica’s first public allegations that she was sexually abused as a young girl, as well as a candid take on her battle with alcohol and her mental health.
Jessica wrote in her book that she buried her anxiety, pain and trauma for years as her career skyrocketed, until she hit rock bottom in 2017 and reached out for help, and has been sober ever since.
Speaking when her memoir was released in February, she said: "It's been a long hard deep emotional journey, one that I've come through the other side with pure happiness and fulfilment and acceptance of myself. I’ve used my pain and turned it into something that can be beautiful and hopefully inspiring to people."
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