Crystal Hefner, the widow of Hugh Hefner, the late founder of Playboy, will tell the story of her marriage in a new memoir, the Daily Mail reports.
Grand Central will publish Only Say Good Things: Surviving Playboy and Finding Myself next year. The Hachette imprint describes the book as “a raw and unflinching look at the objectification and misogyny of the Playboy mansion, her stolen young adulthood, and her journey to finding internal validation, while providing a rare look into the final days of one of the most influential men of the 20th century.”
Crystal Hefner was a model who was Playboy’s “Playmate of the Month” in December of 2009. Three years after that, she married Hugh Hefner, the magazine’s controversial longtime editor-in-chief; he was more than 60 years older than her. They remained married until his death in 2017.
“My relationship and marriage to Hugh Hefner was a very complicated one,” Crystal Hefner told the Daily Mail. “It was one where, no matter how I was treated, I always felt like I had to protect him, which is why I have not shared my story until now.”
Grand Central says that Hefner “offers a vulnerable and clear-eyed look at how her experience with Hefner catalyzed a transformative journey from valuing external validation over all else to finally recognizing her worth.”
She announced the news of her book on Instagram. Responding to a commenter who asked how she’s feeling about the memoir, she wrote, “mixed feelings. It’s so honest. It’s so raw. but it’s the truth. So long as I stand my truth I am good.”
Only Say Good Things is scheduled for publication on Jan. 23, 2024.
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
