“I was 21 years old when I found myself on the front stoop of the Playboy Mansion. I want to tell the real story of my time there — the good and the bad, the light and the dark.”
In 2008, the Playboy Mansion became Crystal Harris’s sanctuary. Within months she has ascended its hierarchy to become Hugh Hefner’s top girlfriend. But her new home came at a cost. She was forced to follow strict rules that governed everything from her appearance to her behaviour, which resulted in a loss of identity and freedom. By the time she married Hefner in 2012, the mansion became Harris’s prison. Before Hefner’s death in 2017, he made Harris promise to “only say good things” about his and Playboy’s legacy, which caused her to suppress the truth for many years. But in Only Says Good Things: Surviving Playboy and Finding Myself, Harris gives a raw and honest account of her time at the Playboy Mansion.
The writing, editing and structure of the book is impressive. There is some repetition throughout that isn’t always necessary, but some which is necessary. Either way, it’s never a hindrance to the reading experience and instead reinforces the book’s themes and Harris’s experiences. While I was obsessed with The Girls Next Door as a teenager, I never watched beyond Holly, Bridget, and Kendra’s seasons because I did not find the new girls very interesting (though I certainly liked Harris more than the Shannon Twins). This meant I didn’t know anything about Harris beforehand and so it was great to get to know her and what she’s been through, both the good and the bad.
While plenty deserving of its criticism, the Playboy lifestyle has always been of interest to me, so I enjoyed learning more about the real life of the women and what really went on at the Playboy Mansion, no matter how disturbing it got. I already knew many things from Holly Madison’s book, Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny, but it was fascinating to revisit and learn more through Harris’s experiences. Harris provided amazing insight and depth in a powerfully and emotionally complex memoir that cannot have been easy for her to relive. There are so many “what the fuck?” moments to read about. I highlighted entire pages in complete shock. Harris does not shy away from revealing the truth nor she does keep her promise to only say good things. There is definite growth from Harris as she recounts her story of joining the mansion at 21, and leaving in her early 30s. This is exactly the book that is needed to shatter the illusion of the girl next door, of the Playboy legacy. The 2000s were an insane time for culture. A culture that was extremely controlling and misogynistic against women.
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